'The Blind Side' tops poll ranking 21st century sports movies - ESPN

Some sports movies win Oscars, some become cult classics and some just turn into a comfort film to throw on at a moment's notice.

According to a Seton Hall Sports Poll, one title stood out as the defining sports movie of this century.

Over the past 25 years, «The Blind Side» was the sports movie Americans reached for most, edging out another football staple, «Remember the Titans,» at the top of the list.

«We always talk about how sports drives culture,» said Daniel Ladik, marketing professor at Seton Hall University's Stillman School of Business and methodologist for the poll. «Here we see two movies of America's most popular sport coupled with challenges that the players and coaches faced due to the racial struggles of their places and times. And who can forget that these movies also feature compassionate performances including an Oscar winner.»

The poll, conducted Oct. 3-6, surveyed 1,519 U.S. adults and asked them to pick their favorite sports movie released in roughly the past quarter century. The columns reflect the percentage of respondents who picked each movie. Since respondents were allowed to select more than one, the percentages will add up to more than 100%

«The Blind Side» led the general population at 30%, followed by «Remember the Titans» at 26%. «Talladega Nights» (22%), «Happy Gilmore 2» (21%) and «Dodgeball» (21%) rounded out the top tier, alongside «Million Dollar Baby,» «Creed» and «Friday Night Lights.»

Here are the biggest takeaways from the poll.

«The Blind Side» and «Remember the Titans» were No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, and combined for more than half of all responses (30% and 26%). «Friday Night Lights» (18%) also cracked the top 10, and football-adjacent stories peppered the lower part of the