Movie Time

These are my top ten favorite sports movies of all time.  As these movies are equally good, and are about different sports, they're listed in no particular order.  Hope you enjoy!

1.  Field of Dreams

This one is a no-brainer.  It's an American classic based on an American pastime, but if you've been living under a rock since 1989 when the movie was released, I'll give a brief synopsis.  Kevin Costner plays an Iowa farmer who plows down his corn field to build a baseball field after a mysterious voice starts giving commands.

2.  Coach Carter

Based on a true story, Coach Carter tells the story of a high school basketball coach who finds his players need more coaching off the court than on it.  After failing to adhere to the agreements made in the contracts the players signed, Coach Carter takes drastic measures to ensure his team become winners in life, not just basketball.

3.  Hard Ball

A man with a severe gambling addiction who is also in deep with a bookie is suckered into coaching an inner-city little league team.  As the season progresses he finds he is learning more from his the boys on his team than he could ever teach them.

4.  Remember the Titans

Set in Virginia in 1971, this movie follows the true story of a high school football team and their impressive first season as an integrated unit.  

5.  Cool Runnings

Track-stars-turned-bobsledders from Jamaica stun the world as they try to make it into the 1988 winter Olympics in Calgary.

6.  The Blind Side

A boy from a broken home and living on the streets is taken in by a caring woman and her family in this heartwarming, true account of NFL lineman Michael Oher.

7.  Win Win

A volunteer high school wrestling coach who's on the brink of losing everything finds a ray of hope after a star athlete stumbles into his life, albeit through less-than-upstanding circumstances.

8.  Warrior

When the youngest son of a former boxer returns home and begins to be trained by his father, he competes in a mixed martial arts tournament.  Everything is going well until he discovers his next opponent is his older brother.

9.  Rudy

Daniel E. "Rudy" Ruettiger's life-long dream was to play football for Notre Dame, but his size always held him back.  Luckily his passion outweighs his size in this epic drama based on true events.

10.  Cinderella Man

During the Great Depression, boxing star James Braddock pulled an amazing comeback to become a champion and an inspiration in this moving, true story.

  P.S.  I know there are other movies that could have easily made it onto the list, but I either haven't seen them, or somehow slipped my brain.  For now, this is the list. :)

What to do if the guy in your life doesn't like sports

Recently I came across an article on rantsports.com which outlined 11 tips for getting your girlfriend to like sports.  I've been a sports fan since childhood; before I knew that girls weren't supposed to like sports, and before I knew that at some point I might think that boys exist for more than making mud pies with.  I never had to be convinced that sports were something to be enjoyed, but I do have brothers that have need convincing.  Go figure, right?  I have five brothers and only one is as into sports as I am (he's actually even more into them than me).  I thought maybe I could take these tips and use them for my bros that need converting.

11.  Read (his) mood:

You want him to be in a relaxed state of mind with few distractions or stressors present.  This will allow him to be open to learning and enjoying new things.

10.  Don't throw too much at (him) at once:

No one wants to feel like they need to take notes in order to enjoy a new hobby.  Once he's got the basics, you can explain the intricacies of a flea-flicker, or what exactly a zone defense is.

9.  Have alternate activities at the ready:

Games are often long, and sometimes there is more down-time than action, which can leave the novice spectator wishing they had ANYTHING else to hold their attention.  Have some fall-back activities ready, whether it's a book or magazine, or an electronic game, he'll be grateful for the alternatives.

8.  Cuddling and foot rubs:

This one needs no altering.  Cuddling and foot rubs make any activity better, and it's not just for women.  In my experience, men love physical intimacy as much as women do, and it can be a great incentive for helping a dude watch sports with you.

7.  Make it a party, cook for (him):

They say the easiest way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  If you can get a guy to watch a game with you, providing food will make it all the more enjoyable for him, and more likely to continue to watch sports with you.  Word of caution: depending on your skills in the kitchen he may always want you to cook for him.

6.  Tell him how sports bring people together:

If you haven't read my previous post (Yeah BYU!!!) already, this is the best time to do so.  This post outlines the best ways in which sports brings people together and creates lasting memories.

5.  Create good guys and bad guys:

Nothing clutches emotions quite like a good hero.  If there is something especially great about your team, or someone on your team, tell this to your guy.  Or, if there is something especially terrible about the opposing team or a member of that team, that will work equally as well.  Creating a good vs. evil scenario helps viewers quickly become invested in the game.

4.  Get (him) involved in a fantasy sports league or football pool:

Fantasy leagues are another great way to get to bring people together.  Participating on a fantasy team together allows the two of you to bond the way teammates do, and will allow him to feel more connected to the game.

3.  Sports movies:

Sports movies are a great introduction to the sport itself.  The behind-the-scenes information and story lines that make these movies so great build interest in the sport before the game begins.  Stay tuned for a list of my top ten all-time greatest sports movies.

2.  Get him hanging out with your game friends:

Getting him out with your friends will help him feel part of your circle.  Hopefully he'll also begin to bond with your friends which will make him more excited to get together for the game.

1.  Return the favor:

The greatest incentive for getting anyone to get involved with your interests and hobbies is the promise that you'll do the same for them.  Whatever your guy's hobbies include, if you put time and interest into them he'll be happy to do the same for you.

Rivalry Week

With rivalry week approaching quickly I'm looking forward to enjoying passion-filled, heart-racing, and adrenaline-pumping football.  But one thing I love almost as much as a good game, is preparing a great game-day menu.  My BYU Cougars played their rival in September, for which I prepared quite the smorgasbord.  I thought I'd share some of the highlights here for anyone else who loves game food as much as I do.

Somehow the evening took on an Italian flair, so we started with an array of anti-pasti dishes; meats, cheeses, tomatoes tossed in olive oil and fresh basil, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, pickled asparagus spears, roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, and breads to dip in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Most of these items were picked up at Costco, while the others were purchased at our local grocery store.

After the appetizers had been enjoyed sufficiently, we had fun creating personalized strombolis.  Unfortunately, we were having so much fun I forgot to snap a picture. :(  Using typical pizza ingredients, and dough purchased from the grocery store, everyone was able to make a stromboli filled with their favorite toppings.  While researching stromboli recipes, I found this one to be the most helpful.

To continue the Italian theme, Italian sodas were served as drinks.  I was adamantly opposed to using anything red during dinner, but most of the yummy-flavored syrups are red, so I caved just once.  We offered strawberry, raspberry, coconut, or any combination of the three as flavors for the drinks.  My mom thought using the small cups would make it feel more special, but it also made it much more of a pain to keep quenching everyone's thirst.  We used 10 oz cups although the recipe called for using 16 oz of fluids.  The modified recipe worked well, but next time I would prefer to use the larger cups.  These recipes are the best I was able to find.

Although it didn't fit the theme of the night, I came across this recipe and couldn't resist.  The original recipe calls for using jimmies, but I thought tinting shredded coconut would give a similar look but would taste a bit better.  My brother, though, doesn't like coconut and convinced me to use a different color of frosting for the end zones and to use regular sugar sprinkles.  I wanted to use blue colored gummies for BYU players and red colored gummies for Utah players, and I was lucky enough to find gummies called "Evil Twins", which come in a variety of colors.  I also wanted my players to be more active than the players shown on the original picture, so I arranged a Utah fumble forced by Kyle Van Noy and recovered by BYU.  The pocky stick goal posts suggested in the original recipe worked well, but they slipped off the tray when pulling them out of the freezer and broke on the ground so we decided to do without them.  

The one thing that helped me get over BYUs loss that night was this amazing Oreo pizza.  A few weeks before the game, my cousin told me about a pizza place by her house that serves Oreo pizza.  She had me at Oreo and I dragged her out that night to eat it.  After studying it thoroughly I figured I could probably re-create it home.  It wasn't quite the same, but it was pretty dang close.  To ensure I was on the right track, I searched for Oreo pizza recipes and found this one that confirmed my thought process and will hopefully help you if you decide to make it.  The one thing missing from this recipe is how to make the icing.  Those directions can be found here.

I hope this helps you when you're planning your game-day menus.  I know for my family the food is almost as important as the game itself.