Sophia Michaels
Football is a game that ignites passion in millions of fans across the country, with the fever spreading further across the globe every year. As a sport it often plays out a very human drama in the compressed space and time. It can symbolize us at our very best, and at our very worst, but there’s certainly something very special about the haphazard flight of an oddly shaped ball thousands of miles away that makes strangers cheer and hug and cry in bars across the country on any given Sunday.
As such, it’s been easy fodder for movies throughout the years, both great and terrible. And while it would be fun to go through and document all the terrible films deserving of penalties, today we’re instead going to focus on the greatest football movies of all time. From epic underdog stories to emotional tales based on true stories, football has given us some incredibly powerful and beloved cinematic moments over the years.
10. Lucas (1986)
Thet 1986 coming-of-age dramedy, Lucas, probably isn’t the first movie to come to mind when you’re thinking about football on the big screen, but the sport plays a major role in the progression of Lucas Blye’s (Corey Haim) story and the character’s personal growth.
In an attempt to impress his crush, Maggie (Kerri Green), the diminutive 14-year-old high school student tries out for the football team, a decision that is met with resistance from just about everyone in his life. Lucas’ decision to get out on the field leads to near-tragedy in this unlikely, and inspiring underdog story.
9. Draft Day (2014)
Kevin Costner, who starred in some of the best baseball movies of all time, turned his attention to the world of American football in the 2014 sports drama, Draft Day. In the movie, Costner takes on the role of Sonny Weaver Jr., the general manager of the Cleveland Browns, as he prepares to pick the overall number one pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Unlike a lot of other football movies, Draft Day focuses less on the on-field action and more on the wheelings and dealings behind the scenes, decisions that could change the future for his last-place team. And similar to Costner’s sports flicks like For the Love of the Game and Bull Durham, this Ivan Reitman film digs deep into his character’s increasingly complicated personal life.
8. Varsity Blues (1999)
Kind of the flipside of Friday Night Lights (more on that later), Varsity Blues captures the drama of Texas high school football, but doesn’t take its subject matter in an overly serious manner (the barbecue argument between two fathers is spot on).
When Jonathan “Mox” Moxon (James Van Der Beek) takes over as quarterback from the injured starter, Lance Harbor (Paul Walker), his life changes overnight. All of a sudden he has the keys to the kingdom, and you can be damn sure he’s going to take full advantage of that. And we can thank this movie for popularizing the whipped cream bikini.
7. The Waterboy (1998)
Is Adam Sandler’s The Waterboy the best football movie of all time? No, not really. However, not only is this one of Sandler’s best movies, it’s also a fun and laugh-out-loud comedy with over-the-top characters, unforgettable quotes, and some decent football action, albeit not all that realistic.
The movie centers on Bobby Boucher Jr. (Sandler), a sheltered young man whose life is turned upside down when he gets hired as the new waterboy for the down-on-their-luck Mud Dogs and becomes their star linebacker after finally standing up to his bullies. Boucher finds success on the gridiron, but that (and everything else about his life) is put at risk when the vindictive Red Beaulieu (Jerry Reed), his former coach, becomes involved.
6. Remember The Titans (2000)
Over the years, football, among many other sports, has often crossed paths and intersected with social justice and civil rights struggles, and those issues are front and center in Remember the Titans. The story of an African American high school coach, Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) as he gets his racially diverse team to put aside generations of ingrained differences and play as a single cohesive unit is nothing short of powerful.
Perhaps not a particularly deep examination of embedded prejudices, it serves as a simple parable about racial unity and human similarities, all gussied up as a triumphant sports movie. It also doesn’t hurt that the Remember the Titans cast is full of great actors and rising stars, a group that brings this inspirational story to life.
5. The Longest Yard (1974)
Not to be confused with the 2005 remake starring Adam Sandler (though Burt Reynolds does appear in both, taking over the coach role in the new version), former pro football player Paul “Wrecking” Crewe (Reynolds) finds himself incarcerated in 1974’s The Longest Yard. A sadistic prison warden forces Crewe to field a team of inmates to play his own semi-pro team, and though the stakes could very well turn out to be life or death, and it is set in a prison full of violent criminals, this is also a comedy.
Featuring legendary football players like Ray Nitschke and a Hal Needham choreographed car chase, this has been remade a number of times, including in Egypt, and is a damn fine time.
4. Friday Night Lights (2004)
Based on the nonfiction book of the same name, Peter Berg’s Friday Night Lights is an examination about the fandom and fanaticism surrounding high school football in Texas, and one of the best sports films of all time. Set in the pigskin obsessed hamlet of Odessa, this is a very different take on the subject that Varsity Blues.
Following a football team over the course of a season, it shows how the entire town, from social to political lives and beyond, revolves around the team, and illustrates the pressure the players are under almost from birth. Billy Bob Thornton plays the hard-assed coach, always on the verge of being fired, no matter how successful the team is, and the film and book served as the inspiration for the critically acclaimed series that followed.
3. North Dallas Forty (1979)
Part sports drama, part sharp satirical comedy, 1979’s North Dallas Forty pulls back the curtain and offers an insightful look behind the scenes at professional football of that era.
Based on a semi autobiographical novel written by former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, Peter Gent, the action follows the fictional North Texas Bulls, and the film —which stars Nick Nolte and Mac Davis as a wide receiver and quarterback, respectively— has been praised for its strong characters, authenticity in its depiction of both the lives of the players, and the hypocritical bureaucracy of the institution of professional football. This one doesn’t hold back on the field or behind the scenes of America’s most popular sport.
2. Rudy (1993)
The world is full of sports metaphors that transcend the game where they originated, and one of the most pervasive is how the name Rudy has become synonymous with triumphant underdog. Even non-sports fans know what this means.
1993’s Rudy tells the true story of Rudy Ruettiger (Sean Astin), a walk-on player at perennial college powerhouse Notre Dame, who, through sheer grit, guts, and determination to never give up, gets his triumphant moment to shine. Of course, the real story has been prettied up some as the legend has grown over the years, but it still remains a moving tale of believing in yourself and never giving up.
1. Brian’s Song (1981)
Technically an ABC Movie of the Week, 1971’s Brian’s Song is regarded as one of the best made-for-TV movies of all time. Based on the memoir by legendary running back Gayle Sayers, the film recounts the friendship between Sayers (Billy Dee Williams) and Brian Piccolo (the late James Caan).
After turning pro following college and playing for the Chicago Bears, Piccolo is stricken with a terminal form of cancer, and the film follows him as he battles the disease, which ultimately cost him his life at just 26. It’s a powerful movie about friendship that transcends just football, and was so well received initially that it got a theatrical run and was given a remake starring Mekhi Phifer and Sean Maher in 2001.
Honorable Mentions
In addition to these 10 all-great football movies, there are a few honorable mentions that we couldn’t at least address to wrap things up. Over the years, we’ve seen everything from comedy-focused football movies like Wildcats and The Replacements, scathing Oliver Stone thrillers like Any Given Sunday, and emotional collegiate dramas like The Program and We Are Marshall.
Each of these 10 football movies (plus the honorable mentions) tackle different aspects of the popular game, be it the blood, sweat, and tears on the field, or the riveting drama that takes place in the locker rooms and even outside the stadium entirely. And while there aren’t any high-profile football films coming out the next few months, there are still plenty of great, and inspiring, titles set for release on the 2023 movie schedule.
