Sports Stories and Inspiration in Popular Media

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There is always a lesson in sports stories, whether in film or literature. Aside from the lesson, it also provides entertainment for the readers or viewers. A few sports stories were discussed and illuminated in this paper.
Al Tiller from “The Last Pennant Before Armageddon” and Morris Buttermaker from “The Bad News Bears” have a lot of similar traits. They were both baseball coaches who found themselves honorable, but their lives were filled with loneliness and emptiness, and it was mentioned that “Baseball managers are very lonely people” (Kinsella, 1990). This trait was very evident for Morris Buttermaker because he lived alone and pushed people away. There is a scene wherein he rejects the love and belongingness shown to him by Amanda, the daughter of his previous lover (Ritchie, 1976). As for Al Tiller, he was also alone and penniless. They were also ordinary people who knew baseball but were not particularly good at it, and they both became coaches because wealthy and filthy folks offered them the positions. They had no choice but to accept the positions because they were penniless. In the earlier part of both stories, they followed their bosses’ orders and could not oppose them even if they wanted to. They both trained their team in an unorthodox way. These are some of the traits that they have in common.
These two baseball coaches share characteristics that caused their teams to lose. Al Tiller’s team lost in the “Armageddon” story because he wanted to remain an honorable man by adhering to the proper morals. His team was on the verge of winning, but he decided not to finish the game due to the world’s destruction if they won. This is similar to Buttermaker’s characteristic in his team’s final game. He remained honorable by allowing the children to enjoy themselves and make the most of the situation. He also ensured that everyone on his team had an opportunity to play. He was regarded as an honorable man because he upheld proper morals too. They both made these choices for the benefit of everyone. Tiller created it to save the world from Armageddon, and Buttermaker created it to teach his team a better and more powerful lesson. They may l...