Remember The Titans vs. Miracle: Pick One Movie For The Rest Of Your Life

We might have covered this on the sports movies snake draft but same time maybe not. There was definitely controversy around the Miracle pick, but that was more about selection integrity than draft strategy. Amidst the chaos, Remember The Titans slipped to me in the 3rd round and the rest is history. 

At a higher level though, I've recently spent time in a vacation lake house type setting where you have limited access to entertainment options. It's not exactly the lone VHS attached to a 27 inch Toshiba, but we're using a DVD player. That's not below me. And in that respect we're limited to a handful of the classics involving two notable heavy hitters on about 90% of American shelves. I'm talking Miracle and Remember The Titans. 

I've watched them both a handful of times in the last week. I've done my homework. I know where the weaknesses are and more importantly the differentiators. I'm prepared to confront the question of superiority. But first I want to address the poll:

Advertisement

The vote discrepancy is entirely related to the underlying sport. Too many people were citing their own personal preferences in the replies. Shit about how they too played JV football for a dominant person. How they love football and didn't have the budget or the climate to play youth hockey, etc. Personally I think that's unfair for purposes of comparing movies. Let's keep it focused to the big screen. If we do that and remove the noise, it's much closer to a coin flip. 

With that in mind, let's talk soundtrack. Remember the Titans blows Miracle out of the water. Don't make me go to the tape. We know that. 

Coaching performance = Herb Brooks & Kurt Russell. It's just more end-to-end when you consider the conflict with the amateur hockey association and how he had to draft the team himself. Coach Boone was inheriting a proven winner. Gerry Bertier was an All American. Sunshine was a backup. I could go on and on. But Herb Brooks had to build a group from the group up THEN go out and beat the Soviets. 

Underlying Tensions = The Cold War was some heavy shit but I'm going with the explicit racism in Remember The Titans. That's a lot heavier to me than the Russians playing for Russia during the nuclear arms race with Russia.

Mid-Movie Cut Guy = Ralph Cox was awesome. Losing him hurt more than watching Ray get cut felt good, if that makes sense. I still wish Coxy was on the ice with the boys at the end. 

Late Night Practice = I love in Remember the Titans when the cars pull up with the lights on and they do the Left Side Strong Side. But nothing beats MIKE ERUZIONE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. That's powerful shit. Everyone loves this scene. 

Soundtrack = reminder that RTT has an elite soundtrack. Miracle is stacking points but just reminder the Soundtrack is awesome. 

Devastating Injuries = Gerry Bertier almost dies. OC just blows a knee out and then he comes back, which was awesome. But from sheer emotional devastation, Gerry in a landslide. 

Championship Game = Miracle and it aint close. The final play in Remember the Titans is maybe a 3.6 final play. I would've been more comfortable with the Annexation of Puerto Rico (from Little Giants - not the actual, literal annexation of the United States territory) than I was with a reverse to Rev and Sunshine pulling. The last 20 minutes of Miracle should be preserved in the Library of Congress as an actual representation of that historic night in Lake Placid. 

Movie Poster = Miracle. 

Sport = Remember the Titans

Movie = Miracle. This one was close but it's Miracle. Remember The Titans has probably more watchability over a 30-day period in solitary confinement, but Miracle ultimately hits harder. Denzel is at peak performance but Herb Brooks was a better character to portray. Russell had a huge advantage going in. And the quality of the sport is just that much better in Miracle. Those guys can skate and finish. That wasn't no dog and pony show. Those were good fucking actors. 

Advertisement

Maybe I'm wrong but maybe I just think it was a better movie. That's my two cents. Use the comment section below to politely discuss what I missed.