The Best Football Movies...Ever??? (Super Bowl Edition)

I considered postponing the debut of this blog for a couple of weeks, but there's no time like the present and I'm a little inspired right now.  So without further ado, I give you the top ten football movies ever made.  Hold on.  Let me revise that.  I give you my top ten football movies ever made.

Let me also spare some of you the suspense of seeing your favorite gridiron flick on this coveted list.  You won't see the likes of "Any Given Sunday" with its totally unbelievable team names and uniforms and its overdramatization of colossal, career-ending hits on every single play.  However, I'd include that before the cliche, feel-good movie of 2009 for white people that is "The Blind Side."  What you will get is some great titles that are to be expected along with a few unconventional picks that just may end up on your all-time list.

#10 The Best of Times (1986) There are really only two things you need to know about this movie.  #1 Kurt Russell.  #2 Robin Williams.  They're former high school football players living extraordinarily ordinary lives in the small town of Taft, California.  Jack Dundee (Williams), once a mediocre wide receiver in his glory days, spends his nights reliving the moment when he dropped the perfect and would-be game winning pass from quarterback Reno Hightower (What a great name for a QB!) played by Russell.  To make matters worse it was against the crosstown rivals, the perenial powerhouse from Bakersfield.  Eventually Jack convinces Reno, as well as the entire towns of Taft and Bakersfield, to replay the historic game.  As goofy as it sounds, the end result nearly works to perfection.  It's legendary stuff.

#9 Remember the Titans (2000) I'll save the synopsis here since I assume the vast majority of you have seen it.  This is sort of a guilty pleasure for me.  I recognize how cheesy it is, and it's bursting at the seams with it.  But that's what I like about it.  It has become a comedy for my wife and me.  When I view it that way, it's totally enjoyable.  Also, it's an absolute credit to Denzel to be surrounded by such shenanigans and still be great.  He escapes unscathed!

#8 All the Right Moves (1983) Possibly the most underrated film on the list.  C'mon, it's Tom Cruise playing high school football in a poor Pennsylvania steel town, trying desperately for that all-important, life changing college scholarship.  Not to mention, you have Craig. T. Nelson in his original coaching role.  This movie bleeds football, literally.

#7 Invincible (2006) Initially I was weary of this flick, being a Disney movie and all.  I guess I was a little fearful it would end up being another Remember the Titans (Yeah I know I just finished expressing my love for it, but it's a love that has taken some years to develop).  Needless to say Disney delivers thanks in lage part to the acting chops of Mark Wahlberg.  It has become par for the course for Marky Mark to deliver a show-stealing performance.  This one's no different.  I've probably seen this one the least out of all the ones on the list.  I probably need to revisit this ASAP. 

#6 Varsity Blues (1999) Everyone raves about Pacino's "Inches" speech, and for good reason.  But what about Jon Voight's "Never show weakness!"  or "Billy Bob gonna cry baby?"  Honestly if it weren't for Voight's uncompromising portrayal of Bud Kilmer (lol), this movie wouldn't even be on the list.  As it stands, it's number six.  I love the character that much.

#5 Jerry Maguire (1996) There's debate over whether this qualifies as a "football" movie, but given the fact that so much of it centers around the game, not to mention I was struggling to come up with ten movies, I'm counting it.  There are actually a number of films that are the subject of similar debates, all that could be considered football flicks and would be worthy of all-time lists.  The Last Boy Scout comes to mind.  I almost included this highly entertaining, even if over-the-top movie, but then I remembered the scene where Gooding Jr. embraces Cruise after the Monday night game, flushing out all of the emotions and stress and doubt and relief of the past months by way of his tear ducts, and I just couldn't bring myself to leave this one out.

#4  Friday Night Lights  (2004) I knew this was one of the greatest football movies ever as soon as I walked out of the theater.  This one's on a different level than most of the others on this list.  It takes itself seriously as well it should.  There are top notch performances by pretty much the entire cast including some standouts in the form of Billy Bob Thorton and Derek Luke.  Even Tim McGraw's really good.  It tells a true story like many other sports films do, but it does so without being cliche and sappy and cheesy, which is where most like-minded films go wrong.  An incredible score and music from Public Enemy is the icing on the cake.

#3 The Longest Yard (1974) First of all, shame on you if you thought I was talking about the Adam Sandler version.  Secondly, this movie's awesome!  The choreography of the final game between the inmates and guards is so well done.  This where I thought Any Given Sunday got it terribly wrong.  It's just not believable.  It kind of takes me out of a movie when I see an eyeball laying in the endzone.  I mean, when has that ever happened?  No mishaps here.  This movie gets it right.

#2 Johnny Be Good (1988) Anthony Michael Hall, Uma Thurman, and Robert Downey Jr.  If we saw that line-up in a film today, most of us would be thrilled.  Well go ahead and get excited.  This is as good as it would be if it were coming out this year.  It's a comical, yet all too real, look at the cut-throat and savage world of college football recruiting.  Hall is quarterback Johnny Walker, the nation's top high school prospect, and the darling of every college football program in the country from USC to his local state univeristy.  Thurman and Downey play Johhnny's girl and best bud and are more than willing to offer their opinions on where they think he should end up.  If you haven't seen this little talent, make it your top prospect.  Yep, that was awful.

#1 Rudy (1993) I give you the inspiration  for this list.  In honor of the Super Bowl, moviepilot.com released a similar list earlier today, on which this film was noticeably absent.  I can understand not putting it at number one, but not even on the list?  So I just made my own.  You don't have to be a fan of the Irish to be moved by this one.  Sean Austin is completly likeable, and again I note, the games' choreography is great keeping the viewer firmly planted in the events of the film.  I've seen it countless times and still get a few chills during the final twenty minutes.