Clark: Here are a few sequels to sports movies we'd all love to see
I'll be honest with you fine folks: When I heard there was a "Top Gun" sequel in the works a few years ago, I rolled my eyes so hard they almost spun out of my head.
I enjoyed the original. Mainly because I was 11.
But not once over the next three decades did I think to myself, "Man, I wonder if Maverick and Charlie are still together? And what's Ice Man up to? And how did Goose's kid handle a childhood without a father? Does he like volleyball, too?"
Then I saw "Top Gun: Maverick" in the theaters a few weeks ago. And I was blown away. Legitimately. As I argued on the incredibly popular and insightful Seminole Headlines, I think it might be the single best sequel ever made. Especially when you consider the source material.
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Yes, "Godfather II" was great. But so was the original.
"Aliens" was awesome. So was "Alien."
Same for "Terminator I" and "Terminator II."
But regardless of how I felt when I was 11, "Top Gun" was not a great movie. It was a silly, fun, popcorn movie with some super-cheesy dialogue.
Top Gun 2 was a legitimately good movie. There was character development. Dialogue. Tom Cruise not being weird. Jennifer Connelly. Sweet, sweet Jennifer Connelly. I mean, folks, it has everything. I really, really enjoyed it. So much so I took my 14-year-old son to see it a few days later.
On the way to the theater, I gave him a brief rundown of the first movie so he wouldn't be lost: "Goose and Mav were best friends. Mav was a rebel, flew by the seat of his pants. Had a rivalry with Ice Man, who was ice cold, no mistakes. Wound up accidentally killing Goose. Tore him up pretty good. Then at the end, he and Ice Man became friends and shot down some planes. Also, he had a really weird sex scene with a woman you've never heard of. Now, let's go get some popcorn."
With Top Gun 2 breaking all these box office records and getting the entire world excited about Pete Mitchell three-and-a-half decades later, I thought it was the perfect time to put out my list of sports sequels I want to see. With a quick synopsis of each one.
(Hey, give me a break, man. It's the middle of July! I've got to write about something!)
Varsity Blues 2: Coach Harbor
If you recall the plot to the original, West Canaan High in Texas was a state power with an all-world quarterback in Lance Harbor, who was already committed to Florida State. The film came out in 1999, meaning Harbor was going to be joining a roster in 2000 that included Chris Weinke and Chris Rix. Also, the Seminoles were recruiting Adrian McPherson and Joe Mauer for the 2001 class. So, the quarterback room was going to be full.
Unfortunately, as we all remember, Harbor tore his knee up in the middle of the season. Apparently it was so bad he could never play football again (modern medical technology had not made it to West Texas yet!) and Bobby Bowden pulled Harbor's scholarship.
That didn't keep Harbor from staying on the West Canaan team, however. And if you recall, he showed a lot of promise for calling wild trick plays (he'd fit right in with Bowden!) in the final seconds.
And that's where my sequel takes us: Harbor, rejuvenated with a love for football, still enrolls at Florida State in 1999. For two years, he learns the FSU offense under Weinke and Mark Richt. And he shows such promise as a play-caller that when Richt leaves to take the Georgia job, Bobby Bowden makes Harbor the youngest (and best-looking) offensive coordinator in college football history! And saves us all from Jeff!
You can't tell me you wouldn't' watch that.
RIP, Paul Walker.
Tin Cup: LIV or die
We all remember where we were when Roy McAvoy had the biggest meltdown in golf history. Needing just a par to get to a playoff on the final hole of the U.S. Open, instead he hit his ball into the water 55 times and barely finished in the money. The fact that on the 56th attempt he holed it out from 200 yards was just a ridiculous footnote to that calamity.
Rene Russo loved him for it, and I guess that's all that was supposed to matter.
Here we are 25 years later. Russo has run off with another golfer (that was all she was attracted to apparently), but McAvoy has still become one of the biggest stars in golf. As much for his eccentricities as his talent. Think a skinnier, less Razorbacky John Daly.
And now ol' Tin Cup has got a choice to make.
He's 63 years old, and he can go join the LIV tour and make a ton of guaranteed money. Or he can stay on the PGA and Champion Tours and see if he can make one last run at glory.
Plot twist: McAvoy doesn't really care about either. He just wants to eliminate Bryson DeChambeau. With extreme prejudice. Because he was the one who stole Russo from him. And also, because I mean, he's Bryson DeChambeau.
Brooks Koepka has a terrific supporting role in this one as Kevin Costner's partner in crime.
Field of Dreams: What now?
Speaking of Costner, I've always wondered what happened 10 minutes after the original ended.
All those cars are driving to a farmhouse in Iowa. And when they get there, they just see a dude and some old-timer no-name throwing the ball to each other. They could have stayed at home to watch a father and son having a catch for crying out loud.
They couldn't get Shoeless Joe or Mel Ott to hang around for a few minutes to put on a show? Does word get back into the corn that there are real fans showing up and they want to see actual legends of the game? Not a farmer and his estranged dad?
Do the fans just wait around 'til morning when the ghosts suddenly come back out and start playing again?
I don't know if these questions are enough to justify a sequel, but maybe a short feature for the DVD (people still watch those, right?) for the 35th anniversary coming up.
Moneyball: Still no championships
It's been about 20 years since that great book was written on Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, and it's been over 10 years since Brad Pitt played him in that pretty darned good movie.
And yet the A's still haven't won a championship.
Well, all that's about to change for Beane in our sequel.
The former first-round pick has had it with professional baseball. He's had it with the Bay area. He's had it with the inequalities that come with running the smallest of small-market teams.
He wants a different challenge.
So, he becomes the commissioner of the ACC.
As he has done with the A's for the last two decades, Beane must figure out a way to stay competitive while battling with money-printing behemoths who only care about acquiring assets. No matter how much it tilts the playing field and ruins the parity of the sport.
While the Big Ten is locking down Notre Dame, Beane is on the phone with Memphis and Cincinnati. Or maybe even TCU!
It's a drama-filled roller-coaster ride of emotions. It's got laughs. But mostly tears. Despair. More tears. Anguish. Heart-wrenching, guttural screams. And so many more tears. It's the story of the modern-day ACC. And it's not to be missed.
Rudy II: Still waiting on that next Notre Dame title
I'm fading fast, guys! This is my last one.
Rudy was released on October 15, 1993. It was about some small kid from a coal-mining town who dreamed of playing for Notre Dame and then ... you know what? You guys all know the story.
What I always thought was interesting was that less than a month after the movie debuted in theaters, the "Game of the Century" between No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Notre Dame was played in South Bend. And, at least in some part because of that movie, Notre Dame -- for the first time in its existence -- was characterized as an inspirational underdog story. Playing mighty Florida State. Overmatched. Just hoping to survive on grit and guile.
Like a team full of Rudy's!
In reality, that was a terrific Notre Dame team, with a bunch of NFL talent, and it wound up beating Charlie Ward and the Seminoles that afternoon in Indiana.
Here's my idea for the sequel: Rudy is in the stands that day in South Bend. The real Rudy. He's now famous. And he's enjoying watching his beloved Notre Dame team pull off one of the biggest upsets in program history. When the final pass is batted down in the end zone, he screams and jumps and high-fives and hugs. Tears stream down his face.
He can't believe it. Truly. This is magical. Less than a month after his inspirational story is shown to the world (complete with a made-up jersey-dumping scene) he watches another inspirational batch of Fighting Irish pull off the impossible.
And now, in just a few weeks, he's going to be celebrating another Notre Dame national championship.
Cut to: Rudy back in the stands the following week, watching in stunned disbelief as Boston College's David Gordon kicks a last-second field goal to knock off the Irish and ruin their dreams.
A month later, Florida State wins the first of three national championships.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame hasn't won one in 34 years.
Now that's a sequel we all want to see!
Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com and follow @Corey_Clark on Twitter.
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