The Official Ranking of the Greatest Fictional Athletes In Movie History

WHO IS THE BEST FICTIONAL ATHLETE IN MOVIE HISTORY? In this Blockbuster Issue, it's a question that demanded an answer. To find it, we pitted the best of all time against one another in a knockout tournament until there was one athlete left standing.

We began by canvassing staff across ESPN for nominations for our 32-athlete field. Remember, we're talking fictional athletes here, so no Rudys or Gippers or anyone who ever shook down the thunder from the sky in real life. We included player-managers but not characters who were exclusively coaching at the time their movies took place, such as Mr. Miyagi in "The Karate Kid." We did allow nonhumans, though, because you try telling Air Bud fans we banned him from this exercise. Our field quickly took shape.

We then asked a crack committee of pop culture experts -- chosen for their knowledge of Mighty Ducks trivia -- to seed these athletes into four regions, organized by sport. The minutes of the selection committee meeting of Mina Kimes, Katie Nolan and Pablo S. Torre have been approved via thumbs-up emojis and you can read them here.

The athletes were then rated in three categories: inspiration (based on social media searches, rankings and lists), athletic excellence (during the span of their movie) and quality of movie (including critics' reviews and fan popularity). In cases of sequels, we evaluated characters by the movies in which they delivered their peak performance, because nobody should ever, ever be judged by an appearance in "Major League II." These ratings determined the winners when the 32 characters faced off in their respective brackets.

Our overall winner ended up being quite a knockout across all the categories.

2. Dottie Hinson, "A League of Their Own" (72.21)

If you're old-school enough, you'll know this battle is won by a bat named Wonderboy and some exploding lights. --P.K.

If Deane could take down The Duck, he can take care of the dog. --P.K.

In 2005, "Million Dollar Baby" and Hilary Swank became the only sports movie to win Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actress. --P.K.

HOCKEY AND EVERYTHING ELSE

"Sport Science" once found that using Happy Gilmore's swing increased PGA pro Padraig Harrington's clubhead speed by 7 mph and his driving distance by 30 yards. --P.K.

Inspirational across generations, "Bend It Like Beckham" is the only movie in our bracket made outside the U.S. and turns out to star its giant-killer too. --P.K.

2. Dottie Hinson, "A League of Their Own" (72.21)

HOCKEY AND EVERYTHING ELSE

2. Dottie Hinson, "A League of Their Own" (72.21)

Drago was a walking composite of things American fans hate-communism, steroids, humorlessness. And you know who handed him his first loss. --P.K.

HOCKEY AND EVERYTHING ELSE

Our Final Four reps the cornerstones of the modern sports blockbuster: the triumphant underdog, the boundary breaker, the youngster facing conflicts and temptation, and Adam Sandler. --P.K.

2. Dottie Hinson, "A League of Their Own" (72.21)

2. Dottie Hinson, "A League of Their Own" (72.21)

ROCKY IS THE all-time indomitable underdog. Produced for $960,000, it won an Academy Award for Best Picture, grossed $225 million and had seven sequels. Yet there was a sense the character was a balm for white fans of sports now dominated by black athletes. In 1982, critic Joe Flaherty wrote that Rocky drew emotional power from racial charge: "How about Rocky as an underdog black challenger vs. a white champion? There isn't a studio that would have bankrolled this version." Then, in 2015, "Creed" made explicit that finding value in hard work, brotherhood in valor and grace in defeat cut across lines of race and age. It took 40 years, but in finding his destiny training Adonis (whom he faces here in Round 2), Rocky truly became the greatest in sports movie history. --P.K.

Source: Espn.com

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Keywords:

Blockbuster (entertainment) • Tournament • ESPN • Audrius Rudys • Kesuke Miyagi • The Karate Kid • Air Bud • Popular culture • Knowledge • Anaheim Ducks • Sport • Sport • Mina Kimes • Katie Nolan • Pablo S. Torre • Emoji • Social media • Sport • Film • Film • Film • Major League II • A League of Their Own • Bat • Wonderboy (Tenacious D song) • Duck • Million Dollar Baby • Hilary Swank • Sports film • Academy Award for Best Picture • Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama • Happy Gilmore • Pádraig Harrington • Bend It Like Beckham • A-League (1995–2004) • A League of Their Own • A League of Their Own • Communism • Doping in baseball • Underdog (TV series) • Adam Sandler • A League of Their Own • A League of Their Own • Underdog (film) • Academy Award for Best Picture • White people • Joe Flaherty • Race (human categorization) • Creed • Value (ethics) • Courage • Destiny • Adonis •