50 All-Time Greatest Sports Movie Marketing Taglines
“The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” Those words from the opening narration of ABC’s Wide World of Sports (a TV show) brilliantly capture what makes sports so enthralling. They also touch on why Hollywood loves making sports movies. Sports are both inherently dramatic and cinematic.
The thing is sports alone can’t sell a movie. While a baseball or football movie will draw some fans of those sports to theaters, that’s not enough to score box-office gold. For a sports movie to really cash-in at cineplexes, it needs to transcend sports fans and resonate with a wider audience.
That’s where the marketing comes in. Sports movie posters and trailers tell us: sure, this movie may be about boxing, hockey, or golf—but it’s also about something more. Like an underdog making a dream come true. Or a group of misfits coming together. Or a creative thinker changing the way things are done. These are things anyone can relate to in some way.
Which Sports Movie Tagline Takes Home the Title?
One key way sports movie marketing gets larger tone and story ideas across is through the use of taglines. There’s been a lot of all-star caliber sports movie taglines over the decades, but the best ones transcend the “sports” element and hit on broader themes.
Take a look at the collection of taglines below we pulled together from 50 classic sports movies. Pick out the one you think works the best (not based on the movies you like the most, but based on the way reading them makes you feel). You can also check out this episode of the Movies & Marketing podcast to hear our favorites from the list.
