Mike's 10 favorite football movies

Football is a sport with a proud tradition and with the rising popularity of websites dedicated to football at all levels, football video games and radio and television networks dedicated to yearround football coverage, the football fan has a wealth of information at their fingertips at all times.

And yet, sometimes that just isn’t enough.
Sometimes, a football fan needs a good two hours of adrenaline-pumping gridiron action and there are numerous movies that can provide the thrills.

Here’s a list of the best, in my opinion:
• “The Longest Yard” - The original with Burt Reynolds, not the Adam Sandler version. Reynolds stars as Paul Crewe, a guy who ends up in prison after stealing his girlfriend’s car. The warden leads a semi-pro team made up of prison guards and enlists Crewe to put together a team of convicts. The convicts rise up and edge out the guards in a close and brutal game. Lots of fun football action and comedy makes this a must see, especially for those who only know the Sandler version.

• “Remember the Titans” - Denzel Washington stars as coach Herman Boone, a man who leads a team of recently integrated high school players at a school in Virginia in the 1970s. The theme of racial unity and team unity makes this a feel-good movie that leaves you cheering at the end. The guy who plays Randy on “My Name is Earl” is in this movie.

• “Friday Night Lights” - Billy Bob Thornton plays the head coach for the Permian Panthers who are on their way to contend for a state title. The film is based on a book and is now a TV show. The film illustrates how important football is to the Texas town and shows the may different storylines that accompany a player and his family during the season. This is probably the best movie about high school football ever made.

• “Invincible” - Mark Wahlberg stars as Vince Papale, a bartender in Philly who goes out for an open tryout for the Eagles when coach Dick Vermeil takes over the team. Papale, against all odds, makes the team and eventually makes an impact. This is for all the guys who ever dreamt of making the NFL and knowing that it once happened to a regular guy.

• “Any Given Sunday” - Oliver Stone tackles professional football with this film featuring former NFL players and Jamie Foxx as a budding superstar quarterback. The action is intense and Stone looks at all of the major players in an NFL franchise, from the owner (Cameron Diaz) and coach (Al Pacino) to the trainer (James Woods).

• “The Waterboy” - Sandler’s “The Longest Yard” may be inferior in comparison with the original, but “The Waterboy” is tons of fun. Sandler plays Bobby Boucher, an awkward young man with anger management problems. He channels his energy onto the football field and becomes a legendary linebacker. Not only is Sandler terrific, but his cohorts from his other films all show up, including Rob Schneider as a crazy Cajun shouting, “You can do it!”

• “Rudy” - They told him he was too small to play and that he would never, ever play for Notre Dame, and yet, through hard work and perseverance, “Rudy” made it on to the field in the waning seconds of a game against Georgia Tech and sacked the quarterback. “Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!” Not only was Sean Astin great, but Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn (“Swingers”) also appear in this charmer.

• “Gridiron Gang” - The Rock stars as a guy who works at a juvenile detention facility and enocourages his superiors to let him start up a football program. He believes that the group of wayward youth will find a better path through the sport and, for the most part, he is right.

• “Necessary Roughness” - This is a silly movie, but, like “Major League,” you just have to watch it when it comes on. Scott Bakula plays a former high school star who gets recruited to play for Texas State University after they lose all their athletic scholarships. He joins a band of misfits and, though they struggle early on, they win the big game at the end. This is the second film on this list that features Rob Schneider.

• “Varsity Blues” - James Van Der Beek plays Jonathon “Mox” Moxon, a quarterback for a team from small town Texas. Mox moves from the back-up position to starter and learns lessons throughout the film. The action was pretty good and the cast featured a bunch of people who have gone on to much bigger things.

I’m sure this column is open to a lot of debate and discussion. Visit www.thecitizen.com, find this column under sports and weigh in.