As voted on by our collection of gentlemen and scholars over here at Blue Collar Media Group, here is our list of our top 10 football movies of All Time. Rankings were submitted by 10 BCMG members with 10 points being awarded for top spot all the way down to one point for 10th place.
Honorable Mention: Gridiron Gang (15 points)
I wasn’t planning on doing an honorable mention in this list, but it’s Gridiron Gang so I just had to. The Rock gives one of his more heartfelt performances as real life juvenile detention counselor Sean Porter. It’s a movie about football granting a bunch of troubled youth a second shot at life, it’s almost impossible not to love.
10. Draft Day (25 points)
A different type of football movie, focusing on Kevin Costner’s turn as a fictionalized GM of the Cleveland Browns, and his dilemma on who to take with the first overall pick in the draft. After giving up way too much capital to move up without a specific plan, Costner spends the film deciding between superstar quarterback Bo Callahan who has some question marks around his character and a talented pass rusher who seems to be dropping down the draft board.
9. Jerry Maguire (25 points)
One of the most quotable movies ever written, the best acting performance Cuba Gooding Jr. has ever and will ever give and probably the most likeable that Tom Cruise has ever been. Cruise stars as the title character, who has a spiritual awakening about the sports agent business, and Gooding stars as his client, superstar receiver Rod Tidwell, who really just wants someone to show him the money. It also features a cameo by Drew Bledsoe before Tom Brady made him irrelevant.
8. We Are Marshall (26 points)
I double dog dare you not to get teary eyed at the end of this movie. The true story of the aftermath of the tragic 1970 plane crash that killed 75 players, coaches, boosters and staff members of Marshall University. Matthew McConaughey’s Jack Lengyel promises his team will “play until the whistle blows” and helps ensure the program doesn‘t collapse after the tragedy. We Are Marshall is a textbook example of football being about much more than what it says on the scoreboard.
7: The Waterboy (34 points)
If you don’t like this movie, then I don’t like you. Adam Sandler gives maybe his most iconic performance as Bobby Boucher, a 30 year old, mentally underdeveloped man with a serious anger problem that loves his momma. Kathy Bates role as Momma is absolutely legendary, and to top it off, they even had The Fonzie play Bobby’s coach. The laughs don’t stop and we even learn why alligators are so ornery.
6. Any Given Sunday (38 points)
This is one I wish we’d voted higher, because Oliver Stone delivers what has to be the most gritty, realistic look at the ins and outs of professional football that we’ve ever seen. Even highlighting the impact of concussions on players more than a decade before the NFL started pretending to care. Plus the movie boasts a legendary cast including Al Pacino, Jamie Foxx, Dennis Quaid, Lawrence Taylor, Cameron Diaz and James Woods. If Pacino’s speech before the final game doesn’t get you ready to run through walls, you have no soul.
5. The Blind Side (42 points)
Everyone’s got a story, but Michael Oher’s story is absolutely incredible. I’d recap it but everyone should know it by now. Made in the same year he was drafted and featuring an Oscar Winning performance by Sandra Bullock, this movie is deeply inspiring and, once again, shows football is about a lot more than just what's on the field.
4. The Replacements (42 points)
Pain heals, chicks dig scars, glory lasts forever. This absolute classic of both football and comedy stars Gene Hackman as Jimmy Mcginty and Keanu Reeves as Shane “Footsteps” Falco, who have to lead a team of replacement players to winning three out of four games to end the year. A team featuring a SWAT captain with severe anger issues, a chainsmoking kicker, a raw egg eating sumo wrestler at center and a blazing fast receiver that can’t catch. Also, The Replacements is basically the perfect analogy for Blue Collar Media Group, which by default makes me Shane Falco. Keanu Reeves could totally play me in a movie.
3. The Longest Yard (2005) (46 points)
There’s an entire generation of kids completely unaware that this is a remake. Some of them may not even know who Burt Reynolds is, even though he’s in the movie. This time Adam Sandler leads the pack as disgraced former MVP turned convict Paul Crewe with Chris Rock by his side as Caretaker. Loaded with crude humor that wouldn’t even begin to fly today and featuring one of the better football games on film, this is one of the rare remakes that might even improve upon the original.
2. Friday Night Lights (50 points)
The classic book turned classic movie, later turned into a classic TV show. Face it, any iteration of this title is pretty damn good. Billy Bob Thornton gives a memorable performance as Coach Gaines, as he leads the Permian Panthers on a potential title run. All the players on the team are iconic characters in sports movie history and the final game in the state championship is absolutely epic.
1. Remember The Titans (89 points)
The almost unanimous vote for number one and it’s pretty understandable why. Probably the best example of football being about more than the field, the Disney-fied version of the story of the real life T.C Williams High Titans in Virginia hits you right in the feels all the way through. Highlighted by one of Denzel Washington’s more memorable performances and maybe the most quotable movie ever made, this was an easy vote for number one.
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