Top Football Movies

With a new football season on the horizon, this week's blog is a look at my picks for favorite football movies.

1. 2000-Remember The Titans

Not to say one of the greatest football movies ever, but one of the greatest sports movies ever.

Denzel Washington, is at the top of his game, as Coach Herman Boone in the true story of a newly appointed African-American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit.

Walt-Disney delivers a powerful film, and captivating film, this will not be the only time a Disney film is mentioned in the countdown.

2. 2004-Friday Night Lights

A story that set such a precedent to not only inspire a major motion picture but also a hit one hour series on NBC.

Billy Bob Thornton delivered a solid performance as Coach Gary Gaines. The film is based on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.

The film also marked the breakthrough performance for country music star Tim McGraw, a role that earned of all relevant awards the MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Performance.

3. 1993-Rudy

Some may say, this movie is #1, and sure it is a great movie, and it marked the career role for Sean Astin, who played the lead role, Dan "Rudy" Rudiger, a young man who has always been told that he was too small to play college football, but was determined to overcome the odds and fulfill his dream of playing for Notre Dame.

4. 2006-Invincible

Walt Disney delivers yet another solid sports film based on a true story. In the film, Mark Wahlberg plays Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender from South Philadelphia who overcame long odds to play for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 1976.

Wahlberg, who has clearly become one of the top actors in Hollywood, was solid in his performance, not to mention Greg Kinnear who was great as a young and yet tearless Dick Vermeil.

5. 1999-Any Given Sunday

Ever wanted to know what football was really like, well legendary director Oliver Stone brings this film with an all-star cast led by Al Pacino, who played coach Tony D'Amato.

Unlike most football films, Stone brought in some current pros and former pros to aid in the game scenes during the films, players such as Terrell Owens, Ricky Watters and Lawrence Taylor, the film does run a little long and was miscast with Cameron Diaz as the team's owner, but how can you not pick against the great Al Pacino.

HONORABLE MENTION

2006-Gridiron Gang

As a WWE fan, and a fan of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, this film marked his first real dramatic role as Sean Porter who leads a group of juvenile delinquents in gain ing self-esteem by playing football together. Critically, this movie didn't do well, but in my view, the film wasn't so great, but Johnson's performance stood out as he continued with a successful movie career.

1991-Necessary Roughness

Quite possibly, one of the funniest sports movies to watch, sure the first time I watched this I was 12 years old, but it's still a great film to this day.

Scott Bakula of Quantum Leap and Star Trek Enterprise fame plays Paul Blake, a former college all-pro quarterback who leads the Texas State University Fightin' Armadillos who must form a football team from their actual student body, due to NCAA sanctions.

The film also features stars who were big in the '80s, not so much nowadays, Sinbad and Jason Bateman.

Also, the announcer of the film brought the highest bids of hilarity, who was that announcer, Deuce Bigalow himself, Rob Schneider.