Illustrated by The Sporting Press; Getty images; Courtesy Everett Collection It's rare that a sports movie is just a sports movie. Through the prism of athletics, sports movies are love stories and tales of the underdog, opportunities to process war and addiction and immigration and euthanasia and economic inequality. They're showcases for our biggest stars, our pluckiest protagonists, our most virtuoso directors, and even the occasional golden retriever allowed on the court by a rule-book loophole. They reflect our complicated past and predict our dystopian future.