As part of Sportsnet magazine’s upcoming sports movie package we’re seeking to determine the greatest fictional athlete in film history. And we need your help to do it.
“Greatness” is open to interpretation. Some of the names appearing in the bracket overcame extreme adversity, others single-handedly took their team from laughing-stock to champion, while a select few were flat-out dominant in their respective sports.
Each day this week on Sportsnet.ca we’ll be asking you to cast your vote, with the final results appearing in the next issue of Sportsnet. With a seemingly endless list of worthy candidates and a rule that only one athlete from a movie can be represented, on Monday we asked you to help whittle the list down to 16 names that will make up the bracket. Tuesday and Wednesday we cut through the eight first-round showdowns.
Now it’s on to the second round.
Vote on the following matchups: Dottie Hinson vs. Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez; Adam Banks vs. Rocky Balboa; Happy Gilmore vs. Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn
Without further adieu: Time to choose between Roy and Rod, a couple of American legends underappreciated in their own times:
Roy Hobbs, RF, New York Knights
He was going to be the greatest baseball player there ever was. Instead, he had to settle for the greatest season—long delayed. He got shot in the stomach as a teenager, and didn’t make his big-league debut until 35. But even after 15+ years out of the game he was still so good he knocked the cover off the ball on command. Former ESPN scribe and current Ringer ringleader Bill Simmons once estimated Hobbs’s stats in his one season of pro ball at 44 homers, 106 RBI and a 1.196 OPS in 115 games. Not bad for a 35-year-old rookie.
Rod Tidwell, WR, Arizona Cardinals
He may not have been a “prototypical wide receiver” due to being undersized for the position, but he was good for 1,550 yards and 110 catches on a lousy Arizona Cardinals team in 1995 and earned himself a huge contract in a prove-it season. He’s extremely loyal, passionate, quotable and a good father, and he comes through with big plays in big moments. And man, could he dance.