10. Semi Tough (1977)
When you’re are the owner of Pro football team and two of
your star players are living with your daughter , things off the field are
likely as chaotic as the game being played on it. Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson and the romantic mark Jill
Clayburgh are the trio whose triangulated platonic friendship is heading for
revelatory times in this unique off beat comedy, filled with satire, wit and
riotous laughs .
9. Gridiron Gang (2006)
Having a professional Wrestler (Dwayne The Rock Johnson) and
a gangster rap artist (Xzibit) as the two prominent cast members, it is easy to
apply a cynical eye to Gridiron Gang and many will no doubt do just that.
However any kind of prejudgement does not do justice to a film which speaks of
the role Football can play in the correctional activities of misguided youth,
whose souls are subjugated to the evils of gangs, crime and drugs. Gridiron Gang is ultimately humanist fare,
delivering messages with both hard and soft edges to great effect which is
testament to the collective effort the cast both young, old and
stigmatised. 
8. Radio (2003)
A heart-warming true story charting the journey through life
of a young mentally challenged man, Nicknamed “Radio” (Cuba Goodings jnr) he
finds acceptance through his discovery of football and the friendship of a high
school coach (Ed Harris). In essence the film observes the plight of the
disabled in 60’s/70’s America, our lead subject must endure ignorance, fear and
constriction which are still battles faced by people with disabilities
today.
7. Necessary Roughness (1991)
What if college football was actually played by student
athletes? Necessary Roughness takes a
light hearted chuckle at the process of college football recruiting and the
illicit practices within institutions to dilute their academic standards to allow
the on field product to remain strong. This perhaps holds more poignancy in
view of the behemoth college athletics has become, but when the Texas State
Fighting Armadillos (the name itself slight on College sports) are hit with
severe penalties for recruiting violations 34 year-old “has-been” Quarterback
Paul Blake is recruited to lead the program through the austere and hilarious
times.
6. Two For The Money (2005)
American football drives a huge gambling market and the
darker reaches of which are explored here, Brandon Lang (McConaughey) is the
fallen football star with a talent for beating the spread and picking winners.
Walter (Pacino) on the other hand retails dreams as the head of betting
consultant function; which anyone with experience of TV in the US may have
witnessed. When Walter recruits Lang to front his operation, early success and
subsequent confidence becomes malignant as the duo begin to play with currency
far more valuable than money. Both leads are in great form with Pacino breaking
out into the odd scene chewing soliloquy, while McConaughey ably supports as a
tormented and lost soul way out of his depth.
5. We Are Marshall (2006)
From the burning wreckage of a 1970 plane crash that ripped
the life out of a University, a football program and the community of
Huntington West Virginia, rose phoenix like a forceful and determined spirit.
We Are Marshall captures and transcends this tragedy turned triumph in an
emotionally charged drama, the despair and burden of colleagues left behind
becomes the inspiration to honour the memory of those lost. When the revivals
spearhead arrives in the form of coach Jack Lengyel (McConaughey), his pluckiness
threatens to undermine the realisation of the task at hand, realisations observed through the pain felt deep in the town’s heart amidst the lives trying to
forget and move on. Director McG is true
to its subjects essentially exploring the ways in which humans young and old cope with the trials of adversity, made
possible by an authentic string of performance from the cast.
4. Jerry Maguire (1996)
Buried beneath its rich contextual layers, Jerry Maguire has
something to say about the things we say, notably whatever it is about the
human condition which makes us blab right things when it suits us and tell our listeners what they wish to here. Ultimately though,
words catch up with us and more than not when when somebody exhorts
something to the effect of “Show me the Money” it is time to deliver. Tom Cruise is the typical sports agent about
to embark on an epiphany by going straight but finds the courage of his new
found convictions elusive. Filled with iconic moments, memorable dialogue and a
central romance Jerry Maguire is a crowd pleaser.
3. The Express (2008)
The Express tells the story of Running Back Ernie Davis who
became the first African American to hold college football's most prestigious
honour; the Heisman trophy. Set against the poisonous backdrop of segregation
and bigotry, director Gary Fleder is able to deliver a slice of America's dark
past, but illuminates it by painting a charming and alluring picture of Davis played
by Rob Brown. A key theme is that of fatherhood; having never know his real
father the films depicts many replacements includin his maternal Grandfather,
college head coach played by Dennis Quaid through to pro football legends Jim
Brown and the late Art Modell who all leave an imprint on his character.
2. Friday Night Lights (2004)
In austere small Texan town the role of football amounts
to a source of religious Allegory for the young men involved in the Permian
High School football program. For the autumnal months Friday is the holy day
and it is the football Gods that hold sway, where the townsfolk congregate on
the bleachers whilst the hopes and dreams of many play out on the field. Such
power is a heavy lying crown for Head Coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) of
which sermonising team talks and patriarchal kinships are manifest. Peter Berg
delves deep into the lives of the natives as we play witness to a discomforting
father/son relationship, a star player coping with his fading dreams whilst
others clamour for scholarship offers representing a departure from their
oppressive surroundings.
1. Any Given Sunday (1999)
It may be affording director Oliver Stone too much credit to suggest
that his Any Given Sunday has premonitory qualities, but in retrospect there is
much in pro football that has come to fruition 13 years on. The rise of the black quarterback,
the change in emphasis to a GM’s medium and subsequent marginalisation of the
head coach as well as attitudes toward the treatment of concussions; resulting
in changes to the way the game is played today. Stone’s vision of professional
football is an unflinching head to toe examination of everything from locker
rooms to board rooms treatment tables to dinner tables, the game plan’s success
is in an approach to both the big and small picture. All this before you even
get to Pacino’s speech, Cameron Diaz’s histrionics, Jamie Foxx’s rise and
Dennis Quaid’s fall; to name a few. Any Given Sunday is grandiose and ambitious
film making at its very best.
