The Best Football-Inspired Movies of All Time
Football is more than a sport for many Americans. It is a lifestyle and something that stirs up deep passion among fans. As such, it is no surprise that the sport has been featured in countless Hollywood blockbusters.
While some of these movies don’t live up to the thrills a great game can offer, some go above and beyond and bring forth many emotions as you watch. Here are some of the best football-inspired films of all time.
Rudy (1993)
Based on the true life of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, Rudy follows the tale of young Daniel as he tries to realize his dream of playing for the University of Notre Dame football team. However, alongside academic and financial difficulties, his biggest problem is his small stature.
After gaining a part-time job at the university, Rudy works hard to make it into the school and onto the football team. Eventually achieving his goal, he quickly discovers that being on the team doesn’t mean he’ll play on game night and that he has many more challenges ahead to achieve his dream.
Ranked in the top 100 most inspiring films in the 100 Years series of the American Film Institute, Rudy was also ranked by ESPN as one of the top 25 sports movies of the past 25 years in 2005.
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Jerry Maguire, starring Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger, is one of the most memorable football-inspired movies. The film follows Jerry, a sports agent working for a big firm.
After receiving negative feedback from the family of an injured player, Jerry begins to rethink how he does things. This inspires him to write a mission statement that leads to more personal relationships with the players he manages and, eventually, to him starting his own agency.
Tugging on heartstrings, the film also features a romance between Jerry and Dorothy, the only person from his previous firm to agree to leave with him. Together, the two navigate the tough job of starting an agency under Jerry’s new mission statement.
Friday Night Lights (2004)
Based on the book written in 1990, Friday Night Lights follows a Permian High School football team and throws the spotlight on how intense school sports can be. The movie ranked in the top 40 high school movies and even spawned a TV series that premiered two years after the film.
With one of the team’s star players, James Miles, sustaining a knee injury, the season seems to have already been lost for the Panthers. However, the coach insists that James can play and quickly faces public outcry after the team is destroyed in matches.
Although medical reports state that James requires surgery, he gets back onto the field—only to face another crushing loss. After he steps aside and the team gets a lucky coin toss, the Panthers face their final challenge in the state championship game while James watches from the sidelines.
Concussion (2015)
With many professional football players suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Concussion brings the degenerative disease into the spotlight. The film is based on a 2009 exposé published by GQ magazine and earned Will Smith, who plays Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Golden Globe nomination.
Working as a forensic pathologist, Bennet spends endless hours trying to find the root cause of CTE among players. He hopes this will result in a better understanding of the disease, with early detection and possible prevention of what has been deemed “Game Brain.”
However, things worsen after the NFL fights tooth and nail to stunt his research. Threatened with deportation, fines, and a prison sentence, Bennet is forced to step back. As more players turn up dead, the truth behind his claims comes to light, and the NFL is the one put on the defensive.
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Whisked from his earthly shell too early by an overly ambitious guardian angel, Joe Pendleton finds himself in heaven. Most upsetting to him is that he will miss his chance to represent his team, the Los Angeles Rams, in the upcoming NFL Super Bowl.
After an investigation discovers he wasn’t meant to die, he is set to return to Earth—with just one complication. His body has already been cremated, and he has no earthly form to return to. Trying out numerous bodies, Joe finally settles on that of multi-millionaire Leo Farnsworth.
Wanting nothing more than to play in a Super Bowl, Leo begins training to get fit and, after purchasing the Rams, attempts to insert himself as the quarterback. With things falling apart as the epic game appears, things become chaotic as murders occur, and Joe is forced to swap bodies yet again.
The Longest Yard (2005)
The Longest Yard is such a well-received football movie that it’s been remade three times. The 2005 version, the second remake of the 1974 iteration, is by far the most popular.
The story starts off with Paul Crewe (Adam Sandler) wrecking his girlfriend’s Bentley. If it were filmed today, perhaps he would look up casino deals and promotions from Casinos.com to find a way to pay her back. Instead, he finds himself imprisoned for violating his parole from a previous sentence related to points shaving while he was a bigshot NFL player.
Arriving in prison, Paul quickly becomes the captain of a team of inmates who aim to beat the correctional officers in a much-anticipated upcoming game. With incredible obstacles and the odds stacked against them by the prison warden, the televised match brings thrilling entertainment and nail-biting suspense to see if the cons will be victorious.
American Underdog (2021)
Following the life of NFL superstar Kurt Warner, American Underdog shows him as a child as he falls in love with football. Vowing to one day play in a Super Bowl game, Kurt works hard to secure his future place in the NFL.
However, he is left without a team to play for when the draft season ends, and things go from bad to worse. Becoming homeless, he starts playing arena football for the Iowa Barnstormers. After achieving moderate success there, he is asked to audition for the St. Louis Rams. Making the team, he thinks his chances of realizing his dream are improving.
With luck playing a part, Kurt is placed on the field and shows his worth as he leads the Rams directly to the Super Bowl game. After a thrilling victory, Kurt is named the first-ever undrafted player to receive the title of NFL MVP.
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