First off, I would like to congratulate the Philadelphia Eagles on being Super Bowl LIX Champs. Let’s Go Birds.
If you are a religious Sunday football watcher going through withdrawals, this list is for you. These are my personal favorite movies to watch in the offseason.
- Invincible (2006)
-
As a Birds fan who was born and raised in Philadelphia, this is definitely my number one.
This movie is the story of former Philadelphia Eagles player Vince Papale, played by Mark Wahlberg. Papale also grew up in Philadelphia and was a huge Eagles fan. At the age of 30, working at his high school alma mater and bartending, Papale heard about an Eagles open tryout in the summer of 1976 and made the team.
This movie depicts all the challenges that Papale faced and overcame in his personal life and in his career. This is my favorite, and I’m sure anyone from Philly will definitely love it too.
- Little Giants (1994)
-
The “Little Giants” is the cutest movie and will definitely give you that nostalgic feeling.
Danny (Rick Moranis) and Kevin O’Shea (Ed O’Neill) are two football-loving brothers from Urbania, Ohio. Kevin went on to play college football and even won a Heisman Trophy. Kevin has his own peewee football team, the “Cowboys,” and they are super important to the town.
Danny’s daughter Becky (Shawna Waldron) tries out for her Uncle Kevin’s team but doesn’t make it along with a few of her “misfit” friends. Becky stands up to one of the boys and tells him that she is playing football for a different team coached by her dad.
Word gets to Kevin, and he tells Danny he is not allowed to coach that team and that his team will never win. Hearing this makes Danny want to coach, and he calls his team the “Little Giants.” The brothers made a bet and played a championship game against each other.
This movie is so funny, and it’s a great Sunday watch that the whole family will love.
- Rudy (1993)
-
Sorry, Penn Staters, but this University of Notre Dame football movie is just too good not to be on this list.
Rudy Ruettiger (Sean Astin) had been dreaming of playing Notre Dame football since he was a kid. He didn’t have the money to pay for college or have the grades to get a scholarship, and just was an overall smaller kid who wasn’t able to make the team. When Rudy’s friend dies at the steel mill where they both work, he realizes that he wants to achieve his goal of playing Notre Dame football.
D-Bob (Jon Favreau) tutors and befriends Rudy, helping him overcome his dyslexia and gain admission to Notre Dame. He works to get onto the team and does.
“Rudy” is a heart-warming and inspirational movie, even if it’s Notre Dame football.
- Brian’s Song (1971)
-
Break out the tissues because “Brian’s Song” is beautiful but also very sad.
“Brian’s Song” is based on a real-life story of the friendship of Brian Piccolo (James Cann) and Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams). Both Piccolo and Sayers played for the Chicago Bears in the 1960s when there was still lots of race-based segregation. The movie depicts their growing friendship, especially when Piccolo receives bad news.
Piccolo was diagnosed with cancer, but his friendship remained strong with Sayers. Everyone will love this movie, even if it makes you cry (which you definitely will).
- The Longest Yard (2005)
-
Ex-pro football player Paul Crewe (Adam Sandler) ends up in prison after a bad night. He meets with the warden (James Cromwell), who runs the guards football team. The warden asks Crewe for some advice on how his team can win, and then Crewe tells him they need to play some bad teams to gain confidence.
The warden tells Crewe to assemble a team of inmates to play the guards in a game. Crewe assembles his team with the help of The Caretaker (Chris Rock) and Heisman Trophy winner and pro-football coach Nate Scarborough (Burt Reynolds). Once the team is put together they struggle to learn to play together, especially while the guards and officials are trying to fix the game.
“The Longest Yard” is a very funny movie filled with all of Sandler’s good friends that you and your friend group will love.
Some other great football movies are “The Blind Side” and “We Are Marshall.” “The Game Plan” is another favorite everyone grew up on. I also love “The Waterboy,” another Adam Sandler classic.
Hope everyone feels better after watching these movies. Football will be back soon, but we have baseball starting up to hold us over.