If you watch “Remember the Titans” and “Glory Road” back to back, you probably wouldn’t notice any difference except for the ball changing shape from movie to movie. Those films along with “Field of Dreams” and “Miracle” hold the plot concept of almost every sports movie since “Pride of the Yankees.” The good news is there are still a few of sports movies out there that avoid the stereotype, because they have a fictional plot and thus have more flexibility. These movies should move you from feeling patriotic behind Mike Eruzione to feeling like you are five years old behind Daffy Duck.

“Space Jam”:

Released in 1996, Space Jam had one of the most daring plot lines of all time. “[Director] Joe Pytka does a marvelous job combining the humor of ‘Looney Tunes’ and the sheer trailblazerness of Michael Jordan,” said sophomore Andrew Mowbray. With many sports movies going the safe route of telling a story based on truth, Pytka took a gamble in getting big stars like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and Bill Murray to take a trip through a golf hole and into the world of ‘Looney Tunes’ to provide audiences with a one of a kind experience. In the end all the risks paid off with the film grossing over $230,000,000 dollars worldwide and by receiving the Grammy for “Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture” with R. Kelly’s hit “I Believe I Can Fly.”

“Le Mans”:

Starring Steve McQueen, the King of Cool himself, this 1971 classic is definitely not for anyone who is into heated dialogue and constant action. Known for doing his own stunts especially when it comes to cars and motorcycles, McQueen takes us on the twenty four hour journey of the ‘Le Mans’ car race in France. Due to the lack of dialogue and the movie consisting of mainly McQueen driving in silence as well as taking breaks to eye down the widow of a driver who was killed in a crash at the previous year’s ‘Le Mans,’ it makes the 106 minute movie seem like the full 1,440 minutes of the race. That being said, this movie is worth watching just to learn the history behind the legendary race at Le Mans.

“Breaking Away”:

Probably one of Dennis Quaid’s lesser known movies, “Breaking Away” (released in 1979) is probably also one of his best. It tells the story of a group of “Cutters” who are kids living in a college town, at college age but not attending the college. More than that it tells how they gather behind one friend who is an incredible biker to take down the college kids in the University of Indiana’s “Little 500” bike race. “Though its plot wins no points for originality, Breaking Away is a thoroughly delightful light comedy,” said Variety Magazine. The crazy cast of characters wreaking havoc throughout Bloomington, Indiana makes this a must see.

What makes a good sports movie really has little to do with sports at all. Having the creativity to create a fictionalized tale based loosely on sports allows a director or producer to take audiences on a more whimsical journey. In the end, who wouldn’t pick saving a nation of cartoons from an Alien race with Michael Jordan over winning the Olympics?