It’s Top Gun: Maverick Week here at For The Win, where we’ve taken to the skies for five days’ worth of content to celebrate the premiere of the sequel to 1986’s iconic ode to Naval Aviation. Strap in for a wild ride (no spoilers!).
The 1986 Naval Aviation classic Top Gun has a lot of memorable moments. None is sweatier or more superfluous than the iconic beach volleyball scene. For just under two incredible minutes, Tom Cruise’s Maverick, Anthony Edwards’s Goose, Val Kilmer’s Iceman and Rick Rossovich’s Slider play what can only be described as a scintillating game before Mav rudely departs — with the score tied at one game apiece — for his date with Charlie.
In case you have (somehow) never seen this incredible scene — or just want to enjoy it again — here you go:
In order to fully appreciate and understand the levels of this match, we enlisted the help of experts Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb of the USA Volleyball Beach National Team.
Here are some of their takeaways.