11 Best Sports Teams From TV Shows (PHOTOS)
Dillon High Panthers
Friday Night Lights
“Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose!” The small Texas high school football team was stacked with players like Tim Riggins, Matt Saracen and Smash Williams. Everything is bigger in Texas, and it’s true even with the fans as the entire city of Dillon, Texas, rooted for their hometown high school team. It didn’t take long for Coach Eric Taylor to guide the team to a state championship in the first season.
Riverdale Bulldogs
Riverdale
Technically, the Bulldogs football team is still suspended thanks to a lack of an apology from Archie. Let’s throw it back to season two, when Archie and the Bulldogs formed the Red Circle to try to defeat the Black Hood. Much to Principal Weatherbee’s dismay, the Red Circle was too much of a cult, and he demanded Archie to write an apology letter. After his refusal, the team hasn’t played a game since.
Tree Hill Ravens
One Tree Hill
The Tree Hill Ravens had never won a championship prior to the arrival of the Scott brothers. Picture them as the pre-2004 Boston Red Sox of fictional basketball teams. One Tree Hill fans had to wait awhile before Nathan and Lucas Scott led the team to their first-ever championship in season four. After the monumental win, longtime coach Whitey Durham retired, and the Scott brothers went on to later coach the team after a four-year jump in time between seasons four and five.
Seattle Grace Mercy West Softball Team
Grey’s Anatomy
The doctors of Seattle Grace Mercy West (SGMW) and Seattle Presbyterian Hospital were set to take the field for a “friendly” game of softball. Seattle Presbyterian Chief of Surgery, Dr. Brad McDougall, had little faith in the SGMW team and let them know it, too. Dr. Owen Hunt wanted his team to prove him wrong, and he even brought in a ringer with Henry, a former professional baseball player and Teddy’s patient-turned-husband. In the end, it didn’t matter. SGMW lost 12-0.
Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling
GLOW
Back in 2017, Netflix introduced us to the world of syndicated women’s professional wrestling. The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW) was a real-life wrestling promotion that launched in the ‘80s. However, the gimmicks portrayed by the likes of Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin are all fictionalized for our viewing pleasure.
Bayside Tigers
Saved by the Bell
A.C. Slater was Bayside High’s resident jock. He was the quarterback of the football team, a wrestler and even had a brief stint on the basketball team for an episode. His athletic abilities made him the Tigers’ star athlete. It was his success on the wrestling mat that earned him a scholarship to the University of Iowa, but he ultimately decided to attend California University with Zack, Screech and Kelly.
Blue Mountain State Mountain Goats
Blue Mountain State
This fictional university served as the main setting for the Mountain Goats football team. Although the football team was the focal point of the series, the sitcom also illustrated the many aspects of college life (think: parties and excessive drinking). After three seasons, the show had gained a cult following. Fans desperately wanted another season to follow their beloved Goats, but had to settle for a movie that was released in 2016.
McKinley Titans
Glee
Before New Directions took over, the shining star at McKinley High was the football team. Many, if not most, of the New Directions glee club members were a part of the Titans at one point or another. Kurt joined and left in the same episode, as did Rachel, Mercedes and Tina. Only Finn, Puck and Mike remained on the team until they graduated, despite once being briefly kicked off.
Springfield Isotopes
The Simpsons
Springfield was home to only one minor league baseball team: the Springfield Isotopes. Named after the nuclear power plant, the Isotopes weren’t exactly good. Briefly, Homer was the team’s mascot before he was fired. Then, the team almost had to move to Albuquerque, New Mexico, due to their lack of talent and funds.
Beacon Hills Cyclones
Teen Wolf
Despite many of the players also having supernatural side hustles, the Cyclones lacrosse team wasn’t half bad as Scott McCall juggled his duties as the team’s captain with being a werewolf. In the beginning of the series, he had trouble figuring out how to manage his powers. As the show went on, more werewolves joined the team, and the Cyclones even played against other werewolves, too, like the ones from Devenford Prep.
Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles
Coach
This long-running ABC sitcom was fronted by Craig T. Nelson who starred as Hayden Fox, the coach of the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles NCAA Division I football team. With a name like that, the show was already off to a wild start. Following his time with the Screaming Eagles, Fox went on to coach an expansion team — the Orlando Breakers — in the NFL.
Sports play an integral part in the high school and college experience. There’s no better sense of community than in the stands of a game, surrounded by fans rooting for their favorite team.
Some of our favorite teams happen to be fictional, but that doesn’t mean that their fanbase isn't real. Our favorite TV teams are just as — sometimes, even more — important to us than our real-life teams.
Though there have been many TV sports squads, but we rounded up the best of the best in the gallery above.
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