The best (American) football films
Looking at the world around me, there seem to be only three things currently bothering people: movies depicting a state trying its absolute best to protect a predator, bunnies whose general behaviour leaves a lot to be desired, or football. Since I have no wish to vanish in the back of a van at night and do not want to give any more publicity to nepo babies – fun fact, Bad Bunny wasn’t raised poor and he is actually related to Bugs Bunny, who has had a huge career since the 1930s – this week we are going to have a look at some of the best (American) football films of all time!
The movies are available on streaming platforms. If not, they can be rented or purchased through YouTube.
Draft Day
Little to no actual football, a focus instead on the drama and backroom politics of one of the most important days of the year for any team: draft day, when teams get to select their picks from a fresh batch of rookie players and possibly build an empire on them.
Kevin Costner stars as Sonny Weaver, the general manager of the Cleveland Browns, a team coming off a bad season and looking to bounce back. Weaver also has to cope with the death of his father – the previous head coach – and the fact that his partner just told him she was pregnant. On an already tumultuous day, Weaver suddenly gets an amazing offer: the chance to pick the No. 1 player in the draft.
Rudy
This is an oldie but a goodie. Before he was the world’s No. 1 bestie in Lord of the Rings, Sean Astin starred in Rudy, a 1993 movie about not giving up on your dreams, no matter how big, no matter what anyone says.
This is the true story of Rudy, a working-class kid who dreams of playing for his favourite college team, but reality has different ideas. Rudy has a learning disability that bars him from getting good grades and being accepted to college. But even if he were accepted, the limitations don’t stop there: he is too small, too slow, and nowhere near talented enough to play for one of the best teams in the country. But Rudy refuses to let reality dictate the terms. As the story unfolds, Rudy’s battle is not for glory or headlines, but for a single moment on the field.
The Replacements
Keanu Reeves stars as Shane Falco, a once-promising quarterback who crumbled during a crucial game in his early years and dropped out of football. Shane is now a boat scraper with no future, condemned to dream of what could have been. That all changes when Gene Hackman, playing the coach of the Washington Sentinels, drops by and offers him a second chance: lead a replacement team to the playoffs.
A ragtag group of unlikely heroes – from a sumo wrestler to a chain-smoking Welsh kicker – band together to defeat impossible odds. Hilarity ensues.
A classic movie, although it did not age well. To be honest, it aged about as well as wine left open in the desert for 50 years. The reason the replacement team is called in is because those “out-of-touch” professional football players demand – gasp! – more pay for their work and dare to unionise. And let’s not even get into the hyper-violent police officer who loves to beat people up.
Invincible
Thinking your best days are behind you? Think again. Mark Wahlberg stars as Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender and part-time substitute teacher whose playing days seemed long behind him. When the struggling Philadelphia Eagles announce an unprecedented open tryout, Papale takes a leap of faith and shows up, competing against athletes half his age and twice his physical ability.
What unfolds is not just a football comeback, but a story about resilience and what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
Remember the Titans
Saved the best for last. Another true story, Remember the Titans tells the story of Coach Herman Boone, who in 1971 is put in charge of an integrated team at a high school in the state of Virginia.
Portrayed by Denzel Washington, Boone is a professional desperately trying to be judged not by the colour of his skin, but by the quality of his coaching. As racial divisions threaten to tear the locker room apart, Boone must forge unity out of hostility and transform a group of teenagers into a disciplined unit destined for greatness.