BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
The NFL season is starting soon so it’s time to put away the Sundays best and dust off the obnoxious jerseys and fan gear. In America we call the NFL game “football”. For America, it’s “soccer”. I think that’s why America never fully gets behind soccer. The word “soccer” sounds lame. But the word “football” has some oomph to it. “Are you ready for the some footbaaaaaaaall?!” sounds so much better than “Are you ready for some soccer?”
That said, I love football. I grew up in the Chicagoland area so I’ve been trained and raised to love the Bears. I know it’s like that for most people. Actually, if you’re the dick that likes a team that’s not from your general area or from a place you lived for more than a little while then you’re someone you can’t trust. Seriously, probably 9 out of 10 “non-local fans” are the first people who’ll eat us when the zombies attack. They don’t know loyalty.
Loyalty and not eating people is just two of many traits I think about when thinking about football. The movies that have been made about football capture the spirit of the game on many levels. Some of the football movies suck and some rock. I made a list! I didn’t include “The Longest Yard”, original or remake on this list. “Jerry McGuire” is a great movie, but not too heavy on the football. “The Program” stands out, as does “The Last Boy Scout”, and the underrated classic “Seems Like Old Times”. It’s mostly guilty pleasures, but here’s my top seven list.
7.) RUDY
This is one of the best “heartwarming” sports movies I can think of. It doesn’t try too hard to be anything but a great story about an underdog getting his due time in the spotlight. The cast is awesome too. Lots of people pop up in it that I bet you’ve forgotten about.
6.) THE WATERBOY
This movie is so annoying that I still like it. Adam Sandler’s silliness is something that’s sorely missed in today’s landscape. His style has definitely changed since this time frame. He plays a naive-do gooder who is a devote water boy for the crappy local college. What happens when they find out he’s got an amazing arm? Hilarity, that’s what!
5.) LITTLE GIANTS
This is an awesome kid’s movie. Ed O’Neil and Rick Moranis lead two teams of children to play one big game to decide which team gets to represent the city and be the official team. Ed’s team is made up of the typical jocks, but Moranis’s team is the under dogs. You know that common scene where one kid goes on a mission and picks up new people along the way to join their cause until they have a team of their own.
4.) WILDCATS
“Football.” Goldie Hawn rocks this movie. It’s an 80’s movie about football. The team gets a very unlikely coach in the form of Goldie Hawn. She has to balance her home life and make sure her team wins the big game and stays out of trouble. This isn’t a great movie, but it’s a fun football movie. I’m actually surprised that a sitcom version of this didn’t happen.
3.) THE REPLACEMENTS
The cast is awesome in this one. It’s a little football movie that doesn’t seem to ever get any love. The NFL’s on strike and the owners decide to go with replacement players, scabs, for you kind union folks. They get a rag-tag group together of fun and wacky characters, but Hackman and Reeves make this movie pretty legit.
2.) NECESSARY ROUGHNESS
I was a big fan of this movie growing up. I’ve not seen it in years and maybe that’s for the best. I remember it being awesome fun. The cast was cool. It was about a Texas college team that sucked. They put together a rag-tag team and go at it against the world. And really, any movie that introduces a young pre-teen boy to Kathy Ireland is a good thing. This was a really fun movie.
1.) ANY GIVEN SUNDAY
Oliver Stone gets praise for a lot of movies, but it seems that people forget about Any Given Sunday. Outside of Pacino stealing the show, especially with his AMAZING monologue, this movie’s cast is killer. Jamie Foxx comes out in this movie and shows off that he can really act if given the chance. We also get Cameron Diaz, LL Cool J, Quaid, LT, and A LOT more. The cast is overflowing with bad ass people.
What is YOUR favorite football movie?!
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