By Wilson Chapman

Copyright indiewire

The best sports films aren’t actually about the sport at hand.

Sure, tennis fanatics probably can get a lot out of the technical tricks and technical expertise on display in Luca Guadagnino’s recent “Challengers,” but the movie more broadly uses the tennis court as a stage to tell an epic tale of love versus career, of passion versus safety, of a murky love triangle in which all three sides care deeply for one another. The final match of the film is exhilarating, but that’s because of what’s been happening off the court just as much as what’s happening on it.

So it goes with all sports films, which — at their worst — can be conventional and formulaic crowdpleasers (typically about an underdog conquering all odds), and at best are explorations of the personal victories and failures of the athletes at their center.

Movies like “Rocky” or “Raging Bull” gain much of their pathos from following the central boxers outside the ring, exploring the very human factors that motivate their drive to fight. Other films like “A League of Their Own” or “White Men Can’t Jump” use pastimes to examine feminist and racial topics to thoughtful and interesting effect. Yes, everyone loves an underdog story — but the best sports films aren’t just that.

Baseball has traditionally been the most successful sport when it comes to inspiring great filmmaking: beloved movies tackling the game include “Field of Dreams,” “The Bad News Bears,” and “The Natural.” But any sport can be dramatized well on film, as long as a director has the proper vision for it. We’ve seen great hockey movies, great soccer movies, great football movies, and even now have a great tennis movie in the form of “Challengers.” It’s only a matter of time before some brave filmmaker brings to life the first pickleball movie.

While the recent “Him” will decidedly not join the ranks of great sports narratives, its release has made us think about the best movies to use sports as an avenue to explore triumph, defeat, and passion.

Of note: This list will includes fiction films, leaving out some documentary masterpieces like “Hoop Dreams,” “OJ: Made in America,” and “Minding the Gap.” Read on for IndieWire’s picks for the 10 best sports films of all time.