To call them the Top 10 films about sport might trigger an angry debate on social media, so let's just call them 10 of the best.
Opinions will vary, but these are certainly 10 of the finest sports movies either based on fact or entirely fictitious.
10. Happy Gilmore (1996)
This one is from the farcical category and based around Adam Sandler's title character. Now Sandler may not be everyone's cup of tea, and his acting is certainly limited. However, as the delusional, hot-headed ice hockey hopeful who accidentally discovers his natural golfing talent, Sandler surrounds himself with a cast that makes the movie.
Christopher McDonald oozes smarm as the villainous Shooter McGavin - the top player on the golf tour and Happy Gilmore's main rival for the Tour Championship and the prestigious 'gold jacket' that comes with it. Carl Weathers excels as Chubbs Peterson, the former golfing pro who tries to make the best of Happy's raw talent, while trying to tame his temperament.
There's a fine minor role from Ben Stiller as an abusive care home worker, while Julie Bowen plays one of few straight roles as Virginia Venit - the Tour Championship's public relations director.
It's all rather silly, but somehow it works. There is alligator wrestling, a brawl featuring Price is Right host, Bob Barker, and a cameo from Lee Trevino. You don't have to like golf to like the film. In fact, you might enjoy it more if you hate it, as it sends up the pretentious nature of the sport, exemplified by Shooter McGavin.
9. The Club (1980)
This underrated film about Aussie Rules football is both of its time and ahead of its time. Made in 1980, the dialogue captures the no-nonsense, straight talking style of the sporting world of its era. However, it is spot-on in the way it portrays how the business side of the game is starting to strip away the romance.
The record fee paid for Geoff Hayward causes strife among the club's directors, and resentment among the squad. When Hayward fails to live up to his reputation, there is more conflict in the boardroom as they seek to oust Ted Parker - the sugar daddy who put up some of his own money to secure Hayward's signature.
The standout cast is what really makes the film, with Frank Wilson particularly memorably as Jock Riley, the former club coach now serving on the board. Riley wants the coach fired to ensure he remains in possession of the record number of games coached at the club.
Hayward eventually turns things around and the team starts to heal. The film may seem to have too many cliches for a modern audience, but much of its storyline still holds up today.
8. 42 (2013)
The late Chadwick Boseman puts in a stirring performance as baseball legend Jackie Robinson in this biographical movie from 2013. The beginning of the story is set in 1945, when the Brooklyn Dodgers set about trying to recruit a black player in order to start breaking down the racial division that is prevalent in the sport.
Harrison Ford is excellent as Branch Rickey, the Dodgers president, while Christopher Meloni is perfect for the role of Leo Durocher - the team coach and Rickey's enforcer in the dressing room.
The film chronicles the many struggles Robinson faced and the galling need for him to stay calm in the face of relentless provocation. The story paints a grim picture of the nasty racism of the period, but highlights the heroism of Robinson as he slowly but surely lets his ability do the talking and helps lay the trail for others to follow.
7. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Four Oscar wins for the film tell their own story, and this one lived up to the hype. Hilary Swank's turn as boxer Maggie Fitzgerald earned her the Best Actress statuette and deservedly so. Maggie's rise through amateur bouts to a world title shot sounds like an implausible fairytale, but Clint Eastwood's direction of Paul Haggis' screenplay make it all seem entirely realistic.
Eastwood is as impressive as ever in the role of Maggie's initially reluctant and chauvinistic coach, while he is joined by his old Unforgiven sidekick Morgan Freeman, who plays Eddie 'Scrap Iron' Dupris - an assistant in the boxing gym and a key part of Maggie's team.
If it all sounds a little inspirational and feel-good, there is a severe punch to the gut coming viewers' way. This particular fairytale does not have a happy ending.
6. The Wrestler (2008)
Another gritty drama, this time focused on, as the title suggests, wrestling. 1980s pretty boy Mickey Rourke was unrecognisable to many in the role of Randy 'The Ram' Robinson - a washed-up former wrestling star who has fallen on hard times.
Far from the glamour of his glory days, he lives in a trailer park and performs on the independent wrestling circuit for a bit of extra cash. But Randy's habit of taking steroid injections to help in his training lead to heart surgery and a recommendation that he quits the sport.
In addition to the focus on the physical and mental challenges faced by an ageing athlete, there is a volatile romance with Marisa Tomei's Cassidy and a battle to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
The Wrestler can be heavy going at times and is probably not a first date movie. But the Oscar-nominated performances of Rourke and Tomei make this well worth watching.
5. Eddie the Eagle (2016)
A significantly lighter watch is the biographical comedy drama about Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards and his iconic journey to the 1988 Winter Olympics. Taron Egerton does a great job of capturing Eddie's eccentric character, while Hugh Jackman gives one of his best performances as the reluctant mentor - has a middle-aged alcoholic ever looked this good?
While the ski jumper was derided as a circus show in 1988, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the film is the focus on Eddie's determination to succeed in the face of repeated setbacks. The British Olympic Association is the villain of the piece as they try shifting the goalposts to prevent Eddie from embarrassing them.
In the end, it's a feel-good and somewhat whimsical film that takes significant liberties with the actual story - Hugh Jackman's Bronson Peary landing a perfect jump when blind drunk is a good example of this poetic licence. If you can accept the flawed script, just sit back and enjoy the show. And there's the bonus of an appearance from Christopher Walken.
4. Escape to Victory (1981)
Not one for the film purists, but what football fan can claim that this one doesn't have a special place in their hearts? Sylvester Stallone, Pele, Michael Caine, John Wark, Bobby Moore, Ossie Ardiles and Max von Sydow all actually featured on the same cast list and they weren't playing it for laughs.
Caine coaches a team in a World War II Prisoner of War camp, preparing for an exhibition match. The goal for their German captors is to use the match as propaganda, but Allied goalkeeper Robert Hatch wants to use it as an escape opportunity.
The match is overseen by a predictably biased referee, but even his best efforts cannot deny the Allies as they come back from 4-0 down to clinch a creditable draw, equalising thanks to Pele's spectacular overhead kick. And there's even time for the awarding of a controversial penalty to enable the Germans to claim victory. But Hatch saves the spot-kick and the escape is on.
3. Moneyball (2011)
A game-changing film about a game-changing sports strategy. Billy Beane's ground-breaking approach at Oakland Athletics led to a paradigm shift in player scouting, using sabermetrics. This approach became so influential that moneyball entered the English language - at least in the field of team sports.
Brad Pitt effectively communicates Beane's anxiety as the highly risky strategy takes time to reap rewards, while the baseball club contains too much dead wood in the playing squad. Jonah Hill is the film's standout performer as Peter Brand, the Ivy League economics graduate who uses cold, hard statistics to guide decisions on transfers.
The strong cast also features Phillip Seymour-Hoffman, Robin Wright and a pre-Guardians of the Galaxy / Jurassic World Chris Pratt. Beane and Brand carry the film with their chalk and cheese relationship winning through in the end. It's a great watch for any sports fan with an interest in how deep diving into data has changed the way players are recruited.
2. Raging Bull (1980)
It remains a stain on the Academy's credibility that Robert De Niro has just one Best Actor Oscar to his name, while Tom Hanks has two. Few would argue that De Niro did not deserve the award for his portrayal of Jake La Motta in Martin Scorsese's epic biographical drama.
De Niro famously trained so hard as a middleweight boxer under La Motta that he won a couple of actual fights. There is even a myth that he was among the top middleweights in the world when the movie was being filmed. Scorsese claims that, according to La Motta, De Niro would have been in the top 20. The actor then piled on the pounds to portray the boxer in his later life.
Alongside De Niro, Joe Pesci plays Joey, Jake's younger brother and manager. Pesci is nicely understated in comparison to his most famous roles as the psychotic Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas or the bungling burglar Harry in Home Alone. As Jake's wife Vikki, Cathy Moriarty gives an outstanding debut performance.
Shot in black and white, Raging Bull still stands the test of time for its screenplay, acting and editing.
1. Rocky (1976)
Before the cartoon villainy of Clubber Lang in Rocky III and Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, before the crass 'we can change' speech in Rocky IV and before the preposterous street brawl in Rocky V, there was a very good film about a mediocre amateur boxer, who lands a very unlikely shot at a world heavyweight title fight. The reasons are somewhat contrived but it's about being in the right place at the right time when Rocky Balboa is chosen as an opponent by the reigning champion Apollo Creed, who is to treat the mismatch as more of an exhibition.
But Rocky doesn't get the memo. He wants to be freed from his need to work as hired muscle for a local gangster and he also wants to develop a relationship with Adrian, who works at a pet shop. Rocky takes his training seriously and is managed by Mickey Goldmill, played with relish by Burgess Meredith.
Few people are unfamiliar with the scene in which Rocky runs up the steps that lead to Philadelphia's Museum of Art. They are now known as the Rocky steps and, at the top, there is a statue of the fictional boxing champ.
When the title bout eventually happens, Creed is toying with Rocky when the challenger lands a left hook that knocks him down. All of a sudden, the champion realises he has a battle on his hands.
After 15 gruelling rounds, Creed edges the fight on points, but Rocky gets the girl. There were far too many sequels, but the original is a genuine classic.
