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While we adore a heartwarming feel-good story, there’s something special about a feel-good movie based on your favorite sports. Think about it: the triumphant underdog story accompanied by the crescendo music in the background. They get the field goal, they break the tie, whatever it may be: we love to see the heroes win.
Everyone is prepping for the upcoming Super Bowl on Feb 12, with the long-awaited game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. Whether you’re picking out the right snacks or getting the invites just right, we all have our ways when it comes to prepping for the Super Bowl. And for the cinephiles, we love to prep with a good movie. Or five.
From more dramatic tales like the 2015 film Concussion to family favorites like The Waterboy and The Game Plan, there’s a movie for everyone. And not just that, there are also some fantastic football shows you can binge before the big day. Either way, grab the popcorn, and let’s get the movie marathon started!
Check out the very best football movies and TV shows to stream before the Super Bowl LVII on Feb 12, 2023, below!
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‘The Waterboy’ (1998)
Image Credit: (c) Buena Vista/courtesy Everett Collection. Starring Adam Sandler, The Waterboy is all about a college football team’s waterboy who discovers he has a knack for the sport and joins the team.
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‘Necessary Roughness’ (1991)
Image Credit: ©Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection. If you’re looking for a sports comedy the whole family will love, try out Necessary Roughness, which is all about the Texas State University Fightin’ Armadillos trying to build a football team from their student body.
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‘Any Given Sunday’ (1999)
Image Credit: Everett Collection. Starring Al Pacino, Dennis Quaid, and Cameron Diaz, and based on the 1984 novel, Any Given Sunday is a powerful drama that’s all about the lives and careers of every person who makes the game possible.
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‘Gridiron Gang’ (2006)
Image Credit: ©Columbia Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection. The 2006 sports drama Gridiron Gang follows a juvenile detention center counselor who helps his inmates gain confidence through football.
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‘We Are Marshall’ (2006)
Image Credit: ©Warner Bros./courtesy Everett Collection. We Are Marshall is based on the true story of a plane crash that claimed the lives of members of the Marshall University football team, as the coach and the remaining players try to keep the football team’s legacy going.
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‘The Best of Times’ (1986)
Image Credit: Everett Collection. Starring Robin Williams as the nerdy man and Kurt Russell as the former star football player, the 1986 comedy The Best of Times is a must for those who love stories of redemption (especially when it pertains to the underdog!)
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‘Brian’s Song’ (1971)
Image Credit: Everett Collection. When you think of football movies, chances are Brian’s Song instantly comes to mind. This 1971 classic revolves around two football players forming a bond as one of them is dying of cancer.
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‘Concussion’ (2015)
Image Credit: h: Melinda Sue Gordon/©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection. If you’re in the mood for a dramatic film based on sports, then check out Will Smith’s 2015 film Concussion. Smith plays forensic neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, who discovers CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in a professional football player and goes on a journey to spread awareness.
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‘The Game Plan’ (2007)
Image Credit: ©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection, We love adorable father-daughter moments, and this movie is a classic for your family members born in that awkward period between Gen X and millennials. Starring The Rock and Madison Pettis as his daughter, The Game Plan follows a bachelor NFL quarterback finding out he has a kid, and works to strengthen their bond.
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‘Undefeated’ (2011)
Image Credit: ©Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett Collection. Undefeated is all about a group of students from inner-city Memphis, their volunteer coach, and how they overcame adversity through football.
Watch it on Netflix here.
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‘Remember the Titans’ (2000)
Image Credit: (c)Buena Vista Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection. Starring Denzel Washington, Remember the Titans is a true story about a Black coach and his new football team’s first season as a racially integrated unit.
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‘The Longest Yard’ (1974)
Image Credit: Everett Collection. The Longest Yard is either your favorite football movie, or one that’s gonna make you scratch your head a lot. It’s all about a warden who enlists one of the inmates (a former pro quarterback) to put together a team that can be beaten up by the guards. It’s a lot.
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‘Blind Side’ (2009)
Image Credit: Ph: Ralph Nelson/©Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection. Starring Quinton Aaron and Sandra Bullock, the Oscar-winning film The Blind Side follows the events of Michael Oher, a homeless teen who becomes a first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring family.
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‘Friday Night Lights’ (2004)
Image Credit: (c) Universal/courtesy Everett Collection. Before we talk about the hit show, we need to mention the 2004 sports classic Friday Night Lights, which is a true story following the intense joy and pressure the players, coaches, and families take from the sport.
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‘All the Right Moves’ (1983)
Image Credit: (c) 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved. Starring Tom Cruise and Craig T. Nelson, the 1983 cult-favorite All the Right Moves follows a high schooler trying to get a football scholarship and a coach trying to get his big break.
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‘North Dallas Forty’ (1979)
Image Credit: c) Paramount Pictures/ Courtesy: Everett Collection. Football players get older, and this comedy shows fans what it’s like for these two fun-loving and aging football players.
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‘Varsity Blues’ (1999)
Image Credit: © Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection. When the backup quarterback gets his big break after the star quarterback is injured, life gets complicated with his girlfriend, friends, and coach in Varsity Blues.
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‘Invincible’ (2006)
Image Credit: ©Walt Disney Co./courtesy Everett Collection. The 2000 film Invincible is all about Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender who ended up playing for NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles in 1976.
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‘The Express’ (2008)
Image Credit: ©Universal/courtesy Everett Collection. Now, this favorite sports drama from 2008 called The Express follows Ernie Davis, the first Black man to win the Heisman Trophy.
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‘Rudy’ (1993)
Image Credit: ©TriStar Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection. If you’re looking for some nostalgia, you can’t go wrong with the 1993 film Rudy. Despite being told he’s too short to play football, we watch Rudy breaking all the odds to play on his dream team.
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‘Coach’ (1989-1997)
Image Credit: ©ABC/courtesy Everett Collection. Time for the TV shows! No football party is complete without mentioning the 1990s staple Coach, starring Craig T. Nelson, the main character in this wild ride which features him trying to coach the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles.
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‘Friday Night Lights’ (2006-2011)
Image Credit: photo: Bill Records / ©NBC / Courtesy Everett Collections. Friday Night Lights was a hit show, beloved by many for the captivating and dramatic tales surrounding the Dillon Panthers and head coach Eric Taylor.
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‘All American’ (2018- present)
Image Credit: photo: Troy Harvey / ©CW / Courtesy Everett Collection. Worlds collide when a star football player is recruited to his enemy high school, and things never stop being dramatic in All American.
Watch it on Netflix here.
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