My Favorite Sports Movies: Football

These movies are listed in no particular order, but reflect my favorite sports movies focusing on this particular sport. Here we go...

 Little Giants

A long-time favorite of mine. Also a classic within my family; if we like it, we will quote it. The line "Giants! Giants! Help us God!" was the absolute funniest thing to my sisters and I. We also definitely each had crushed on Junior, played by Devon Sawa. I use the phrase "hot hands Hayden" almost any time I'm watching football and for a time, I even thought that throwing toilet paper instead of a football was the KEY to on-field development and success. Also, I was more-or-less Becky "Icebox" O'Shea growing up. A total tomboy while absolutely clueless about boys. I would've loved that buggy she drove around though...

Remember the Titans

I really don't have a single bad thing to say about this movie. If I had to pick a #1 favorite sports movie, it would likely be this one. Denzel is phenomenal of course, but there are so many other things to love as well. The blossoming of Gary Bertier and Julius Campbell's friendship being chief among them. My sister and I will randomly walk past each other and one of use will push the other yelling "Left side!" and the other will add "Strong side!" until one of us gets tired of it. I don't care how many times I've seen it, some small part of me always hopes that I somehow unlocked the super-secret cut of the movie where Gary doesn't get in that car accident, doesn't get paralyzed and is able to play in the state championship.

The Blind Side

Another critically-acclaimed movie. Some movies don't REALLY get loved immediately, they may take a few years to simmer and marinate before people appreciate them, but I remember hearing how great this movie was after the first weekend. I was 10 years old when it was released, so word of mouth was really my primary way of getting news. The story was nearly heartbreaking from beginning to end, and it's probably one of the few movies that have made me tear up a little bit. It also has a healthy bit of light-hearted moments too so that definitely helped the mood. SJ was the hero of that movie, honestly. When he and Michael got into that car accident? Whew it was almost too much for me. It was the end credits featuring clips of the real Michael Oher and his family that got me though.

The Game Plan

Another childhood favorite. This really was my absolute favorite for a time. Like, I would watch it everyday...sometimes twice a day. Always perfect for family movie nights. My mom loved The Rock and my dad loved football so everybody won. Just a great, cute, light movie. Though I did think that Peyton was a little bratty, I was able to get over that.