A sports film is an incredibly diverse genre which makes use of sports as the main theme of the movie. It’s a fictional production where a sport, particularly a sports event, fan, or athlete of that sport are heavily involved, and which rely on sports to an extent for their story inspiration or resolution. It’s often considered one of the more intelligent genre films, with its attention grabbing and engaging plot, but which often falls flat due to a lack of viewer appeal. Most sports movies fail to sustain interest because they’re either too long, or they fail to be exciting enough to keep the audience interested. However, ‘The Game’ successfully combines long-time sports viewers’ fondness for the game with a contemporary edge which makes it highly enjoyable.
‘The Game’ follows the story of one man, Mike “The Game” Wright, who as a child was inspired to play football after watching his favorite sport growing up. Inspired by the game and his near death experiences, he then went on to play pro ball for several years before retiring, only to pursue his passion for the sport once again. With the help of a couple of friends, The Game then enters the realm of professional sport betting, where he hopes to win the biggest bets of all time…
But not all is rosy and happy in The Game’s world. Having recently suffered a heart attack and been put into intensive care, The Game is forced to work under conditions which are almost as demanding as his professional sports career. As his health slowly deteriorates throughout the movie, he also begins to experience increasing amounts of guilt for not bettering his own life and those around him, and he even struggles to accept some of the criticism which he feels is being directed at him and focussing on his own poor health. Ultimately, it’s this heavy sense of responsibility which forces The Game to acknowledge that perhaps his own participation in the sport isn’t as pure as he would like it to be…
The movie progresses as The Game slowly comes to understand just what it means to ‘play sports’. At first, he appears to be content to simply enjoy the recreational aspect of his participation in sports, but as he suffers health complications and continues to enter competitions where his participation may have an effect on those around him, he finds himself taking things more seriously, both personally and professionally. It’s during this process that he realises that while he may be enjoying the sports he’s participating in – such as baseball in high school – the risk of sustaining an injury and suffering a loss of potential is greater than the monetary reward. And this realization starts to drive him to work towards improving his physical ability.
This process doesn’t just affect The Game as a participant, but also the people around him. Initially, he works to improve his own skills, but it’s only when he suffers an injury on the pitch that he realises how far reaching his contribution is in ensuring fair competition between teams. When he recovers, he realises how much his participation is intertwined with that of other people, and how that affects their health and ability. He tries to get other countries to implement sporting disciplines so that sporting opportunities are available to all, regardless of skill or ability. He wants all nations to recognise the importance of non-physical sports, which would allow the best athletes from amongst them to participate.
Finally, The Game as a main article discusses how it broadens opportunity for spectators. Because of the focus on non-physical participation, such as martial arts, gymnastics and dancing, the audience is now wider than it was before. In addition, because sports enthusiasts feel safer, more confident about their abilities and what they are achieving, sports participation is more likely to become a lifelong passion. So not only are we benefiting The Game as a participant, but we’re also benefiting ourselves and our friends and family. Isn’t that worth considering?