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Not that kind of acting and not that kind of Oscar. Chris Ison

12 sports films that did more than enough to deserve an Oscar in our book

Even if we had to make up a few categories to get them there.

THE ACADEMY AWARD nominations were revealed today with the latest round of Hollywood guff making up most of the guest list. However, in Foxcatcher and Unbroken, there are two films based on Olympians included among the nominees. 

We can’t vouch for Unbroken yet, but sports films are the best films, so while erasing the line between documentary and fiction we got to thinking about what other flicks from the silver screen (yes, that included TV) deserved a little golden trophy.

Best animated feature…

R Kelly took the gold statue for best original song and Michael Jordan got all the limelight, but dammit, the toons in Space Jam did all the work.

jordan

 Best Foreign Language film…

Like all winners of the best foreign language film, Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait is an artsy notion of a film with ideas way above its station. In fact, there’s barely any foreign language in it.

hhyurr / YouTube

Best sportswoman in a leading role…

Gina Carano, Haywire. Eat that, Fassbender!

carano

Best soundtrack / Training montage…

Sorry, Team America, Rocky IV parodies itself way better than anybody else ever could.

Grownupcartoons / YouTube

Best choreography…

Dancing on ice is the most sportly of all dancing styles, so it takes a major undertaking to put non ice skaters out there in the cold, harsh reality attempting to replicate the greats. Blades of Glory, however, is the movie that managed just that.

blades

Best documentary feature…

Once Brothers. No Contest*.

NBA Draft Pick Divac 1989 AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Best motivational speech…

Any Given Sunday?  In Reaching for Glory Eddie O’Sullivan mops the floor with Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday.

GoTheTahs1874 / YouTube

Best Pele in a leading role…

Yep, it’s Pele again.

pele

Most evil character…

It’s a tie and we’re in to overtime between Gordon Bombay’s nemesis Coach Riley (Lane Smith) and that weird McGill kid (Michael Ooms) he sends out to deliberately injure Adam Banks.

Andrew Toone / YouTube

Man most annoyed by Leaving Cert result…

No matter how good at French or drop-goals Ronan O’Gara got, that D2 still stung him in ROG.

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Best adapted screenplay…

Thank you Lynn Siefert for all the joy you brought to our lives through the medium or four humble sprinters-turned bobsledders.

BATH GIF Giphy Giphy

Best picture…

In a travesty of justice, Ordinary People won the 1980 Academy Award for Best Picture. Here, we give Raging Bull what it deserves.

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*Of course it’s a contest. What would the Academy Awards be without millions of people thinking the award winners didn’t deserve the gong.

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Sean Farrell
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