25 best sports movies, ranked by the dust in your eye

6. We Are Marshall (2006)

Directed by McG
Starring Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, and Anthony Mackie

Because of a few unfortunate creative decisions, We Are Marshall is just a solid weepie instead of one of the all-time great sports movies. On paper, the film has all the components necessary to be a great film. It’s based on an incredibly inspiring true story, it features an appropriately respectful screenplay and is led by one of the finest actors of his generation. It’s just that the film was directed by McG. A filmmaker who excels at making glossy pop genre exercises like Charlie’s Angels and The Babysitter, he does not have the ability to convey gravitas. As a result, what could’ve been an Oscar winner ended up being a tragic missed opportunity.

The film details the disaster that befell the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team in 1970. As a result of a tragic plane crash, the team lost 37 players, 25 boosters, and a significant portion of its coaching and support staff. While the school could’ve very understandably suspended in its football program, University President Donald Dedmon (David Strathairn) went another way. He hired Jack Lengyel (McConaughey) to revive the program and help the community come to grips with a devastating loss.

Though We Are Marshall fails to do its real-life story justice, the film does feature a handful of remarkable scenes. The best of which features Coach Lengyel giving a speech at the grave site of six unidentified Marshall players. His words are spoken with such total conviction and authority that it’s impossible to watch the scene and not feel a certain a sting behind your eyes and a weight in your chest.