In the process of cultivating my debut book, Trust the Grind, I was blessed to interview some of the most accomplished competitors in the history of American sports. When you say names like Chipper Jones, Jason Kidd, Mike Modano, Georges St-Pierre, Terrell Owens, Devin Hester, Gary Player, Jimmie Johnson, and Manny Pacquiao, to provide these competitors with the utmost respect, you should verbalize the words “Hall of Famer” ahead of trumpeting their iconic appellations. That’s because each of the spelled-out stars has reached the mountaintop in their individual discipline, which has immortalized them until the end of time. To this day, I feel forever grateful to these standouts for giving me the time to inquire about their path in an effort to inspire the next generation of athletes who were too young to have seen them perform.
However, akin to the heart of my published project, this blog won’t be centered around their outlandish production in their chosen field. Rather, it’s a celebration of the players’ performances on the big screen. Due to the magnitude of their stardom, throughout their illustrious careers, several of the TTG athletes have been granted opportunities to get in front of cameras that weren’t responsible for filming their athletic feats. I’m talking about the photographic equipment used for recording motion pictures.
With that, I give you my five favorite movie cameos from the players featured in my book. These highlighted guest appearances are the ones that coincided the strongest with my path (Sorry, GSP – I never got into Captain America). I’m hopeful that by penning this, a young, aspiring sportsperson who reads my book will be inclined to check out this set of films to further enhance their relationship with both the product and the world-class athletes.
- Jason Kidd in Like Mike (2002)
For sports-loving kids like myself who were born in the late ’90s, Like Mike was considered essential viewing. It had a strong magical presence, as the star of the film, Calvin Cambridge (Lil’ Bow Wow), turns into an NBA All-Star after discovering a pair of old shoes that were once worn by the great Michael Jordan. With Calvin coming from an orphanage, there was a potent emotional aspect, and due to the league’s involvement (produced by NBA Productions), there were some fire cameos from some of the game’s greats. Add these elements up, and a prominent connection between product and target audience is made.
While Dirk Nowitzki’s part of the film is the funniest among the scenes involving actual ballers, as the Mavericks legend asks Cambridge for his autograph in a humorous, yet humiliating manner, Jason Kidd’s part is nothing short of spectacular. In a game against Kidd’s New Jersey Nets, Cambridge is seen passing the ball out of bounds with the great point guard defending him. As the youngster gets ready to throw it back into play, Kidd airs out a little trash talk while the canonical anthem, “Basketball” by Bow Wow (feat. Jermaine Dupri, Fabolous & Fundisha), plays over the moment. “25 points a game,” Kidd says in a deprecating style, echoing the youngster’s impressive stats as he gets into Cambridge’s face. “Not tonight, you need to get back to that sandbox where you came from.” After Cambridge comes back with a verbal jab of his own, the referee checks him the ball, and with one pump fake, the Knights guard gets Kidd to bite on the bluff in dramatic fashion. The Hall of Famer is so fooled by the feint that he turns his back to Cambridge, which encourages him to pass the ball off Kidd’s back, to which he then regathers it and tosses it to his teammate for an easy bucket. As hyperbolic as it was, it was a fun moment in a fun film.
2. Mike Modano in The Mighty Ducks (1992)
Modano’s scene in the puck-based, live-action Disney classic is built around some good old hockey banter. After coach Gordon Bombay brings his subpar Pee-Wee District 5 team to the Met Center (the actual arena of the Minnesota North Stars at the time the film was shot) to inspire the underperforming bunch of misfits, the Ducks run into a pair of real-life Stars, enforcer Basil McRae and up-and-coming standout Mike Modano. In the plot, McRae recognizes the team’s teacher from their days as pee-wee players. During the off-ice engagement (featured below), McRae, upon perceiving Bombay, looks to his teammate and, in turn, informs Modano that he used to “rule in pee-wees.” Modano then responds with, “Oh, yeah? I heard you were a farmer.” In a somewhat defensive manner, Bombay replies, “Actually, I became a lawyer… But I’m coaching Pee-Wee now, and this is my team, the Ducks!”
Bombay then looks to them and says, “Ducks, this is Basil McRae and Mike Modano.” The kids are in awe, and it was a fun way to intertwine Minnesota hockey with the motion picture.
3. Jimmie Johnson in Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005)
This is a somewhat frivolous movie, but I caught it at a good time in my journey. By this point in her career, Lindsay Lohan was already a full-fledged star. With lead roles in The Parent Trap (1998), Freaky Friday (2003), and Mean Girls (2004), Lohan followed up these fan-appreciated films with a comedy/romance/racing cult classic.
In the motion picture, her conscious car, a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle named Herbie, rides her all the way to the ‘Pop Secret 500,’ where she’s granted the chance to compete against the best racers in the country. While on location in the above photo, NASCAR icons Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson examine the underdog vehicle. As Gordon peers closely, he notices the sentient ride winking at him, which shocks the driver and prompts him to shout aloud, “The car just winked at me!” Standing beside him, Johnson, who missed Herbie’s gesture, asks his colleague, “Are you feeling okay?”
Much like the above projects, this movie is lighthearted and fun.
4. Tim Hudson in Moneyball (2011)
Though a tongue-in-cheek inclusion, Moneyball is far too influential to not reference in something like this. While the movie infamously omitted the Oakland Athletics’ star players (Miguel Tejada, Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, and TTG athlete Tim Hudson), their spirits were still present in the picture.
For example, during the Oakland A’s notable 20-game winning streak during the 2002 season, Tim Hudson posted a perfect 4-0 record in 5 starts. Looking at the photos below, which flashed on the big screen for a brief moment, Huddy led the charge in the final tilt against Toronto and earned the win in the first game of the Indians series. The lone contest where he wasn’t credited with the victory was the well-documented 20th-straight win, a classic tilt in which Scott Hatteberg hit a walk-off home run.
5. Terrell Owens in Any Given Sunday (1999)
Directed by Oliver Stone, Any Given Sunday features a star-studded cast. With names like Al Pacino, Dennis Quaid, Cameron Diaz, Jamie Foxx, James Woods, and LL Cool J, it’s impossible not to appreciate this film.
