Best sport movie factual errors of all time

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Cool Runnings picture

Factual error: John Candy is at the top of the Calgary Tower having lunch. In the background you see a building called Bankers Hall which is slightly higher than the Calgary tower, that's fine except this was the 1988 Olympics, that building wasn't completed until late 1990.

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Blades of Glory picture

Factual error: Early in the movie we see the newspaper dated "Sunday, March 14, 1987". March 14, 1987 was a Saturday, not a Sunday.

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Days of Thunder picture

Factual error: One of the first races that Cole runs is Phoenix. Phoenix International Raceway is a very flat track. There are several shots in that segment showing a high-banked oval.

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D2: The Mighty Ducks picture

Factual error: At the end of the movie, they show a bunch of ducks flying. Those are not ducks, they are geese.

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Suggested correction: This was intentional. This is a mostly Minnesotan team and the team is going home. While geese are technically speaking not ducks, they are the state bird of Minnesota and fly in a very similar manner to ducks. This was meant to be a symbolism of them going home to their state.

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The Cutting Edge picture

Factual error: During the movie, Doug watches video from the previous Olympic competition. The skaters are shown performing in a darkened arena lit by spotlights. Special lighting effects like this are not allowed in competition. All competitions take place in a brightly lit arena.

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Radio picture

Factual error: At the beginning of the movie when all the guys are in the barber shop, a man is wearing a John Deere hat with the modern logo, not the one from 1976.

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61* (2001)

61* picture

Factual error: The third member of the Yankees with a prominent role in the film is Bob Cerv (roommate of Mickey & Roger). In the film, he is with the team from Opening Day. However, Cerv was actually acquired by the Yankees in May of that year.

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Bloodsport picture

Factual error: In a flashback to his youth, one of the bullies is wearing a Bartles and James T-shirt, which is a product that didn't exist in the early 70's.

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Strangers on a Train picture

Factual error: When Bruno is on his way to Union Station, he's heading on a bridge away from the Lincoln Memorial, which means he's leaving Washington D.C. for Arlington, Virginia, or in other words, he's going the wrong way.

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The Rookie picture

Factual error: In the final inning of the district championship game, the Owls are ahead by one run and there are two outs when the opposing team's top hitter steps up to the plate. This is impossible because this batter was the final out in the previous inning when his team came to bat. That he bats at all in the final inning with two outs means his team would have batted around the order and scored at least 3 runs in that inning already and had the lead.

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Any Given Sunday picture

Factual error: During the final game against the Knights, whenever the score is shown on "TV", the Knights' score (home team) is shown on top and the Sharks' score (visiting team) is shown on the bottom. In sports, the visiting team's score is always on top and the home team's score is always on the bottom.

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Suggested correction: In American sports yes, but not in other sports. In fact during the 1970's, NBA scores showed the home team score first.

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Wimbledon picture

Factual error: Peter and Lizzie play their semi-finals on the same day, but the men's semis are the day after the women's at Wimbledon (unless there has been significant rain, which there wasn't).

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Leatherheads picture

Factual error: When Dodge and Lexie are in the building running from the police, you see an exit sign. This movie is set in the 1920's, before exit signs were invented.

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White Men Can't Jump picture

Factual error: Rosie is repeatedly shown buzzing in before Alex Trebek can even finish asking the question. In Jeopardy!, this isn't possible, you may only buzz in once the question is finished.

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The Next Karate Kid picture

Factual error: When Eric goes to help the guy who got hurt after bungee jumping at the dance, the guy's line is long enough to allow him to lay flat on the ground. If it was really that long he would have crashed into the floor and not gone back up.

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Unbroken picture

Factual error: In the Japanese prison camp, the Japanese flag shown is the post war flag consisting only of a red circle. (01:08:05)

Kaltenmeyer

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Surf's Up picture

Factual error: In the final surfing scene, Cody and Z are surfing, presumably, off into the sunset. However, being on the north shore (given Z's remark a few moments before), that would mean the wave is rolling to the south which would put the sun toward the east not the west. (01:20:00)

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Everybody's All American picture

Factual error: During Gavin Grey's first NFL game in 1957, the helmets depicted for both the Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers are historically inaccurate. The Redskins did not employ the burgundy helmets with the feather-stripe running along the center until 1958, and the Steelers didn't use black helmets with the Steelmark logo until 1963. In 1957, the Redskins used solid gold helmets while the Steelers used yellow helmets with a black stripe along the center and black numerals on either side.

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42 (2013)

42 picture

Factual error: As Wendell and Jackie are driving in the car, Jackie turns the radio on to put a hiatus on their discussion. As soon as he turns it on, sound issues forth, but in the 40's radios used vacuum tubes, which required a warm-up period.

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Suggested correction: Once the tubes are warmed up, they will tend to stay warm for a period of time even if the radio is turned off. It's possible the radio had been turned on and warmed up before this scene.

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Kingpin picture

Factual error: During the movie, which is based in '79, Roy has a Rhino bowling ball. Rhinos weren't made until '85.

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