Authored by Rodney Southern in Movies and Television
Published on 08-23-2009
Football movies come in all shapes and sizes. Some are funny, while others are serious. Then there are the special football movies that are both. Some football movies take us to a place in history, and some create an imaginary place all it’s own. Regardless of the details, a great football movie is just about as good as it gets for watching a movie. Trying to narrow a list of football movies into a top five list was quite hard, but all of the football movies that made the cut were special in some way. Surely folks will disagree with some choices, so please feel free to leave your choices in the comment section below. Here are the top five football movies of all time, as seen through the eyes of this football fan.
We Are Marshall – This is one football movie that your wife or girlfriend will gladly sit down and watch with you. Not only does it tell a heartwrenching true story about a football team that goes through the worst type of adversity, it also is a love story as well. The football scenes are tough and realistic, and the movie stays fairly accurate to the real story. Not many stories are so dramatic and powerful that they do not need to be embellished. The story of Marshall certainly fits that category.
Rudy – This is the ultimate underdog movie. Virtually everybody has seen Rudy, and those that have not must go out and rent it right away. This movie is one of those that seems cheesy on the surface, is cheesy when you watch it, and yet you love every minute of it anyway. Rudy is a very important entry into the football movie genre.
Invincible – When I first watched this movie, I was skeptical to say the least. Mark Wahlburg is not exactly my favorite actor, though this movie made me a fan. The primary reason I watched it was because it was about the Philadelphia Eagles, and I have always been a fan. More importantly, I was around when Vincent Papale was trying to make the squad, and this movie was about his incredible journey to the NFL. The movie is a wonderful story about relationships, love, and passion for the game. The football scenes are awesome as well.
Remember the Titans – This movie is easily the most stirring of all the movies on this list. Remember the Titans is a powerful movie on so many levels that it is easy to forget it is made by Disney. It is about racial tension and the effect it had on a high school football team when they mixed races and put the kids in school together. That is pretty heady stuff for Disney, but they absolutely knocked it out of the park. This movie is a great one from start to finish, with not a moment to go to the bathroom throughout.
The Longest Yard – While the modern version of this movie had it’s moments, the original has it whipped for sure. The original movie had a young Burt Reynolds, as well as a script that was simply hilarious. Some of the funniest football scenes of all time can be found in this movie, and it is to this day one of the best football movies of all time. If you have not seen this movie, you should head out and give it a try tonight. I guarantee you will laugh, and laugh hard.
