Let’s admit it – we’re all really missing our weekly, daily, perhaps even hourly sports updates – so much so that it’s high time we get our fix somewhere else. Over the years, production companies have released football movies that range from family-friendly and inspiring to very mature, gruff, and intense. Of course, some of these titles are better than others, but hey, it’s still football.
If you’re a fan who can’t wait for the season to begin, set up your tailgate party, bring the snacks, and settle in for one of the football movies we have listed for you below. Most of these movies can be found through cable TV providers like DISH Network, DishLatino, Hulu, Netflix, and HBO Max!
Remember the Titans
In 1970s Virginia, football is practically a religion. However, when the school districts in Alexandria decide to integrate and place a black coach in charge of the new football team called the Titans, race becomes a part of the game in a way it never has before. Through the triumphs and the troubles that reveal the true colors of many people in the town, the players who once hated each other based solely on skin color learn what lies beneath the exterior, and they begin to play in a brand-new way that makes people remember just who the Titans are.
Friday Night Lights
When the star quarterback of an otherwise abysmal football team in Texas suffers an injury in the first game of the season, hopes of the fellow players and town residents are dashed. Without him, they have no hope – or do they? Coach Gary Gaines believes otherwise, and through pushing his team harder than ever before, he inspires them to move beyond what they think is possible and start realizing that they’re all valuable players who can lead their team to victory.
Draft Day
This film gives an inside look at one of the most important days in football – NFL draft day. Sonny, the general manager of the Cleveland Browns, has to recruit new players, but his personal distractions prevent him from giving his full attention to his job. His girlfriend is pregnant, and the owner of the team is looking to fire him. When he accepts an offer with a player, he begins to question his own judgment and wonder whether or not he made the right move.
The Blind Side
Based on a true story, a white, well-to-do family in the South welcomes a black teenager with a troubled background into their home. After realizing Michael’s strength and abilities, the family encourages him to try out for the football team at his high school while also coaching him through his education and his life.
Concussion
Dr. Bennet Omalu is conducting an autopsy on a former NFL football player when he sees something interesting – the rough appearance and deterioration of his brain that appears to be the result of physical trauma. After naming this damage he has discovered and publishing it in a scientific/medical journal, he attempts to sound the alarm within the football community only to meet backlash and anger from coaches, players, and the organization as a whole.
The Longest Yard
Paul Crewe is a washed-up ex-football player who winds up in jail. The sadistic warden names him the captain of the prison’s football team, challenging Crewe’s crew to a prisoners versus prison guards game. While navigating the new waters within the jail and trying to avoid the violent and easily-provoked guards, he teams up with an imprisoned ex-NFL coach to try and whip the prisoners into shape and beat the warden at his own game.
Varsity Blues
As we’ve learned thus far, football in Texas is practically church. So, when the starting quarterback, Lance, gets injured, the famous nobody and benchwarmer Mox has to step up to the plate. Surprisingly, Mox is incredibly talented, and becomes the team’s hope to make it into football fandom. However, while dealing with the pressures of his town, teammates, and family, Mox struggles internally as he works through the other dreams he has in store for himself.
Leatherheads
Set in the 1920s, Dodge Connolly is the captain of a football team and trying his best to garner more attention, support, and fans for the sport. His solution is to recruit a handsome and charming war hero named Carter Rutherford to the team who he knows will create more interest. Cue to a love triangle between Dodge, Carter, and an attractive newswoman named Lexie, and you’ve got a hilarious, sweet, and clever football film.
Radio
Coach Jones lives in a town divided by race and prejudice. When he sees a disabled black student named Radio practicing on the football field, he befriends him and takes him under his wing. However, Coach Jones beings receiving criticism and even anger from parents of the players and other residents of the town who claims his relationship with Radio is preventing the team from being their absolute best. Shocked, Jones must take a step back and figure out what is more important to him: his relationship with Radio, or winning.
We Are Marshall
Based on the true, tragic story, We Are Marshall follows the timeline of what happened after the historic plane crash of 1970 that killed all 75 passengers, including the 37 players, five coaches, and numerous other trainers and members of the Marshall University football team in Huntington, West Virginia. Suffering this horrific blow, new coach Jack Lengyel arrives to heal the players, community, and the once-great football program that brought so many people together.