Movie songs can leave us wanting for more and more and more, yet not every sports movie is filled to the brink with great songs. Some franchises have more than others, for example, the Rocky franchise, which is a gold mine for sports movie songs. Space Jam is also another franchise which has a couple of great songs to offer.
Here are some of the greatest songs from sports movies.
Space Jam – Theme Song
The theme song from Space Jam is simply amazing in every way. This mix of Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny is a classic and everybody who grew up in the era of Chuck Jones Looney Tunes cartoons has fond memories of Space Jam.
Space Jam is a basketball movie, where the lead characters play a game against very bad odds. One would never bet on them given that their opponents have a clear advantage.
Space Jam – I Believe I Can Fly
Space Jam has its own collection of great songs, but these two are definitely at the top of the list. Besides the theme song, R. Kelly’s I Believe I Can Fly is a great song. Inspirational, motivational and beautiful in its own way, it rivals some of the great songs from the Rocky franchise.
Rocky – Gonna Fly Now
Training montages are necessary in movies, and the Rocky franchise started it all. Gonna Fly Now is a song which is present in the montage in the first movie. Composed by Bill Conti, the song remains the pillar of motivational songs and montage songs. Bill Conti also composed for the rest of the Rocky franchise, as well as the Karate Kid series and Masters of the Universe with Dolph Lundgren and Inferno with Van Damme.
Rocky III – Eye of the Tiger
Survivor’s hit is an amazing one. Every montage, every gym, everyone has heard it at least once. The song fits the movie so well that it is practically amazing. Stallone actually contacted Survivor and asked for them to compose a song for a montage he also sent them. The montage originally contained the song Another One Bites the Dust from Queen. When asked why not just use that song instead of another one, the answer was that the publishing was unavailable. In other words, Eye of the Tiger might not have happened.
He Got Game – He Got Game
The eponymous song is a hit in its own right and does another great 90s basketball movie just. He Got Game is a song by Public Enemy and is a great one. The movie itself has a more down-to-earth story, definitely if compared to Space Jam.
K2 – The Ascent and Descent
K2 is one of those movies which you might easily miss if you are not a fan of alpine climbing. Sure, it gets a lot of facts wrong, about the death zone and many other minor details, but the soundtrack is quite another story. It hits every moment in the movie with enough drama that it makes it amazing. The man behind this great soundtrack and its two rather descriptive songs is none other than Hans Zimmer.
These are some of the best sports movie songs.
