Baltimore Ravens? San Francisco 49ers? The SuperBowl XLVII is on its way next Sunday in New Orleans: the Harbaugh brothers coached each of their teams to the grand finale; Beyonce is somewhere probably preparing the most epic half-time show ever, and in the meantime here at TheYoungFolks.com, we select our Top 10 favorite Football movies to get pumped up before the big game. It needs to be said: there is no specific order in this list; if you’re looking for a common factor in all of these movies that will be the fact that they’re all inspirational and most are either based or inspired by true events.
Based on a true story. In 1976, Vince Papale (Mark Whalberg) an ordinary man who always had hopes of playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, despite the fact that he was 30 years old and worked as a bartender. His life changes when the new Eagles coach, Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear), decides to have open tryouts after long losing seasons for the team.
In the case that I would ever play professional football, I would love to have a coach like Herman Boone (Denzel Washington). Remember The Titans follows the story of an African-American coach dealing with a racially mixed high school football team for the first time.
Dawson’s Creek fangirls in the 90s must have been freaking out to find out that James Van Der Beek will be playing a quarterback on the big screen. Varsity Blues follows a high school football team that has to deal with adolescence and their uptight coach portrayed by Jon Voight. Oh, look! It’s Paul Walker before the Fast & Furious movies!
One of the most inspirational movies, period. Before Sean Astin was Samwise in The Lord of The Rings movies, he played Rudy, otherwise known in real life as Daniel Ruettiger, who had dreams of playing football for Notre Dame despite many obstacles.
“SHOW ME THE MONEY!” should resonate with you whenever Jerry Maguire is mentioned. This is the film that got Cuba Gooding Jr. an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Aaron Eckhart, Dennis Quaid, Jamie Foxx, James Woods and LL Cool J star in this Oliver Stone film about the fictional football team, the Miami Sharks. Fun fact: Jamie Foxx was a football player in high school and passed over 1K yards in a single season.
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You probably haven’t seen this one, and that’s okay. A rom-com set in 1925, Dodge Conelly (George Clooney) convinces a college football star to join his team before it collapses. Also, it stars John Krasinski and Renee Zellweger.
Based on a true story. After the devastating plane crash carrying several members from the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, Jack Lengyel (Matthew McCounaghey), tries to revive the fans and football players left behind by keeping the football program going.
Before the TV show, there was a movie; before the movie, there was a book. In the small town of Odessa, TX, people come together only one time a week: Friday night. Football players become hometown heroes, and Coach Gary Caines (Billy Bob Thornton) pulls through with the team after a couple of injuries and leads them to state championship.
The movie that you ultimately MUST watch before the Superbowl is this one. The Blind Side is based on the true story of Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), who currently plays for the Baltimore Ravens as an offensive lineman. Starting off from his impoverished upbringing up to the point where he became one of the most sought after high school football players in the country, this story of success will inspire anyone. Also, Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for this …so yeah, go watch it.
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What are your favorite football movies? Let us know in the comments!
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