Guest Post: What movie should U.S. soccer team watch tonight for inspiration?

In addition to bringing us some of the finest recipes known to man, Sarah Sprague, aka The Starter Wife, is a writer and former contributor during my time at Deadspin. She is powerful and wise. Here are her words.
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By Sarah Sprague
Much has been made about the Algerian squad watching The Battle of Algiers for inspiration before their match against England this past weekend, and Belgian referee Frank De Bleeckere saying he’ll watch Gladiator to prepare for the USA-Algeria World Cup match. But so far we haven’t heard what Team USA is screening for inspiration before Wednesday’s must-win game.
Obviously some of the most inspirational American movies, Hoosiers, The Pride of the Yankees and Ali are out the question because, well, who wants to watch a movie about another sport for motivation. And it is doubtful they’ll pop in US soccer films like Ladybugs, The Big Green or worse, Soccer Dog. The Red White and Blue are not underdogs going into their match against the Desert Foxes, so films about scrappy upstarts such as Star Wars or The Karate Kid are probably not the best choice for getting the team ready to play.
So what to pick as an middling, somewhat inspiring film? Here’s just a few suggestions for coach Bob Bradley to bring out the “just enough” in the American team against Algeria.

* The Blood of Heroes (1989). Rutger Hauer and Vincent D’Onofrio star in this post-apocalyptic world where a football/lacrosse hybrid is played with an animal skull. Just watching the trailer one can see the testosterone high that the Jugger competition brings out in both the male and female athletes.
* Smokey and the Bandit (1977). Pitting Burt Reynolds in a Pontiac Trans Am and country singer Jerry Reed driving a semi full of 400 cases of Coors against Jackie Gleason as a Texarkana sheriff named Buford T. Justice hardly seems fair — you know Bandit has to win — but it makes for a fun, enjoyable ride along the way.
* Cocktail (1988). Tom Cruise looking schmaltz and multiple musical montages of neon lit bars and cocktail shakers? Indeed. Cocktail’s threadbare plot inspired an entire generation of would-be bartenders to move to the Bahamas and pursue their dreams of mixing mai-tais and pina coladas to tourists in hideous tropically-themed shirts. Exciting enough to inspire fruity greatness, but not inspiring enough for anyone to give up football for flaming margaritas.
* Fame. (1980). So you weren’t picked to be in Nike’s “Write the Future” commercial. You can always switch to the drama department.
* Man vs. Food (TV Series, 2008-current). If watching someone eat a 7-pound breakfast burrito and 15 dozen oysters does not give Team USA incentive to run around the pitch, nothing will get them to move. (Although the sluggish start to the games against Slovenia and England could speak to possible overeating before the earlier matches.)
* Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995). A light-on-subtlety inspiring film that not only has the ability to raise the hairs on the back of your neck, but also the gag-reflex in the back of your throat. The movie is a lengthy (143 minutes!) tribute to just how far Americans can go to milk every emotion possible from an audience. It’s the sorrowful, teary-eyed puppy dog of inspirational movies without using actual puppies.
* Over the Top (1987). Since everyone has seen Rocky so many times and the team only needs a modicum of motivation, Over the Top fulfills the USDA’s minimum requirement for Sylvester Stallone film viewing before sporting events. (Or multivitamin with two screenings of Tango and Cash.)
* Stunt Rock (1978). Stunts, rock and wizardry. After watching Stunt Rock, Landon Donovan will insist the LA Galaxy arrange for him to do chin-ups on “H” in the Hollywood Sign.
* G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009). Sometimes the proper inspiration is not a great film or even a good film for that matter, but a movie that makes no sense, but a lot of stuff blows up in slow motion. No other movie captures the streets of Paris blowing up in slow motion better than G.I. Joe: the Rise of Cobra. (Although a documentary about the 2010 Les Bleus will surely match G.I. Joe implosion-for-explosion.)
* The Last Cup: The Road to the World Series of Beer Pong (2008). A surprisingly moving documentary that follows four teams on their road to the World Series of Beer Pong held each year in Las Vegas. “It’s a sport. It just happens to involve alcohol.”
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Sarah Sprague can be found talking about food and football at Black and Gold Tchotchkes and pop culture (and most likely more food) at sarahsprague.com. She’s personally motivated by the movies WILDCATS, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST and THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER.
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