The other day I was flipping through channels on TV and stumbled onto the beginning of the fight scene in the sixth "Rocky" movie. Say what you want about the film, but I challenge anyone to watch the great Rocky Balboa exchange blows with Mason "The Line" Dixon and not wish they were there live to actually watch the fight.
This prompted a conversation between my friends and me about which movie's sporting event would be the best to see live. After getting tons of feedback from my friends (including a bunch of ridiculous suggestions like "Air Bud"), I have come up with my list of the three best.
A couple of disclaimers: Anything based on a real event ("Miracle," "Glory Road"), cannot be used. And I decided to limit it to just one Rocky movie, because otherwise the whole list would be Rocky fights. Without further ado, here they are:
Honorable Mentions:
"Major League II"
This makes my list with one caveat. My ticket must include the privilege of sitting in the play-by-play booth with Bob Uecker: "Dynamite drop-in, Monte. That broadcast school has really paid off."
"For Love of the Game"
You can't find one baseball fan, let alone human being, that wouldn't want to be present to watch a generation's best pitcher throw a perfect game in his last start after being forced into retirement by a new ownership group.
3) "He Got Game": the father-son one-on-one between Denzel Washington and Ray Allen
I received a lot of flack for this one, but let me explain my reasoning. Let's say hypothetically that LeBron James grew up in the Coney Island projects instead of Akron, Ohio, and spent his high school years playing in the Brooklyn neighborhood's Garden court. Now imagine if LeBron James' father (let's call him Denzel) was in jail for accidentally killing LeBron's mother in the heat of a fight that was between LeBron and Denzel. Denzel is eventually let out, and tries to convince LeBron to go play basketball at St. John's University instead of going to the NBA, only to be completely ignored and rejected by LeBron. To get Denzel to finally leave him alone, LeBron agrees to play Denzel one-on-one. If LeBron wins, Denzel leaves him alone; if Denzel wins, LeBron has to go to St. John's. Is this not something that you would pay to see, let alone watch for free in Coney Island?! Think of the magnitude of this game and the impact on basketball the result would have.
2) "Space Jam": the big game
As my friend Deuce said when we were having this conversation, "The line to get in was out the door." This game had everything: Michael Jordan (which really in itself would be enough), Bill Murray's comedy, and the lovable Looney Tunes characters' freedom on the line. Not to mention it had probably the greatest buzzer beater and basketball play of all time.
1) "Rocky IV": Rocky vs. Ivan Drago in the Soviet Union
I have always said that this fight, and more specifically Rocky in this fight, ended the Cold War. Can anyone think of a more influential speech in sports than the post-victory, "If I can change, and you can change, everybody can change" speech? Not a chance. Is there any amount you wouldn't pay to see this live? A clear No. 1. Honestly, could you really expect anything but Rocky?
