Back in the days of the drive-in movie experiences, there were numerous ads that popped onto the screen while we were waiting impatiently (Remember all the tooting horns before the start of the movies?), showing some local businesses who paid to advertise in that particular theater, or showing you enticing pictures of the delicious (sarcasm) looking foods being prepared at the Concession Stand (actually the pictures of the food looked more delicious than the food when you got it) and one particular ad showed an animated family going to the after dark movies with the song, “Let’s all go to the Drive-In” being sung as a family loaded their car to share a drive-in movie experience.

Recently, one of the posts on my Facebook page asked friends to post their favorite movies in certain sports, so I thought I would share with you some of my favorite movies from my selected genres, and see if some of us may have the same taste in big/small screen entertainment.

Some of my selections could fit more than one genre, and a few are listed more than once because the genre is different but the same film may apply to both, and note that it is difficult to not include more in each category, as some are equally favorites, but I decided to limit my choices to three, four, or maybe five in a few cases or two. Anyway, here are some of my favorite films be they TV Movies, movies at the indoor theater, or drive-in movies:

Favorite Baseball Movies (I chose these three, but I consider ALL Baseball Movies to be tied for No. 1 as far as I’m concerned): Field of Dreams, Pride of the Yankees, For Love of the Game.

Favorite Football Movies: Something for Joey, Rudy, Draft Day, The Replacements

Favorite Hockey Movies: Miracle, Slap Shot, Mystery Alaska

Favorite Basketball Movies: Hoosiers, Amazing Grace and Chuck (not really about basketball (the sport, but one of the main characters was a basketball player portrayed by NBA star Alex English), The Hank Gathers Story

Favorite Golf Movies: The Greatest Game Ever Played, Caddyshack, Happy Gilmore

Favorite Boxing Movie: Rocky (the first one), Raging Bull, The Champ

Favorite Comedies: Animal House, Major League, Stripes

Favorite Military Movies: The Great Escape, A Few Good Men, The Dirty Dozen

Favorite Christmas Movies: Scrooge (A Christmas Carol … the 1951 Alastair Sim B&W version), Home Alone, Miracle on 34th St, Christmas Vacation

Favorite Biography Movies: The Jackie Robinson Story, Schindler’s List, King (TV movie), PT 109

Favorite Sidney Poitier Movies: Lillies of the Field, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night, To Sir With Love

Favorite Humphrey Bogart Movies: Casablanca, Maltese Falcon, Treasure of Sierra Madre

Favorite Frontier/Western Movies: Dances with Wolves, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Cat Ballou

Favorite Tom Hanks Movies: Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, The Green Mile

Favorite Billy Crystal Movies: City Slickers (I and II), Mr. Saturday Night, Parental Guidance

Favorite Denzel Washington Movies: Glory, Remember the Titans, Philadelphia, Fences

Favorite Teacher Movies: To Sir with Love, Dead Poet’s Society, Mr. Holland’s Opus

Favorite B&W Dramatic Movies: Casablanca, To Kill a Mockingbird, 12 Angry Men, Judgement at Nuremberg

Favorite Mel Brooks Movies: Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety

Favorite Religious Themed Movies: King of Kings, Ben Hur, Stolen Summer, Going My Way, Bells of St. Mary’s

Favorite Rat Pack Movies: Ocean’s Eleven, A Hole in the Head (Sinatra), Rio Bravo (Martin)

Favorite President Movies: The American President, The Missiles of October, Lincoln

Favorite Musical Movies: Damn Yankees, 1776, Fiddler on the Roof, Les Miserables

Favorite Romance Movies: The Good-Bye Girl, The Fault in Our Stars, Return to Me,

Favorite Courtroom Movies: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Verdict, JFK, A Time to Kill

Favorite Brat Pack Movies: The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, The Outsiders

Favorite Parent/Child Relationship Movies: Field of Dreams, Dad, Cheaper by the Dozen

Favorite Police Dramatic Movies: In the Heat of the Night, The French Connection, Training Day

Favorite Al Pacino Movies: Godfather (1&2), Scent of a Woman, Serpico

Favorite Movies Featuring Children Ensembles: The Bad News Bears (original), Sandlot, The Mighty Ducks

Favorite Bill Murray Movies: St. Vincent, Stripes, Caddyshack

Favorite John Candy Movies: Uncle Buck, Cool Runnings, Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

Favorite John Belushi Movies: Animal House, Continental Divide, The Blues Brothers

Favorite TV Mini-Series: Roots, Roots…The Next Generations, Rich Man … Poor Man, North and South

Favorite “Disaster” Movies: The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Airport

Favorite Cleveland Indians Movies: Major League, The Kid from Cleveland, Don’t Look Back: The Story of Leroy “Satchel” Paige

Favorite Cleveland Browns Movies: The Fortune Cookie, The Express, Draft Day

Favorite NASA Space Program Movies: The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, Challenger (TV)

Favorite Athlete Movies Based on Real Life: Invincible, Chariots of Fire, Race (Jesse Owens)

First Movie that made me Teary Eyed: Brian’s Song (Billy Dee Williams & James Caan)

Favorite Animated Movies: Toy Story, Aladdin (Robin Williams was BRILLIANT), Beauty and the Beast

Favorite Baseball Movies Based on the Negro Baseball League: The Bingo Long Traveling All Stars and Motor Kings, Soul of the Game, Finding Buck McHenry Favorite Movies made into TV Programs: The Odd Couple, M*A*S*H, In the Heat of the Night, The Paper Chase

Favorite Horror Movies: Psycho, Carrie, Wait Until Dark

Favorite “Ghost” Movies: Field of Dreams, Ghost, Scrooge (A Christmas Carol 1951 B&W A. Sim version)

First Movie I ever saw in Cinerama: The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm

Favorite Prison Movies (though I don’t consider prison glamourous): The Shawshank Redemption, Cool Hand Luke, Papillion

Favorite George Burns Movies: Oh God (I & II), Going in Style, The Sunshine Boys

Favorite Alan Arkin Movies: Indian Summer, Wait Until Dark, Escape from Sobibor

Favorite Animal Movies: Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Old Yeller, Paulie

Favorite Disney Movies: The Jungle Book, Angels in the Outfield, Mary Poppins

Favorite Fictional Space Movies: 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Martian, Star Wars (Episode IV)

Favorite Inspirational Movies: Radio, Rudy, Charly (with a backwards y), Rainman

Anyway, these are some of my favorite movies in different genres. I enjoy movies a lot. I try and take a quote from favorite movies to use in my dealings with students and athletes hoping to help them in their lives. Some may say I live vicariously through movies. I tend to feel that movies are escapes from the real world, but there are things in every movie that can help us in the real world. If that can happen, that’s a double bonus for us.

So look over my list and if some of yours and mine are in common, great! If not, and we haven’t seen some of each other’s favorite movies, maybe it’s time for us to (excuse the poor grammar) “Let’s All Go to the Movies.”