The world of sports, with its show-biz element and strong reliance on myths and heroes, has always been closely aligned with that other great American escapist entertainment, the movies. The two forms seldom collided with more punch than in Rocky (1976), the biggest boxing box-office hit of its era and a personal triumph for screenwriter/star Sylvester Stallone. Our salute to sports begins with a Rocky marathon that includes the Oscar®-winning original and three sequels, two of which are TCM premieres. Football, which has been called "the fighting spirit of America itself," forms the background for Jerry Maguire (TCM premiere, 1996), in which Cuba Gooding, Jr. won an Oscar® as Best Supporting Actor for his performance as an enthusiastic player whose pride and arrogance gets in the way of reaching his full potential.

Olympic sports are represented in our festival by Chariots of Fire (1981), the exhilarating Oscar® winner about two British track athletes competing in the 1924 Games.

The great American pastime is lifted to mythic heights in Field of Dreams (TCM premiere, 1989), in which farmer Kevin Costner creates a baseball diamond in his Iowa cornfield in the belief that it will attract legendary player Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta). We'll also be looking at car racing, basketball, hockey, golf and other sports.