It’s a big week for Kurt Warner.
Aside from being likened to an MTV Award, a Chipotle burrito and Derek Zoolander (BY HIS OWN NETWORK) because of a jacket choice on Monday, “American Underdog,” the biopic that tells Warner’s improbable journey to the NFL opens in theaters this weekend.
The Hall of Fame quarterback went from stocking shelves at an Iowa supermarket to the Arena Football League to multiple Super Bowl wins. The former Cardinal’s story is certainly worth telling on the silver screen, but his isn’t the only in the Arizona sports scene.
Here are a few more worthy candidates if I had the ear of a studio executive:
Ann Meyers Dreysdale
The first high school athlete to compete with Team USA. The first woman to be offered a four-year scholarship. A powerhouse at UCLA. The first woman to sign a contract with an NBA team. Naismith Hall of Famer.A career in the front office and in the broadcast booth.
Yeah, there’s plenty to go over when telling this Arizona sports legend’s story.
7 Seconds or Less Suns
Moneyball is one of the best sports movies ever made which focuses on how the small market Oakland A’s revolutionized the sport of baseball, using analytics to stretch their dollar and get the most out of their roster. The Phoenix Suns were the architects of how current NBA rosters are constructed back when they were pushing a break-neck pace. How did this philosophy come about with a roster to match perfectly?
Paola Boivin
She would roll her eyes at the idea of this, but Paola Boivin’s accomplishments – and the person she is – make her story fit for the silver screen. A trailblazing journalist, a member of the College Football Playoff selection committee, the first female journalist elected to the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame, and an incredible mentor and educator to so many (myself included). Her story should be told to the widespread audience, and the soundtrack should be exclusively gangster rap.
Rob Gronkowski
The Gronk Tucson era is one tall tale after another. From slip n’ slides in the house to double-fisting kegs while entering a party, these stories seem larger than life. An animated movie loosely based on Gronk and his brothers in the Old Pueblo could be a must-watch. Picture Paul Bunyan but a football helmet instead of a beanie and a javelina instead of an ox.
Pat Tillman
Many have used Pat Tillman’s name and story – sometimes fair, sometimes not – to help inspire or share their message. From those who knew Pat as a Sun Devil or Cardinal, they’d tell you he’d despise the attention and loathe a movie about him. Instead, the movie could focus on all the work the Pat Tillman Foundation has done and all the Pat Tillman scholars have accomplished to help his memory live on.
Have an idea for an Arizona sports movie? Let us know by tagging Sports360AZ on social media.
