{"id":1300,"date":"2025-11-30T16:35:47","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T21:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/?p=1300"},"modified":"2025-11-30T16:35:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T21:35:47","slug":"the-blind-side-is-the-top-sports-movie-of-the-21st-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/2025\/11\/30\/the-blind-side-is-the-top-sports-movie-of-the-21st-century\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Blind Side\u201d is the Top Sports Movie of the 21st Century"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><em>\u201cRemember The Titans\u201d Looms Just Below<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Strong Female Leads Abound<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Sports Entertainment Drive Fan Interest<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1307\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sports-poll-list.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"468\" height=\"374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sports-poll-list.png 468w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sports-poll-list-300x240.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sports-poll-list-260x208.png 260w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sports-poll-list-160x128.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>America\u2019s favorite sports movies of the 21<sup>st <\/sup>century are \u201cThe Blind Side<em>\u201d<\/em> and \u201cRemember the Titans.\u201d These are some of the latest findings from a recent Seton Hall Sports Poll that asked Americans to select their favorite sports movies since 2000.<\/p>\n<p>The integration of Michael Oher into his adoptive family at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, TN just beats out the integration of TC Williams High School football team of Alexandria, VA as the story behind the most popular sports movie since 2000.<\/p>\n<p>Three of ten Americans (30%) selected <em>\u201c<\/em>The Blind Side\u201d as their favorite sports movie, while \u201cRemember the Titans\u201d is the only other movie to net more than 1 in 4 votes (26%) from Americans. Among avid fans the two movies are tied at 34 percent, and among sports fans \u201cThe Blind Side\u201d outpaces \u201cTitans\u201d by only two points (36% to 34%). Despite men preferring \u201cRemember the Titans,\u201d 26 vs. 23 percent, female votes aided \u201cThe Blind Side\u201d in coming out on top.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe always talk about how sports drives culture,\u201d said Daniel Ladik, Marketing Professor in the Stillman School of Business and Methodologist for the Poll. \u201cHere we see two movies of America\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These results are derived from a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/\">Seton Hall Sports Poll<\/a>\u00a0conducted October 3<sup>rd<\/sup>-6<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0among 1,519 adults. The Poll, which is sponsored by The Sharkey Institute within Seton Hall University\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fu7061146.ct.sendgrid.net%2Fls%2Fclick%3Fupn%3Du001.gqh-2BaxUzlo7XKIuSly0rC7dRe2qL1WsAk5UuHuz-2F24RkTPNly6Xmel-2BvEeC0GzMQvAUm_QXnTW6f9jV7ots26-2Fd0iCBbVhZsA0usR2hIgZspoDlE-2BrlJAoHkwgC7nW-2Fml5QQuLS3eaCwhlVSvfqCZpQ8RUKEyd-2BCRSJaLZYoK5fhTx-2BaLf7JP25ZOSPbVR-2FaD-2FKfOs4X0aRvR0rOv-2F7CLDDIyRBQ0y8tvnPYjFKALCd3VkkCo0nhLmwyQBwD5Cv-2BWOIBMs6IRQJG5uV-2FG6QHro4Uo-2BVg0XYsLQ8-2BusVw-2BQV4ovnNzeUqM7th3TqBr6j6UlthKk2GDwuVpd-2FAt8vH8gnjB9u0Sn3K9LMAAH54vlm7TZdu-2B6T66-2FwXi05k21nlcMgbgGkrna6OTkkfNlBnjVF1yxQ-3D-3D&amp;data=05%7C02%7Candrew.misura%40shu.edu%7C50ffa4496acb4eb1201e08dcf9d5ebc5%7C51f07c2253b744dfb97ca13261d71075%7C1%7C0%7C638659944435792120%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=mIklsUlk4dYli3p2tTtp6DUBTv6fxcbpzR4Ul2fO8oA%3D&amp;reserved=0\">Stillman School of Business<\/a>, features a national representative sample from YouGov Plc. weighted on U.S. Census Bureau figures for age, gender, ethnicity, education, income and geography and has a margin of error of +\/-2.5 percent.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Making the Top Five: \u201cTalladega Nights,\u201d \u201cHappy Gilmore 2\u201d and \u201cDodgeball\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While dramatic sports films claim the top two positions, comedic ones round out the top five.<\/p>\n<p>In third place was \u201cTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.\u201d It was chosen by 22 percent of Americans as their favorite sports movie. The movie was well received with sports fans, tying for third place at 27 percent and favored more amongst avid fans (29%). Men (25%) were more likely than women (19%) to choose this film, and it remained a consistent favorite among viewers ages 35-54 (27%).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHappy Gilmore 2\u201d tied for fourth place overall in the top 10 favorite sports movies at 21 percent. The movie was highly accepted by sports fans (26%). It was also most consistently well received across age groups with 21 to 22 percent in each age group, a testament to its ability to bridge generational gaps.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDodgeball: A True Underdog Story\u201d placed in the top five at 21 percent, tying for fourth overall with \u201cHappy Gilmore 2.\u201d It ranked first among men (27%) and tied for first among younger audiences (21%). The movie appealed to different age demographics, with strong results from the middle age group as well, placing third (28%).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMillion Dollar Baby\u201d (20%), \u201cCreed\u201d (20%), \u201cFriday Night Lights\u201d (18%), \u201cMoneyball\u201d (17%) and \u201cSecretariat\u201d (15%) round out the top ten favorite sports movies amongst Americans since 2000. A complete list of all the movies polled along with the methodology of inclusion can be found at the end of this press release.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Strong Female Leads Follow Strong Female Support<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are seven films which were selected by a higher percentage of women than men: \u201cThe Blind Side\u201d (36% vs. 23%, respectively);<em> \u201c<\/em>Million Dollar Baby\u201d (21% vs. 18%); \u201cSecretariat\u201d (15% vs. 14%); \u201cLove &amp; Basketball\u201d (15% vs. 11%); \u201cBend it Like Beckham\u201d (14% vs. 11%); \u201cI, Tonya\u201d (11% vs. 9%); and<em> \u201c<\/em>Challengers\u201d (6% vs 5%).\u00a0Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for Best Actress for her lead role in \u201cThe Blind Side\u201d which helps to highlight the hallmark of films more popular among women. They all include strong female characters who play a major role in the story of the film.\u00a0These actresses include Hillary Swank in \u201cMillion Dollar Baby,\u201d Diane Lane in<em> \u201c<\/em>Secretariat,\u201d Sanaa Lathan in \u201cLove &amp; Basketball,\u201d Zendaya in \u201cChallengers,\u201d Margot Robbie in \u201cI, Tonya\u201d as well as Keira Knightley and Parminder Nagra in \u201cBend it Like Beckham.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Sport Movies and Documentaries Drive Audience<\/em><\/strong><em>\u00a0<strong>Interest<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Beyond live competitions, sports are one of the most loved forms of entertainment in the U.S. Starting with \u201cF1: The Movie\u201d being a top 10 film of the summer and \u201cThe Smashing Machine,\u201d released less than two weeks ago, there are four major sports films set to be released this year alone. It has been well documented that docuseries like Netflix\u2019s \u201cF1: Drive to Survive\u201d and FX\u2019s \u201cWelcome to Wrexham\u201d have created incredible fan interest.<\/p>\n<p>When asked if sports films and documentaries drive personal interest in a sport, sports fans agreed, with over half of respondents (55%) saying that their interest increased. This trends upward with avid fans to nearly three-quarters (74%). This impact is weaker with older respondents (24%), compared to the 18-34 (47%) and 35-54 (42%) cohorts.<\/p>\n<p><em>After watching a sports movie and\/or documentary, my interest in the sport increased my interest in playing, watching, and\/or following that sport. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1301\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"94\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-1.png 480w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-1-300x59.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-1-260x51.png 260w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-1-160x31.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Further insight from this question includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>37% of Americans have an increased interest in the sport after watching a sports movie or documentary<\/li>\n<li>33% of females have an increased interest in the sport after watching a sports film or documentary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>October 2025 Seton Hall Sports Poll<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Daniel Ladik, Ph.D., Chief Methodologist \u2013 <a href=\"mailto:Daniel.Ladik@shu.edu\">Daniel.Ladik@shu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em>This SHSP was conducted October 3<sup>rd<\/sup> through October 6<sup>th<\/sup> and includes responses from 1,519 U.S. adults with a margin of error of 2.5%. The sample mirrors the U.S. census percentages on age, gender, income, education, ethnicity, and region.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong> Which of the following statements best describes you?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1302\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"387\" height=\"106\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-2.png 387w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-2-300x82.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-2-260x71.png 260w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-2-160x44.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 387px) 100vw, 387px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>*Note: Presented in each table, Avid + Casual = total sports fandom in the data. Some tables break out the Avid and Casual segments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3a.<\/strong>\u00a0Do you enjoy watching sports documentaries?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1303\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3a.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"123\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3a.png 624w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3a-300x59.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3a-560x110.png 560w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3a-260x51.png 260w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3a-160x32.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3b.<\/strong>\u00a0After watching a sports movie and\/or documentary, my interest in the sport increased my interest in playing, watching, and\/or following that sport.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1304\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3b.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3b.png 624w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3b-300x59.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3b-560x109.png 560w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3b-260x51.png 260w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3b-160x31.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3c.<\/strong>\u00a0Did you watch the 2025 <em>F1: The Movie<\/em> (either in the theater or on demand) featuring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Javier Bardem, and Kerry Condon?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1305\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3c.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"107\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3c.png 624w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3c-300x51.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3c-560x96.png 560w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3c-260x45.png 260w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-3c-160x27.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5.<\/strong>\u00a0From the list below, please select your favorite sports movies since the year 2000. Please select all that apply.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1306\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"602\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-5.png 624w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-5-300x289.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-5-560x540.png 560w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-5-260x251.png 260w, https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/files\/2025\/11\/sp-movie-5-160x154.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sports Movie Methodology of Inclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Selecting a list of sports films for respondents to choose from included a rigorous process of creating selection criteria for each movie added. The process began with <em>The<\/em> <em>Athletic\u2019s<\/em> 2020 list of the top 100 sports movies then requiring films to be released since the year 2000 and limiting the list to a maximum of 30 movies.<\/p>\n<p>The first two criteria created a list of 42 movies. The Poll then made the editorial decision to include six more movies which were overlooked by <em>The Athletic <\/em>or had been released since the list was made, bringing the total to 48 movies.<\/p>\n<p>To adhere to our maximum of 30 movies, The Poll found seven other lists of \u201ctop\u201d or \u201cbest\u201d sports movies by notable entertainment media outlets* and required each movie to appear on at least three of the eight lists reviewed, bringing the number to 33 movies.<\/p>\n<p>To get the list below 30, the Poll made the editorial decision to remove four movies which were not recognized by a majority of the Poll\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n<p><em>*The media outlets evaluated were The Hollywood Reporter, Rotten Tomatoes, IndieWire, Vulture, Forbes, TimeOut, and Time Magazine.<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cRemember The Titans\u201d Looms Just Below Strong Female Leads Abound Sports Entertainment Drive Fan Interest America\u2019s favorite sports movies of the 21st century are \u201cThe Blind Side\u201d and \u201cRemember the Titans.\u201d These are some of the latest findings from a&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/2025\/11\/30\/the-blind-side-is-the-top-sports-movie-of-the-21st-century\/\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5745,"featured_media":1307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poll-results","category-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5745"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1300"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1308,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1300\/revisions\/1308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}