Football season is finally upon us, and that can only mean one thing: it’s time to get your football movies ready for a marathon. And while there are plenty of great options out there, we’re here to tell you about the best ones so you don’t have to spend hours trying to figure it out yourself.
We’ve got everything from dramas like Remember the Titans, Friday Night Lights, Or comedies like Necessary Roughness and The Longest Yard (the 1974 original), and even documentaries like Undefeated. So what are you waiting for? Let’s take a look at some awesome football movies!
Best Football Movies
Who doesn’t love football? Whether you’re a fan of the NFL, college ball, or high school games, it’s hard to not be entertained by seeing grown men collide (and sometimes even get injured) on the field. But what if there was another way to enjoy football without having to watch actual games live?
And that is exactly what we are going to explore here. We will talk about some of our favorite football movies and football TV shows and how they have captured this great sport in all its glory.
- Rudy (1993)
- The Program (1993)
- Varsity Blues (1999)
- Remember The Titans (2000)
- Draft Day (2014)
- The Blind Side (2009)
- Any Given Sunday (1999)
- Gridiron Gang (2006)
- We Are Marshall (2006)
- Invincible – F the Eagles (2006)
- The Longest Yard (2005)
- The Longest Yard (1974)
- Friday Night Lights (2004)
- The Replacements (2000)
- Radio (2003)
- Necessary Roughness (1991)
- The Longshots (2008)
- Little Giants (1994)
- Jerry Mcguire (1996)
- Undefeated (2011)
- The Waterboy (1998)
Every American knows the significance of football in our culture. It is often a topic that divides people, but it could also be said to unite us as well. Whether you are rooting for one team or another on Sundays, there’s no doubt America loves their sport and has some great movies about this beloved game too…
Greatest Football Movies
If you’re a football fan, chances are that you have seen some of the best football movies ever made. Movies about sports always seem to be fun and exciting to watch, especially when it’s your favorite sport! What are your favorite football movies? Do you think we missed any good ones on our list?
Rudy (1993)
Rudy Ruettiger had never played football before, and was rejected from Notre Dame because of his size. He tried to get a spot on the team with no luck until he found out that there were some openings for walk-on players due to an injury.
Rudy worked harder than anyone else so he could go back home as one of the few people who made it into their dream school!
The Program (1993)
The Program is a 1993 Hollywood football movie starring James Caan, Halle Berry, Omar Epps and other major actors. This film follows four kids’ lives as they are recruited by an all-star high school football coach to play for his elite team in order win championships year after year while the pressure from their parents mounts up.
As it turns out this program isn’t what these youngsters were expecting when dealing with drugs and violence becomes more of a priority than winning games.
Varsity Blues (1999)
Varsity Blues is a Texas-sized coming of age football movie about one high school team’s season. The players face the pressures that come with adolescence and living in an overbearing town where losing isn’t tolerated so they have to deal with their coach constantly on their backs all while playing hard for every inch up until the last second runs off the clock.
Remember The Titans (2000)
Remember the Titans tells a heartwarming story about overcoming adversity and achieving your goals.
It’s based on true events in 1971 when Herman Boone, played by Denzel Washington, coaches an Alexandria Virginia high school football team that was entirely white except for three black students who were just transferred to T C Williams High School from Memphis Tennessee.
The movie is not only inspirational; it also teaches life lessons like perseverance through hard work because even though they faced misfortune (booing crowds), their skills as players helped them overcome these obstacles. This film will have you cheering for success!
Draft Day (2014)
Draft Day is a football film about the fictional general manager of Cleveland Browns, Kevin Costner. He has to decide what he will do with his team’s number one draft pick in the upcoming National Football League Draft. “Vontae Mack no matter what”
The Blind Side (2009)
The Blind Side is a heartwarming story of Michael Oher, an American football offensive lineman who overcame poverty to play in the National Football League. In spite of his challenging upbringing and uncertain future, he found love with adoptive parents Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy when they took him into their home as just another child looking for a safe haven.
Any Given Sunday (1999)
Any Given Sunday is a 1999 American sports drama movie directed by Oliver Stone tells the story of an ensemble cast including Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid and Jamie Foxx. The film features NFL players Jim Brown and Lawrence Taylor as well as Ann-Margret, Lauren Holly and Matthew Modine among others who depict life at their fictional professional football team.
Gridiron Gang (2006)
Gridiron Gang is a 2006 American football movie that follows Dwayne Johnson who plays Sean Porter in his leading role as coach trying to save gang members at-risk by turning them into high school grid iron players while also teaching life lessons along the way like perseverance and integrity. He faces obstacles that blur between personal relationships versus professional ones.
We Are Marshall (2006)
The story of football as we know it was forever changed in 1970 when a devastating plane crash took the lives of 75 people from Marshall University.
The film, “We Are Marshall” tells this compelling and emotional tale through an ensemble cast with strong performances by Matthew McConaughey, Kate Mara, David Strathairn, and Jon Tenney.
Invincible – F the Eagles (2006)
Invincible is a 2006 American sports drama movie about Vince Papale who was an underdog and became unlikely champion for the Philadelphia Eagles. When he first started playing in 1976, no one would have guessed that this fly-by-night player would become their star receiver from 1977 to 1978.
However, after his coach Dick Vermeil resigned as head coach of the team they both took part in bringing back glory to Philly football through doing what needed to be done with limited resources – flying under radar!
The Longest Yard (2005)
The Longest Yard is one of the most popular sports comedies ever released. The story goes that a washed-up quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers wants to cut his prison sentence short by assembling an all star team and playing against guards in their own game, football.
The Longest Yard (1974)
Burt Reynolds stars as Paul ‘Wrecking’ Crewe who plays a disgraced former pro quarterback has been sentenced to hard labor at Texas State Prison after being framed by dirty cops. He agrees to coach inmates with no experience while plotting his escape plan with fellow prisoners including beefy guard Captain Hadley played
Friday Night Lights (2004)
This football movie tells an underdog story about high school football and following one team’s journey to success against all odds even when they face pressure from their community for not winning every game.
The Replacements (2000)
The “replacements” were a team of college players who agreed to play in the NFL during an illegal strike that lasted from September 1987 until March 1988. They served as replacements for normal professional football teams and played three replacement games, winning all of them without any injury or loss on their end. The Washington Redskins used these men with no experience whatsoever to win Super Bowl at the season’s conclusion!
Radio (2003)
Radio is a 2003 American movie based on the true story of T. L. Hanna High School football coach Harold Jones and James Robert “Radio” Kennedy, both portrayed by Ed Harris in the movie adaptation (Cuba Gooding Jr.).
From an early age Radio found himself working for his mother’s cleaning company alongside her after school while she was alive; but with her death he also accepted responsibility to take care of his younger brother as well
Necessary Roughness (1991)
In 1991, Stan Dragoti made a film called Necessary Roughness. The movie stars Scott Bakula and Héctor Elizondo as two high school football coaches that have to work together when their teams go head-to-head for the state championship title.
Robert Loggia plays an overbearing coach who tries at every turn to get in between our heroes despite his team having already lost its chance of winning against them during this important game!
The Longshots (2008)
The Longshots is a story of one girl’s determination to do what has never been done before – play football with the boys. Jasmine Plummer, played by Keke Palmer was not dissuaded when she found out that girls weren’t allowed in Pop Warner league tournaments.
In order for her and her friends to participate, they had to wear clothing traditionally worn on Halloween due their lack of uniform supplies as well as being constantly harassed by coach because he thought she spent too much time at school instead of playing sports all day long like everyone else did during summer break!
Little Giants (1994)
Little Giants is a heartwarming 1994 movie about two brothers from Ohio who live in the same town. They are rivals with each other, but they love and respect one another as family no matter what differences there may be between them.
The movie starts off when an old friend of theirs comes to visit for a while that has been out east playing football professionally – he brings his skills back home and becomes such good friends with both boys’ teams!
Jerry Mcguire (1996)
Jerry Mcguire is one of the most popular sports movies to date. It follows a agent who falls in love with his unhappily married client and begins making major life changes, including leaving football behind for her. Alongside this heartwarming story are some hilarious moments as well!
Jerry Mcguire might be considered America’s favorite football movie based on how often it gets referenced by pop culture–from “I’m just trying to show my son what hard work looks like” in The Office or quoting lines from the film out loud while playing Cards Against Humanity during family game nights–it seems impossible that someone doesn’t know about this 1996 romantic comedy-drama starring Tom Cruise (who also produced!), Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger.
Undefeated (2011)
Undefeated is the best movies of 2011 and may even be one of the most important films in recent years. Shot with a fly-on-the wall style, it chronicles how coach Bill Courtney turned around Manassas High School’s football team by teaching them to appreciate themselves for who they are rather than what their accomplishments will be on the field.
In this way Coach Courtny teaches his players that success isn’t about just sports but also academics where you can accomplish anything as long as you have faith in yourself.
The Waterboy (1998)
The Waterboy lends a comedic look at the world of American football, where Adam Sandler’s character Bobby Boucher is an unassuming water boy who becomes the team quarterback and wins over his teammates.
Best Football Movies of All Time
The best football movies are all about catching up with the fictional underdog team that is always getting beaten by their opponents but never gives up until victory overcomes them at last.
All these films have different plot lines from time travel or learning how to be more confident when trying out new skills like playing football so it doesn’t matter what your favorite football movie genre might be you’ll find yourself rooting for some underdogs who just want to score big wins against others despite being disadvantaged themselves.
Conclusion
The best football movies of all time are those that capture the heart and soul of the game, while also telling an incredible story. They need to be both well-written and emotionally powerful, as if they were a good book or film about any other topic.
And there have been many great football movies over the years–enough for us to compile this list! It’s not just a collection of popular titles either; we wanted to include some lesser known films that deserve more recognition than they’re getting in our opinion.
As we’ve seen, there are many great football movies to pick from. Some focus on the sport itself and its history while others tell stories that are more about family or overcoming obstacles. Regardless of what you’re looking for in a football movie, I hope this list has helped point you in the right direction!
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Ryan Conlon is a passionate football fan and the driving force behind “Home Tailgate Party.” Ryan’s love for the game, combined with his culinary expertise, has led to a treasure trove of game day recipes and strategies. Whether you’re a seasoned tailgating pro or a rookie looking to up your game, Ryan’s insights and delicious recipes will help you score big at your next tailgate.
