Fields of Glory

Biggs and Aaron look back at the batch For the Love of the Game. We look at Wimbledon, Jerry Maguire, and The Cutting Edge to explore marginalized women, aggrieved men, and the tropes and structures of rom coms. Watch that toe pick! Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ email⁠⁠ ⁠ to the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find short movie reviews on Letterboxd by Biggs and Aaron

Biggs and Aaron lace up the skates and head back to the 90’s to watch The Cutting Edge. We continue talking about sidelining women champions, love / hate romance, and daddy issues. If only Moira Kelly could be in charge! Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ email⁠⁠ ⁠ to the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find short movie reviews on Letterboxd by Biggs and Aaron

Biggs and Aaron continue their batch on For the Love of the Game exploring internal monologue, sidelining women champions, and gender / genre trouble in sports films. If you want a movie with high stakes - this isn’t your film. If you want a quotable movie - this isn’t your film either. But it IS a movie about tennis, and tennis is cool! Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ email⁠⁠...

Biggs and Aaron kick off Batch 7 with one of the most quoted movies in cinema: Jerry Maguire . “Show me the money.” “You had me at hello.” and “The human head weighs eight pounds.” It’s a train wreck of male exceptionalism and yet another example to talk about chronic traumatic encephalopathy apologetic. If that’s not enough, there is a TON of product placement - what’s not to love? Support the sh...

The first episode of Extra Innings explores 2024 Oscar nominated Nyad. Biggs torches boomers taking too many last hurrahs, Aaron adores basic sound politics, and Diana Nyad blows EVERYONE’s mind. Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ email⁠⁠ ⁠ to the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find short movie reviews on Letterboxd by Biggs and Aaron

Biggs and Aaron cap the batch on Hustin’ with a look back at The Hustler (1961), Over the Top (1987), and Rounders (1998). We explore the persona of the rogue, Sly Stallone’s alternative as rule follower, and the stakes of hustling which include not only your cash but also any hope you may have for love. You either spot the sucker or you are the sucker, and it is arguably criminal to NOT take the...

This week Biggs and Aaron stack up their chips and settle down with America’s REAL past time - POKER. We watch 1998’s Rounders and talk Casino Capitalism, the Poker Mindset and how those ideals differ from those found in games like whist. Hold ‘em or fold ‘em, either way you are ALL IN. Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ email⁠⁠ ⁠ to the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find short movie reviews on Lett...

This week we abandon our boy, jump in a truck, arm wrestle across the United States, reconnect with the boy, drive through the gate of our father in law, and compete with Sly in the Cannon Pictures classic(?) Over the Top! Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ email⁠⁠ ⁠ to the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find short movie reviews on Letterboxd by Biggs and Aaron

Biggs and Aaron start the second batch of season two following “Fast Eddie” Felson in The Hustler . There’s a little bit about what makes noir, a little bit about what makes a hustler, and a lot of dough up for grabs. The only thing cooler than the saxophone is Paul Newman (two words: SMOKE SHOW), so stop what you are doing and get in on the action. Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an...

Biggs and Aaron sit down with Veridiana Lieberman, director of Born To Play, as well as editor for 30 for 30 and Emmy award winning I Am Evidence for the first ever installment of the Sideline Report. We talk about diegetic and non-diegetic sound, the history of the male gaze in women’s sports film, and a lot more. Don’t miss this episode. Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ email...

Biggs and Aaron sit down to talk about the batch for child labor. We talk about the connections between National Velvet, The Black Stallion, and The Mighty Ducks. We got an iconic horse girl, a gentle horse boy, and a guy working off his DUI.  Hear the whole episode for free, or support the show, on ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ email⁠⁠ ⁠ to the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find short movie reviews on Letterboxd by Bi...

Biggs and Aaron continue the first batch of season two with the kid’s movie that launched an NHL hockey team that would go on to win the Stanley Cup: it’s The Mighty Ducks ! We talk about the behemoth that is Disney synergy, the sexism in “misfit teams”, and about children’s movies that are not actually about children. Get your quack on, let’s GOOOO DUCKS. Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠...

Biggs and Aaron wash up on shore with a kid named Alex, and a mystery horse, continuing the batch on child labor with the much beloved 1979 kid’s classic: The Black Stallion. We talk about showing instead of telling, the sounds of horses, and the gentlest male power fantasy you will ever see. Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ email⁠⁠ ⁠ to the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find short movie reviews o...

The first batch episode of season two jumps out of the gates with National Velvet , the story of a twelve year old girl who loves horses and prays for horses that nobody else wants and rides him to Grand National glory. There is a time and a place for everything, and apparently for women and girls sports it’s that ONE time and that ONE place? This movie broke a child’s back but it’s also a classic...

Biggs and Aaron go back to 1915 to watch an icon of cinema: Charlie Chaplin. He’s a boxer so down on luck that even his pooch won’t eat his hotdog. Cinema will never be the same again. We do commentary for this short film that can be found on YouTube, but doesn’t need to be watched to follow the episode. Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ email⁠⁠ ⁠ to the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find short mov...

Biggs and Aaron sit down to select the stars of the future in the season two Fields of Glory draft. So many great prospects, so many great movies, so many dubious batches. Check it out. Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ email⁠⁠ ⁠ to the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find short movie reviews on Letterboxd by Biggs and Aaron

This week we’re presenting you with the episode that truly started Fields of Glory . We discussed Moneyball , the hegemonic three step, where sports movies are going, Brad Pitt’s persona, and so much more. Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ email⁠⁠ ⁠ to the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find short movie reviews on Letterboxd by Biggs and Aaron

Season two opens with Aaron and Biggs sitting down to discuss the most astounding achievements from season one. We figure out the best location, best talisman, best picture, and most fired coach. All the stars are here: Slow Motion, Cocaine, Madonna, and the Fireball That Inspired Rudy to Follow His Dream! Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ email⁠⁠ ⁠ to the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find short m...

We answer your questions through email, social media, and good ole word of mouth. We ponder which villain of the series would win in a cage match, who had the best uniforms, what to dive into for literature, and so much more! Support the show through ⁠ ⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ email⁠⁠ ⁠ to the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find short movie reviews on Letterboxd by Biggs and Aaron

Season One ends with a look at Spike Lee's legacy piece on basketball, He Got Game. Biggs and Aaron (two white guys) talk about racism, masculinity, and prison (see also: the collegiate sports industrial complex) to the sounds of Aaron Coppland and Public Enemy, what could be more American than that? Basketball puts everything into motion (often poetic slow motion!) including family, community...

Biggs and Aaron return to the diamond, this time during the second world war when all the men are gone and only the "ladies" can play ball. Possibly one of the most important sports films in history, A League of Their Own sets up conversations about generational expectations and story telling, it also lets us wonder what it is that makes even the most despicable characters played by Tom...

This week Biggs and Aaron take a look at the top grossing soccer (aka football) movie of all time: Bend it Like Beckham. We continue our discussion about the importance of independent film productions and examine a movie that was apparently written to celebrate queer protagonists only to try (unsuccessfully) to conceal them by the time shooting began. This opens the door for readings that can empo...

Biggs and Aaron travel back to the turn of the century to witness the best that ever was (if only he hadn't gotten shot by a lady and/or had learned the lessons of ancient lore) with The Natural. We talk about mythology and representation, we talk about a man in his 40's pretending he is a teenager (that's Robert Redford, not Wilford Brimley ...), and we talk about the importance of in...

The San Jose Sharks battle to make the playoffs despite struggling with injuries, internal battles within the organization, and reckoning with the inherent racism of the league. ⁠ Support the show through ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠ Send an⁠⁠ ⁠ ⁠email⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ to the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find short movie reviews on Letterboxd by ⁠Biggs⁠ and ⁠Aaron

This week Biggs and Aaron strap on the pads and go to college with Rudy (1993). Arguably one of the more iconic feel-good sports movies of all time, we ask the hard questions like: is Rudy a "nice guy?", "what is chronic traumatic encephalopathy and why do we subsidize it with our tax dollars?", and "what, exactly, is Rudy's major at Notre Dame?" (it's dreamin...