Only A 90s Kid Can Name These Sports Movie Characters
- by Will Morgan
- – on
- in Movies and TV
Wow, I can't believe it has been 75 whole years since the 90s! Now that all of us 90s kids are senior citizens and have copious amounts of free time, sitting around our retirement homes, we can look back and bask in the nostalgia. That decade had a ton of cool stuff going for it, great fashion, cool scandals, awesome music, but something that often gets overlooked is the movies. Sure, everyone digs whatever movies they grew up with. But, one thing the 90s had that other decades don't, were tons and tons of amazing sports movies. There were all kinds of sports movies, too. There were kids sports movies, comedies, dramas, and romances. If a movie features sports in some way, 90s audiences ate it up!
Sports movies really lend themselves well to the natural rhythm of storytelling, especially if you've got yourself an underdog. Right away, you know who you are supposed to like. Then the jerk team that always wins shows up and you know you are supposed to hate them. The players have something that makes them great but there is something that is holding them back that can not seem to overcome until the last minute. And when they finally do, the team defies the odds and defeats the big bad team that was supposed to win it all! It's great because it doesn't happen that way all the time in real life. These are some of those movies that we loved to cheer in the 90s. How many of these characters can you name?
What was the name of this hockey player turned golfer played by Adam Sandler?
Adam Sandler plays the eponymous character in his hilarious follow up to Billy Madison. I still like using titular better, but I decided to switch it up a little. In this cinematic masterpiece, Adam Sandler is a hockey player that is banned for taking of his skate and attacking someone with it, so he decides to take up golf as a way to make money to help pay for his grandma's something or other. And he yells quite a lot.
Who was the coach of The Mighty Ducks?
Emilio Estevez is legendary. He is so good, he doesn't even need that Sheen last name to succeed. In what may end up being his most famous role outside of Repo Man, he goes from being a jerk big time lawyer to coaching the most lovable gang of misfit juvenile delinquents to ever take to the ice. His name was perfect for this movie, too. It sounded like it could be said in a courtroom or over a PA in an arena.
What's the name of this Sandlot character?
The Sandlot is the quintessential 90s kids sports movie. It is about so much more than sports. It is also about growing up and faking drowning so that you can basically assault a lifeguard and trick her into kissing you when she tries to save your live. This chubby freckled fella here was quite a kids movie star during this decade. He appeared in The Sandlot and The Big Green and he uttered the famous line, "You're killing me, Smalls!"
What was the name of the star canine in Air Bud?
During the 90s they made roughly fourteen billion Air Bud movies. This is the first one, the one where he is just a basketball playing dog. Eventually he would go on to play football, pool, darts, waterpolo, olympic diving, mixed martial arts, mountain climbing, and snowboarding, but in this first one they stick to the basketball court. And for all of you Air Budoholics out there, we are looking for his name once the kid adopts him. When the mean guy at the beginning has him, he's called Old Blue.
Who was the Mighty Ducks goalie in the first Mighty Ducks?
When I close my eyes and I picture Walt Disney's The Mighty Ducks in my mind's eye, the first thing that comes up is the image of that poor poor goalie, helplessly tied up, being bombarded with a plethora of puck after puck just getting plowed at him. The story of the Mighty Ducks is that they sucked, right? But then they got that good kid, and they all started to play better. Not this goalie man. He always sucked.
What character was the star of Rookie Of The Year?
Did you know that if you break your arm and you have it put into a cast for to heal for a couple of months in a windup pitch position, when you get the cast taken off the ligament will be so taught that you can pitch in the big leagues? No? If you didn't know that, then you must have not seen Rookie Of The Year! Oh man, when he lost his power at the end, I freaked. Glad it worked out.
Who was the bad guy golfer in Happy Gilmore?
This guy will go down as perhaps the best bad guy in golf cinema history. Not counting Caddyshack, of course. Make sure you stay out of his way, or you'll pay. Listen to what I say. Also, you should know that he eats pieces of poop for breakfast. I sincerely hope that you have seen this movie if you are reading this, otherwise you probably assume that I had a stroke. Well, maybe we are both right! Be right back, my toast is ready.
Who was the better goalie that showed up in D2: The Mighty Ducks?
Like I was saying in the last question, that freaking goalie dude just straight up sucked. So, it is a good thing that in part two, those quackers happened to find a really good goalie in this girl. But then, the coach didn't want to even play her. Like he didn't learn his lesson from the first stupid movie. She had to practically freaking beg him to put her in at the goalie position. Maybe he's just not a very good coach.
Who was the Waterboy?
The Waterboy was a watershed moment in the career of Adam Sandler. This is the movie, the moment, where he actually discovered that he did not have to really try that hard. He could just do a funny voice and he could still make a bunch of money. And the rest, as they say, is history. This movie is one of the most accurate depictions of water boys in cinema as well. There are no other depictions of water boys in cinema, so that just a default.
Who was the quarterback of The Replacements?
Okay, so this is another movie that is technically not in the 90s, it was released in the year 2000 (18 years later and that still sounds freaking futuristic. Shut up.). But it filmed in the 90s and 90s kids have seen this because it has played on TBS and TNT on an infinite loop since before the beginning of time nearly 2,000 years ago. The film stars Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman and they do some football stuff. There you go.
What was the name of this sports agent played by Tom Cruise?
Avowed Scientologist dreamboat, Tom Cruise, played the titular character in this 90s sports themed romantic comedy. Do you like titular or eponymous? I like titular, obviously. Anyway, this movie gave birth to a whole host of catchphrases, including but not limited to: "Show me the money!" and "You complete me." and "You had me at hello" and "The human head weighs eight lbs" and "My name is Cuba Gooding Jr. and this is the last time anyone will ever take me seriously".
Who declares "Jamaica, we got a bobsled team!" in Cool Runnings?
This is the one dude in Cool Runnings on the actual team itself that got to say all of the funny lines. He had "Jamaica we got a bobsled team!" And he also said my personal favorite, "I love Jamaica! Jamaica loves me!" Hey, did you all watch these recent Winter Olympics? Jamaica competed again, but it was the female bobsledders this time. And like the assistant coach got fired and took the only bobsled and Red Strip ended up donating one. So, there's going to be a sequel.
What's the name of this Space Jam character?
Space Jam is the story of aliens that invade earth and steal the powers of some of Earth's best as well as some of Earth's most mediocre NBA stars and then they have to play a game against some cartoons and another NBA star that had gambled on his own games and was serving a secret suspension by taking two years off to pursue baseball. What a lot of people forget about this movie is that is kind of sucks.
Who is this tub of goo?
This character is the main character from the movie Rudy. Rudy is they story of a football player that sucked but really wanted to play. You see, he had a lot of heart. Other players were really good. And whenever the really good players were sort of taking it easy during practice or a game, the coach could point to the sucky player that tries hard and say he wish they tried as hard as that guy. Just too bad that guy sucks.
Who did Geena Davis play in A League Of Their Own?
A League Of Their Own is such a great movie. It should have won all of the Oscars. Wait, did it win all of the Oscars? Hold on, I'm gonna go check. Okay, I'm back. It did not win all of the Oscars. Geena Davis was perfect in her role as... Ahh! You almost got me! You are the one that is supposed to guess what her character's name was. Whatever her name was, she was terrific as the captain of the Peaches.
Who was Rick Moranis in Little Giants?
Little Giants is a pretty great movie. It's also an oxymoron. Just like jumbo shrimp and intelligent Canadian. The movie Little Giants is the story of Rick Moranis' character always living in the shadow of his brother, played by Ed O'Neal. You know Ed O'Neal. He was Al Bundy. That's probably the most unbelievable thing about the entire movie because Rick Moranis looks about 31 here and Ed O'Neal has looked like he's in his late 60s since the day he was born.
What was the name of the white man who couldn't jump in White Men Can't Jump?
White Men Can't Jump was the ultimate playground hoops movie. It really captured the grit and grind and well as the trash talk and the straight hustle that made those blacktop match ups what they were. Woody Harrelson plays a playground hustler that meets Wesley Snipes, another playground hustler. When Rosie Perez, his hustling, informs the hustler that he got hustled, the hustlers decide to team up and hustle together. And at one point, Rosie says, "Why you so stupid?"
Who was the big boy in Varsity Blues?
Varsity Blues was the story of a varsity high school football team and the blues that ensued from. You know how it is. The pressure to perform and live up to expectations and pass your classes and all that stuff. This movie was involved in a bit of a scandal as well. It was one of the first movies to be produced and by MTV films. Know what won the MTV Movie Award for best movie that year? Varsity Blues!
Who was the kid that inherited the Twins in Little Big League?
The movie Little Big League is all about this kid here that loves his old dumb grandpa, and the grandpa dies because he's old and dumb. Oh, and the old dumb grandpa owns the Minnesota Twins and he gives the franchise to the kid in his will. The kid is a minor so other people have to help him and try to influence him and you know the movie. The movie never gets into the tax burden this kid must have had. That's what I wanted to see.
Who was Tin Cup in Tin Cup?
Has any actor been in more sports related movies than Kevin Costner? Just off the top of my head, I count 94. There was Bull Durham, Field Of Dreams, this one, Robin Hood, Waterworld, The Postman, Dances With Wolves, and JFK to name a few. Kevin Octavios Costner loves him some sports movies. In this one, he plays a golfer nicknamed Tin Cup. Tin Cup is dating his therapist and has Cheech Marin as his caddy, so that's cool I guess.
What was the name of the head coach of the Miami Sharks in Any Given Sunday?
Any Given Sunday is the perfect football movie for people that have never seen a single game of football. It was made by a crazy dude that has probably never watched football in his life, Oliver Stone. Al Pacino plays the coach in this movie, and his is in some peak freaking Al Pacino form. Mwa! It is just so over the top delicious. We've got bug eyes, we've got spitting, we've got screaming, it is a hodge-podge of Pacino hits.
What was the name of the figure skater in The Cutting Edge?
Holy moly, I sure did love this movie as a kid! The Cutting Edge combines ice hockey with figure skating. Those are literally the only two things that you can do if you are on ice. Serious, what else is there? Don't say curling, that's not a real thing. So, the dude in this is a hockey guy and he loses his peripheral vision and becomes this ladies ice skating partner and they win the big ice skating thing, baby!
What was the name of the coach in Ladybugs?
Ladybugs is one of those movies where I really liked it when I saw it a long time ago, but I feel like I really should not watch it now because it has probably aged terribly. Rodney Dangerfield is great as always. He plays a guy that gets no respect. And Jonathan Brandis is of course a straight up dreamboat as always. But I don't think a plot where the only way a bad girls soccer team can get good is by adding a boy in drag would hold up these days.
Who does Ray Allen play in He Got Game?
He Got Game came right in that pocket of really good to great Spike Lee movies. It stars Ray Allen, a real NBA player in case you didn't know, and Denzel Washington. That is a pretty strong cast right there, man. Denzel is in jail, and Ray is his son and is like a big time college recruit. The warden grants Denzel a temporary release to go and try to recruit his son to go to his alma mater. Cold blooded.
Who was the Wild Thing in Major League?
Major League part one was such an awesome movie. It had some great jokes, a fun story, really good cast, and best of all it was rated R. R rated comedies are the best. This movie is a about a bad lady that owns the Cleveland baseball team with a racist logo and she wants them to tank so bad that the public would be fine with her moving the team to another city, but the team ends up being good.
What was the name of Mr. Baseball?
Tom Selleck is a national treasure. It is a deep shame of America that there is not an annual parade, with floats marching down the streets of Small Town, USA all in celebration of Tom Selleck's mustache. Mr. Baseball sees Tom Selleck and his beautifully coiffed facial hair portraying an ex-major league baseball player that wants to keep playing so he takes his talents over seas to the land of the rising sun, Japan. It's common now, but was kinda novel then.
Who did Tupac play in Above The Rim?
Tupac was making waves in the acting world and was carving up quite a career as a thespian before he was unceremoniously gunned down by the illuminati. It's a shame, too. He was a pretty talented actor. Way better actor than a rapper. People were like "Oh my god! He's so sensitive! He raps about the streets AND he loves his mom!" but he was nowhere near as strong as Biggie Smalls. These are just the facts, man. Just reporting the facts.
What character did Trey Parker play in BASEketball?
Remember when South Park came out in the mid 90s and for a while it was freaking everywhere? It seemed like there was a one and a half year period where if you went to the mall there were at least seven stores that had nothing but South Park and wrestling t-shirts. Trey Parker and Matt Stone made the most of their new found fame and releases the crude and freaking funny BASEketball. Trey is the blonde one. Who did he play?
What was the name of Shaq's character in Blue Chips?
Blue Chips will go down as one of, if not the absolute, best college basketball movies starring Nick Nolte, Shaquille O'Neil, and Penny Hardaway of all time. Nick Nolte plays a college coach that has a really strained voice that sounds like he just got done yelling a lot. It is a little painful to listen to, but you kind of want to hear more of it because it is audible hypnotic. And this is pre fat Shaq, so bonus.
Who did Woody Harrelson play in Kingpin?
The Farrelly brothers famously brought the super gross out comedy back into style for the mainstream when they did Something About Mary. They might have gone just a little too far when they did this Amish bowling movie starring Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, and Vanessa Angel. Woody Harrelson plays a once promising bowling prodigy who loses his hand to bad guy bowlers that takes an Amish talent under his wing. Bill Murray shows up and does some Bill Murray stuff.
What was the name of Brendan Frasier's character in The Scout?
Brendan Frasier is almost as good as the movie The Scout is bad. It is kind of surprising, really. I mean, Brendan Frasier is a likable dude. Albert Brooks is absolutely amazing. So why is the movie bad? Well, some movies just end up sucking, I guess. Brendan Frasier plays a baseball player that is really really good but has a lot of mental problems and Albert Brooks signs him to the Yankees and he has to deal with his mental issues.
Who was Mr. Destiny?
Mr. Destiny is the story of a loser that is focused on one baseball game a long long time ago and gets to see how his life would have been different if the game was different. At least I think. I do not care about this stupid movie. The loser is played by real life loser, Jim Belushi, who does everything in his power to continually prove to us that the wrong Belushi died. In the end we learn that this movie sucks.
Who did Leo play in The Basketball Diaries?
The Basketball Diaries came early in Leo's storied career. Back before people bent over backwards to try and convince themselves that the guy could act. Just like most movies starring the DiCrappy one, there is a scene where he goes outside in the rain, drops to his knees, looks up, and screams. That is his bread and butter, folks. This movie also has a scene with Bruno Kirby finding Leo in the bathroom and asking if he's smoking then fondling him. True story.
Who was the coach on Cool Runnings?
Of all the funny fat guys that died really young because they were too fat, John Candy is probably the saddest. He was so great as Uncle Buck, and the guy in Home Alone, and the guy in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and the guy in Cool Runnings. In this movie he plays an ex-bobsledder that ends up coaching the Jamaican bobsled Olympic team. See, it's funny because Jamaica does not have snow so you would not expect them to do winter sports.
What is the name of Damon Wayans' character in Celtic Pride?
This movie has a lot of people that are good in other movies. Damon Wayons is great in other stuff. He is the star player if the Utah Jazz and some crazy Celtic fans kidnap him so the Celtics can win. I know, crazy fans from Boston, shocking, right? Why pick the Jazz though? What a lame team to portray on film. The guys that kidnap him are played by Daniel Stern of the Wet Bandits and Dan Aykroyd. Written by Judd Apatow and Colin Quinn. Seriously.
What was the name of the coach in Hoosiers?
Okay, you can take a time out here. Yes, smart guy/gal, this movie technically came out in the 80s. But everyone still watched this freaking movie still in the 90s. I mean come on, it's Hoosiers. It's timeless. It has always existed and it always will exist. Philosophers say that Hoosiers is a flat circle. If you had a substitute teacher at some point in the 90s then you definitely watched Hoosiers. If you are not from Indiana and you met someone from there, this movie was your point of reference.
What was the name of the Wesley Snipes character in Major League?
Wesley Snipes is totes mcgotes great in Major League, man. I don't think he has ever been funnier in any other movie. Maybe Blade 2. The funny thing about this character is, when they made a sequel to this movie, Wesley didn't come back so the same character was played by Omar Epps. Dude is great and all, but he looks nothing like Wesley Snipes. And nobody noticed that their buddy looked completely different now from a season ago! Pay attention, people!
Who was the manager of the Rockford Peaches in A League Of Their Own?
Tom Hanks is gold. If he ever led a bloodless coup and took over as an omnipotent ruler of the world, I would have no problem with that. In A League Of Their Own he plays an ex-ball player with a great mind for the game that just can not lay off of the hooch. Hooch is my cute word for alcohol. He manages the Rockford Peaches and gets in all sorts of alcoholic related shenanigans and eventually cleans up a little bit.
Who did Whoopie Goldberg play in Eddie?
Who doesn't love Whoopie Goldberg. Okay, all of you jerks put your hands down! She is great! She was in Theodore Rex! Here she stars in the movie Eddie. She plays a fan of the freaking Knicks. She sits in the stands and talks so much crap, that eventually they invite her to come doen and assist in coaching with the team. This is one of her best roles that does not involve any ghosts or nuns, or the color purple.
Who was the wiener kid that was 'killing' everybody in The Sandlot?
"You're killing me, Smalls!" Thinking back to the Sandlot and remembering how that scene went down, Smalls was killing all of us. This is the story of being a loser kid but having to make friends with the other kids that live around you just because of their proximity to your house. This kid did not know anything about baseball but he had to pretend that he did just so those other jerks would like him. And that fat kid still made fun of him.
Who did Omar Epps play in The Program?
So Omar Epps rears his distinguished head once again in our little quiz. Wait, he wasn't actually in the quiz earlier, he just played the same character as Wesley Snipes and I correctly thought it was weird because they look nothing alike. Well, in that case, welcome to the quiz Mr. Omar Epps! In this movie, Epps plays a highly sought after college recruit. The Program is known for cutting a scene where they lay on the center lane in traffic and for silly depictions of 'roid rage.
Who is Ed the chimp's friend and roommate in Ed?
I'm sure that Matt LeBlanc is a very talented and super funny dude. This movie does not do very much to back that up though. This movie was pretty much sold by a coked up dude kicking down a movie execs office door and screaming "Joey from Friends plays baseball with a monkey!" And honestly if a coked up person kicked down your door and screamed that at you, you'd probably make that movie too. It sounds like a good idea, until you, y'know, think about it.
Who is Michael Jordan's publicist and assistant in Space Jam?
Let's be realistic here, you probably aren't reading all of these little blurbs for all of the questions. So, let's do a quick recap of the movie Space Jam. It sucks. Okay, great! We are all caught up and on the same page now! So, Michael Jordan gets an assistant publicist dude at one point in the movie to play off of and make fun of because Jordan can't act, and it's played by Newman. They can't call Newman Newman though, so what do they call him?
Who does Jonathan Brandis play in Ladybugs?
Ladybugs is a fascinating film that deals with the acceptance of soccer in mainstream America, the lack of respect given to the elderly comedians of the country, and the gender politics that inherently invade youth sports. Just kidding! It has a kid in a wig and a bunch of gender shock jokes! Like we discussed earlier, the film did not age particularly well, but hey Rodney Dangerfield is always going to be funny and Jonathan Brandis is always going to be dreamy.
Who is the kid that idolizes Chuck Norris in Sidekicks?
Holy smokes, we have another Hollywood dreamboat Jonathan Brandis movie! That kid ruled 90s sports movies! It makes sense. He was dreamy, athletic, and he had a heart of gold that would impress even the strictest most disciplinarian of mothers. This movie saw the Brand-man as a loser-weiner kid obsessed with Chuck Norris. Hey man, join the club! Eventually he gets into a karate tournament thingie and an adult bully dude gets beat up by Chuck so we don't know if he existed. It's weird.
Who is the fitness entrepreneur that buys the fat camp in Heavyweights?
Heavyweights was a very culturally sensitive and politically correct movie that was all about fat children being sent to a camp that is supposed to make them less fat. Ben Stiller shows up and plays the exacts same character that he would play years later in that dodgeball movie about dodgeballs. This was in Ben Stiller's acting phase where he was funny and just kind of annoying, and not yet annoying and just kind of funny. And of course he has great hair, as always.
Who's the nerdy kid that travels back in time in A Kid in King Arthur's Court ?
This freaking movie, A Kid In King Arthur's Court, introduces it's time traveling gimmick in the absolute most convoluted way possible. Maybe that's the way it happens in the source material but I don't care. It's dumb. Get a space ship. So this kid is playing in a baseball game and there is this massive earthquake. The ground splits the hell open at a fault line and he falls into the open crack and winds up in ancient wherever King Arthur is from.
Who enters a dog-sled race to pay for college and save the family farm in Iron Will?
Is there a more exciting sport than dogsled racing? Why yes, of course there is. All of them in fact. All of the sports are more exciting. Still, it is a very cinematic sport because, you know, snow is white so there is a cool stark contrast and dogs are supposedly cute. So of course Disney is going to attempt to sell a dogsled movie. This kids dad or dad figure dies and he has to race to save something and prove a thing.
Hoop Dreams followed the journey of who?
Hoop Dreams is a little bit different than the others movies on this quiz because it is a documentary. Also it is a bajillion hours long. It got a wide release and was pretty popular before documentaries were an actual thing people really went out of their way to see. It followed the journey of two young basketball prospects as they did basketball stuff. It's also most likely the only movie on this quiz to get a Criterion release. Maybe Happy Gilmore.
What's the name of the Rockford Peaches homely second baseman in A League Of Their Own?
Hey, remember how in A League Of Their Own, the baseball movie about female empowerment, there was that one character where the entire joke was how ugly she was? To be completely fair it was pretty funny. Especially in the ad they play for the Rockford Peaches and they are showing all of the ladies and then they get to her and they show her from super far away and they just say "What a hitter!" How far we have come!