English Version | What to do, see, read, hear... Sports issue

Couch sports: reading

This is one of those times when it's impossible to be against this kind of "activity": when it's all about a good few hours with a book in your hand. Yes, it's also possible to "exercise" by turning the pages of books that tell us more about our favorite sports.

1. Greatest of All Time. A Tribute to Muhammad Ali, various authors, Taschen (2010), € 125.
2. The Last Heroes: 100 Moments of Olympics Legend, by Olivier Margot and Étienne Bonamy, Assouline (2024), € 120.
3. Surfing: 1778 – Today, by Jim Heimann, Taschen (2016), € 150.
4. Match Point: Tennis by Martin Parr, by Martin Parr, Phaidon (2021), € 52.
5. ICONS, by Virgil Abloh e Nike, Taschen (2020) € 60.
6. This is Not Fashion: Streetwear Past, Present and Future, by Wilma Stone and King Adz, Thames & Hudson (2018), € 29.
7. Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960, by Kevin L. Jones, Christina M. Johnson and Kirstin Purtich, Prestel (2021), € 40.
8. The Stylish Life: Tennis, by Ben Rothenberg, teNeues (2015), € 51.
9. Women in Sports: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win, by Rachel Ignotofsky, Ten Speed Press (2017), € 16.
10. Skateboard, by Jonathan Olivares, Phaidon (2024), € 49,95.

Couch sports: movies

In this part of the exercise plan, we only require you to learn as much as possible about sport. You can be in front of a screen wherever you want: at home, in the gym or on the beach with a sun-proof tablet. 

From Raging Bull (1980), one of Martin Scorsese and Robert de Niro's best partnerships, to Jerry MaGuire (1996), the movie that turned Tom Cruise and René Zellweger into America's "sweethearts", the history of cinema is full of works that owe their inspiration to sport. Bend it like Beckham (2003), the feel good movie that catapulted Keira Knightley to the forefront of Hollywood, shows us the hitherto little-known world of female soccer players and the prejudices they faced in order to make it. Field of Dreams (1989) and Moneyball (2011) show two different sides of baseball, the first with Kevin Costner, the second with Brad Pitt, and Remember the Titans (2000) takes us on a journey through the world of American soccer — and another excellent performance by Denzel Washington. And then there's Million Dollar Baby (2004), in which Clint Eastwood stars alongside Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman. The movie follows a boxing trainer, an agent for the best boxers, who agrees to train an inexperienced but promising woman who dreams of becoming a professional. On the way to success, tragedy strikes, and not even the rigidity of the ring will stop the players from succumbing to the pain. Million Dollar Baby manages, without falling into clichés, to be a dark portrait of the American dream. Swank and Freeman shine in their Oscar-winning roles and Eastwood's direction elevates the film to the level of unforgettable drama. Something it has in common with Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler (2008). His intense and recognizable filmography scores points in this sensitive and touching work, in which Mickey Rourke gives an impressive performance in the role of Randy "the Ram" Robinson, an ageing wrestler trying to regain his former fame while reconciling with the daughter who abandoned him and starting a relationship with a single mother. Emotionally devastating, The Wrestler is a masterpiece in which Aronofsky creates a convincing portrait of show business and the inevitable ups and downs of living in the spotlight. And if this role gave Rourke a well-deserved Oscar for Best Actor, the same seemed to happen with Margot Robbie, whose performance in I, Tonya (2017) was the most convincing of her career. Craig Gillespie's dark mockumentary, which also features Allison Janney and Sebastian Stan, follows the career of former American figure skater Tonya Hardin and the events leading up to the infamous attack on her colleague, Nancy Kerrigan, in 1994. I, Tonya is a dark satire on values and fame, as well as an ultra-perspicacious analysis of one of the most controversial sports figures of the 20th century. 

If, when it's time to press play, you prefer another type of narrative based on real events, streaming channels are there to help. Take note: Hoop Dreams (1994), one of the most acclaimed documentaries of all time, follows two black students in inner-city Chicago as they pursue their dream of playing professional basketball; When We Were Kings (1996), an Oscar winner directed by Leon Gast, goes back to 1974 for one of the most famous moments in boxing history: when Muhammad Ali and George Foreman clashed in the ring for what was dubbed the "rumble in the jungle" in Kinshasa, Zaire. The film examines the political and cultural contexts that made the fight such an important occasion at a time when boxing seemed to be a reflection of wider social issues; At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal (2019), through detailed archival footage, first-person interviews and court testimony, Erin Lee Carr's work chronicles the extensive system that enabled and covered up the sexual abuse of hundreds of female athletes in the USA Gymnastics program. Along the same lines follows Athlete A (2020), which focuses on the reporters, gymnasts and legal team that put doctor Larry Nassar behind bars and exposed decades of horrific abuse at USA Gymnastics. Cheer (2020) follows the cheerleading team at Navarro College in Texas, offering a different look behind the scenes at the intense dedication and competitiveness required to be a top cheerleader. 

Translated from the original in the "Winners Never Quit" issue, published July 2024. Full stories and credits in the print version.