Editor’s note: In the spirit of holiday movie-watching, we asked NESN.com readers to vote for their favorite sports film of all time. The debate was fierce, but the votes spoke for themselves. The football players in “Remember the Titans” won a state championship but finished runners-ups in NESN.com’s readers top 10 sports movies of all time.
Why it’s a top-10 sports movie: “Remember the Titans” has all of the makings of a feel-good movie, but at the same time, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. It showcases the real struggles of the integration of schools in Alexandria, Va., in the 1970s, but we also see how sports bring a divided community together.
Biggest star: Denzel Washington — who played Herman Boone, the new head coach at recently desegregated T.C. Williams High School — was the biggest star during the movie’s release. However, future superstars Ryan Gosling and Hayden Panettiere enjoyed breakout roles in the film as defensive back Alan Bosley and defensive coordinator Bill Yoast’s daughter, Sheryl.
Marquee moment: Team captain Gerry Bertier (Ryan Hurst) is in a car accident, changing everything for the T.C. Williams Titans. Even though Gerry is paralyzed in the collision, the rest of the team is able to finally come together and overlook their differences. Also, Gerry telling the nurse that teammate Julius Campbell (Wood Harris) is his brother so he can visit him in the hospital probably is the film’s biggest tearjerker.
Did you know? The scene in which the Titans win the state championship has a few inconsistencies with the real-life story. The game was played at noon, not at night, and rather than a come-from-behind victory, the Titans actually blew out their opponents 27-0.
