"Hey, I'll Decide who sucks around here."

Maybe I'm just nostalgic, but it seems that in the 90s they made a lot of family sports movies that appealed to the whole family.  Re-watching some of these movies as an adult, I've noticed there are quite a few jokes I didn't get as a kid (I.E. there's a goat raping joke in The Air Up There [1994] with Kevin Bacon ).  Perhaps, part of this is due to the MPAA taking a stronger stance on things.

The family friendly stories of films like The Mighty Ducks movies, The Big Green, Little Giants, The Air Up There, Rookie of the Year, Little Big League, The Sandlot and all of the others that came out in this era were enjoyable for the whole family.  The filmmakers worked in jokes for the adults and used jokes for the children that the parents and older kids could enjoy, as well.  From the Little Giants "When she's hot to trot, she's still gotta squat" or Coach Bombay saying "I'm sure this will be a real bonding experience.  One day, maybe one of you will write a book about it in jail."  Another example is when the kids in The Sandlot share a bag of Redman chewing tobacco before riding carnival rides, and they all throw up.  This is taboo, but it also teaches them drugs have consequences. These jokes seem taboo to kids because they deal with adult situations and things, depending on their age and knowledge, they may or may not know about, but do not cross any boundaries or hard topics that can't be easily explained to kids.  And the parents are still entertained because the jokes and story are actually enjoyable to them, too.

These films also often incorporated words like "shit" and "damn" which a lot of kids know, and know they shouldn't say.  They're known as bad words, words that adults use sometimes, but as kids you are not supposed to say them or you get punished.  This adds to the taboo which makes the kids more interested, and keeps it more realistic for the adults.

They did all of this and incorporated morals and lessons for the kids to learn, and for the adults to relearn. 

In the 2000s, it seemed sports movies got overly serious, like Coach Carter and Friday Night Lights that dealt with adult situations a lot of kids aren't old enough to comprehend.  There are also movies like Disney's The Rookie and Meet The Titans that feature a more mature view, mixed in with a touch of comedy and its all appropriate for the whole family.  These movies didn't seem as fun, though, because they addressed things from the adult point of view, which kids can't completely relate to.  

We can all relate to the kids point of view to things, we were all there before.  We've all had the experiences of being a kid, trying to overcome something we're too small and not trained enough to overcome, the impossible.

Maybe I just haven't seen any of the quality family sports movies in recent years, or maybe they have, indeed, just stopped making these types.  I would place at least part of the blame on the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), the organization who controls the rating system for movies, for the lack.  They've put stricter restrictions on things, drawing a thicker line between adult movies and children's movies and making less of a grey area.

I could just be being nostalgic, but I'd like to see some new movies like these.

If you have any movies you'd like to suggest to me, to prove me wrong, or just clips from these types of movies you'd like to share because you enjoy them, feel free in the comments section.

[I have noticed the type of humor is coming back with movies like The Diary of a Wimpy Kid films, but I have not seen sports movies like this]