The “Little Giants” squad taught me that teamwork makes the dream work!
It’s summertime, which means kids are out of school, the ice cream truck is constantly chugging around the block, and you may accidentally ingest a bottle’s worth of sunblock by September. One of my favorite things to do during the summer (aside from going to the beach) is watching my nephews, who are really into baseball and soccer, play sports.
As the heat waves of July move into the dog days of August, sometimes the boys and I just want to take in a movie. So, I picked the four sports flicks that helped shape my childhood to share with them. You might not think these films are among the greatest sports movies of all time, but these motion pictures, in my opinion, all offer valuable life lessons and encourage kids to keep playing ball.
Little Giants (1994)
Becky “Icebox” O’Shea (Shawna Waldron) made this movie for me. She was smart, sarcastic and the best football player in the town of Urbania, Ohio. So, when Becky was cut from the Pee Wee Cowboys, a Pop Warner team coached by her uncle Kevin (Ed O’Neill), just for being a girl, I was PISSED. “Why would they cut her?!” I demanded.
My parents told me “because he didn’t want a girl on the team.” Well, that was a bunch of crap. I took a lot of lessons from Icebox. She wouldn’t let anyone get in her way.
Ultimately, she convinces her dad, Danny O’Shea (Rick Moranis), to start a rival team. Comprised of “Cowboy” rejects, the band of misfits dubbed the “Little Giants” went on to win big.
From the kid who can’t catch a football to the tiny Jake (Todd Bosley), who finds his inner strength to stand up to bullies on the field, the movie is a great testament to working hard as a cohesive unit.
Plus, who didn’t try to run the Annexation of Puerto Rico play during recess?
The Sandlot (1993)
Being a preteen is equal parts magical and terrifying. This film delightfully captures those “figuring it out” years.
The main protagonist, Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry) and his family are new to the San Fernando Valley. He’s already dealing with his body evolving, a new stepfather — and now, he’s got a whole bunch of friends to ingratiate himself with before the summer ends.
And he can’t play baseball. Thankfully the local hot-shot player, Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez (Michael Vitar), takes him under his wing.
Smalls doesn’t become a star on the field, and that’s not the goal of the film. Rather, the movie highlights the power of friendship and the ridiculous things kids do when they aren’t playing baseball.
“Sandlot” points to how kids develop their own mythologies, especially when they travel in packs. From the retrospectively semigross crush on an older girl, Wendy Peffercorn (Marley Shelton), to the big nightmare-fueled tale of “The Beast” in the house next door to the baseball field, these kids live life in a beautiful aura of fantasy.
The “Sandlot” crew in a scene from the film.
The movie makes summer feel never-ending, with tons of friends that all have cool nicknames like Yeah-Yeah (Marty York) and Squints (Chauncey Leopardi). Plus, it taught kids two very important life lessons: Never go on a Tilt-A-Whirl with a chaw in your cheek, and the best way to eat a s’more is to roast the “mallow” until it’s flaming and gooey.
P.S. You’re KILLING me, Smalls!
D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994)
I loved the first “Mighty Ducks” movie, but something about the second film being staged in Los Angeles makes it more of a summer jam for me (also, so much rollerblading).
Coach Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) and the Ducks get an opportunity to represent the U.S. as part of the Junior Goodwill Games in La-La-Land. Along with a core of returning players, a few athletes from around the country get added to the mix, including former figure skater Ken Wu (Justin Wong), Luis Mendoza, a speedster who can’t master stops (the same guy who played Benny in “The Sandlot”), and a bruiser named Dean Portman (Aaron Lohr) who ends up becoming half of the “Bash Brothers” with fellow enforcer Fulton Reed (Elden Henson).
Let’s be honest though: Goalie Julie “The Cat” Gaffney (Colombe Jacobsen-Derstine) is the real star of the movie. She not only makes the winning penalty save against Iceland at the end of the film, but is overall one of the most valuable players on the Ducks.
“D2” taught me that if people band together, regardless of their varying backgrounds, they can collectively create something special.
Or, should I say, “fly” together.
Rookie of the Year (1993)
This film was kind of the dream: Twelve-year-old baseball player Henry Rowengartner (Thomas Ian Nicholas) breaks his arm during a game, and once he gets his cast off, the tendons end up setting a little too well — he now has the ability to reach home plate of Wrigley Field from the stands with a single throw. Despite his overall lack of skill on the field — he still can’t really hit and his throws are still erratic — he ends up, through the magic of the movies, pitching for the Chicago Cubs.
Yes, the film is a tad far-fetched and wasn’t yielding any Oscar nods, but it satisfies a kind of athletic “Cinderella” story. Here’s this kid, who has very little skill but has a whole lot of heart, and he’s suddenly blessed with this magical sporting gift.
And at the end, when everything seems to be going wrong, and Henry’s amazing arm fails him at exactly the wrong moment, he ends up relying on the other skills he’s learned to help guide him and the team to victory. Is it believable? Not hardly. But it’s fun.
Alysa Auriemma is a contributor to espnW. Her work has been recognized in the Hartford Courant and The New York Times. Auriemma also contributed the afterword to “Unrivaled” by Jeff Goldberg. When she’s not yelling at her computer to make words less difficult, Auriemma resides in Manchester, Connecticut, and eventually, she will stop visiting her parents solely to steal food out of their fridge. @allyauriemma
