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From the top echelons of professional sports to the youth leagues playing at your local parks, we move heaven and earth for football. It’s part of the American fabric of life. We celebrate the victories as our own, and commiserate together in defeat. This struggle, determination and drama have been memorialized on the big screen time and again. So to inspire or delight, I present eight football films for your Friday night lights and weekend tailgates.
“Rudy” – Arguably the greatest football movie ever made, Sean Astin stars as the pint-sized kid whose grit and heart help him realize his dream of playing football for Notre Dame.
“Necessary Roughness” – UT brings in a ragtag group of players – including a quarterback in his mid-30s (Scott Bakula), a grad student (Sinbad) and a kicker from the women’s soccer team (Kathy Ireland) – when scandal and an undermining dean leave the college’s football program with no funding.
“All the Right Moves” – Tom Cruise plays a high-school football phenom who plans to use a sports scholarship to escape life in a small Pennsylvania town.
George Clooney in “Leatherheads.” (Universal Studios photo)
“Leatherheads” – A small town footballer (George Clooney) recruits Princeton’s star player and war hero (John Krasinski) to save the future of the game in a sports comedy set in the 1920s.
“The Longest Yard” – Take your pick from the 1974 Burt Reynolds’ version or the 2005 remake with Adam Sandler. Former pro Paul Crewe’s hijinks get him a prison stint with a fanatic warden. In an attempt to harness Crewe’s talent to coach the guards, an exhibition game is set against a team of prisoners.
“The Waterboy” – Adam Sandler is at peak funny as Bobby Boucher, a high-school dropout waterboy whose rage is channeled by an underperforming team’s coach (Henry Winkler) to hilarious and satisfying result.
“Invincible” – Mark Wahlberg stars as Vince Papale, a nice guy who is down on his luck in life when legendary coach Dick Vermeil announces open tryouts for the Eagles – and Vince unexpectedly secures a spot.
“The Blind Side” – A soft-hearted but no-nonsense Tennessee woman opens her home and her heart to a homeless youth whose protective instincts lead him to success on the football field. Stars Sandra Bullock and based on a true, heartwarming story.
More football films: “Draft Day,” “Any Given Sunday,” “We Are Marshall,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Friday Night Lights,” “Knute Rockney, All American,” “Remember the Titans,” “The Replacements,” “Woodlawn,” “Brian’s Song.”
© 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.
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