Fictional Athlete Hall of Fame: Nominations/Open Forum

When I created this blog I had the vision of not only using it as an opportunity to do some real writing, but especially to create some fun posts that, if someone else published something similar, I would enjoy. My inaugural 08-09 top ten was the first example of both of these ideas (if you didn't read these, check them out in the blog archive...if you're already on my blog, chances are you'll enjoy them).

One topic that has been in my brain since starting the blog was sports fiction, namely movies and TV shows. During college I took an online film class that focused on sports films. While I mostly took it because it counted for part of my specialization hour requirement (love that "sport industry"), it turned out to be pretty interesting. It made me think about films in a different way and introduced me to some sports movies I hadn't seen. Not only that, some of the readings discussed movies I'd never even heard of and I started making an effort to find and watch a lot of them.

It probably sounds like this is going to turn into my own personal list of the greatest sports movies of all time...but if you read the title of this post, you already know that's not true. It's been done before ad nauseam, so making that list doesn't really interest me. Instead, I want to tackle a much more hypothetical topic, one that quite literally has no real answer: who are the best fictional athletes of all-time? I'm sure this too has been done before, but not nearly as much, or in this fashion. Not only will I get to present some of my own opinions, but I want to make this an open forum for anyone reading this (no matter how few of you are out there). After this post is up for a while, I hope to get responses from others containing their opinions and nominations for the FHOF. My plan is to eventually come up with an official ballot and have people vote on their picks and create features for the official inductees.

This isn't going to be based on who the best actor was or even the best movie, though that may end up factoring in to the final vote. It's a purely hypothetical concept of, "based on a 2-hour fictional story, how good would this person have been in real life?" I realize the concept is ridiculous, but I feel like it has the potential to spark some interesting discussions and debates, however pointless they are in the grand scheme of things.

I've come up with a brief list of some initial nominees for the big four sports. I'm guessing in the end one or two athletes from each sport will make the hall, but I'm not willing to put a definitive number on it. I realize there are plenty of movies out there based around other sports, this is just a jumping-off point to get people thinking. I know there are plenty of movies and shows out there that I haven't even seen, so enlighten me if you have some names I might not know.

Please post your own thoughts and contributions to this project, whether you want to make a case for a particular fake player, nominate someone not on this list, or suggest a way to improve this very rough format I'm working on. Feel free to post your comments on the blog, Facebook, Twitter, via e-mail, text, or even by letter mail if you're so inclined. I plan on keeping a record of every thought and contribution I receive so that they can be shared with everyone, just keep in mind this is for fictional athletes only, since a lot of sports movies are based on real teams and people. I want to have as many people contribute to the debate as possible, so don't be shy. Here are my early nominees to get you thinking.


Baseball

Roy Hobbs - The Natural
This guy could do it all. Just imagine if he had a real career...he might indeed have been the best ever, like he wanted. Also, his credentials are kind of in the title.

Nuke Laloosh - Bull Durham
When you think about it, he made it to the big leagues incredibly fast. And not only could he throw heat, but he also has a brain full of Kevin Costner wisdom.

Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez - The Sandlot
We know the Jet made it to the show, and if he could still steal home with that mustache, chances are he had a pretty solid career.

Billy Chapel - For Love of the Game
This guy brought Detroit a World Series and tossed a perfect game...plus he hung out with John C. Reilly all the time.

Willie Mays Hayes - Major League
Hard not to love that speed...and that they couldn't get the same actor to play him twice.

Rick Vaughn - Major League
He's sort of like Brian Wilson, but I personally found him less annoying.

Pedro Cerrano - Major League
Sure he couldn't really hit curve balls, but did you see how much he hit the straight ones?


Football

"Steamin" Willie Beamen - Any Given Sunday
A nightmare for opposing defenses, though I'm not sure I buy Jamie Foxx playing him...or LL Cool J as a running back.

Jack "Cap" Rooney - Any Given Sunday
A more traditional passer than Beamen and over-the-hill in the movie, but you could tell he was one of the best in the league in his prime.

Stefen Djordjevic - All The Right Moves
A pretty legit DB prospect until getting black-balled by Craig T. Nelson...plus if he were real he wouldn't have grown up to become 2010 Tom Cruise.

Jason Street - Friday Night Lights (TV)
Really the only team-based sports show I'm familiar with, and one of my favorite shows ever. Street had it all until the first episode of the series.


Brian "Smash" Williams - Friday Night Lights (TV)
Smash was one of the top recruits in the country until he ran into trouble with the law, then hurt his knee. He did, however, recover from the injury and win a scholarship...we have no way of knowing how far he made it in the fictional world, or how good he could have been in real life (by the way, Coach Taylor would definitely be a nominee for the fictional coach hall of fame).


Hockey

Dean Youngblood - Youngblood
Tons of skill and apparently learned how to play with some edge...plus I'm a huge fan of the coach's daughter he hooked up with in that movie.


Derek Sutton - Youngblood
We learned from the movie he had great numbers and would've been a top draft pick if not for Racki's cheap shot. Hard not to love seeing Swayze as a junior hockey player.

Adam Banks - Mighty Ducks 1-3
By far the best player in these movies. Not even close. The drawback is he's a definite risk because he's injury-prone...and a cake-eater.

Ned Braden - Slap Shot
Again, the most talented player in the movie...then again, he did play in the Federal League.

Connor Banks - Mystery, Alaska
The scene where he's shooting the cans outside the grocery store where he works? Sniper.

Stevie Weeks - Mystery, Alaska
I love the concept of skating the river like Stevie is doing at the beginning of the movie. He was young with a ton of potential and incredible speed, the one thing you can't teach.


Basketball

Jimmy Chitwood - Hoosiers
While Hoosiers is loosely based on a true story, Chitwood isn't a real person so I'm including him. One word: pure.

Jesus Shuttlesworth - He Got Game
Again, it's in the title. I just hope he didn't fall in with a bad crowd at Big State.

Quincy McCall - Love & Basketball
If Q stayed in college longer he probably would have been a legitimate NBA player. Having a dad who wasn't a dirtbag might have helped too.