70 Fun Facts About Football Movie

In Remember the Titans (2000), which actor plays Coach Herman Boone?

Boone took over the newly integrated T. C. Williams team in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1971, with Will Patton playing assistant Bill Yoast.

The real 1971 T. C. Williams Titans finished 13-0 and how many of those wins were shutouts?

The team ended the season ranked second in the nation, a run the film compresses into a single dramatic championship push.

Rudy (1993) was the first film allowed to shoot on the campus since which 1940 movie?

Sean Astin plays Rudy Ruettiger, and the score is by Jerry Goldsmith, who also scored Hoosiers for the same director and writer.

Which team does Rudy Ruettiger finally get to play against in the closing game of Rudy?

The real Ruettiger recorded a sack in that 1975 game, and Kobe Bryant later said he watched the film repeatedly for motivation.

Friday Night Lights (2004) follows the 1988 Permian Panthers of which Texas town?

The film is drawn from H. G. Bissinger's 1990 book, and the real Boobie Miles appears on screen as an assistant coach.

Who plays Coach Gary Gaines in the film Friday Night Lights?

Kyle Chandler played a different coach, Eric Taylor, in the later TV series; the film was directed by Peter Berg.

Sandra Bullock won the Best Actress Oscar for The Blind Side (2009). Which character does she play?

Bullock turned the role down three times before accepting a pay cut in exchange for a share of the profits, and the film went on to gross over $300 million.

The Blind Side is based on a 2006 book by which author, also known for Moneyball?

Michael Oher chose Ole Miss, the Tuohys' alma mater; in 2023 a judge ended the conservatorship the family had held over him.

In Any Given Sunday (1999), Al Pacino coaches which fictional pro team?

Oliver Stone invented the AFFA league because the NFL refused to let him use real teams and stadiums.

Who was originally cast as quarterback Willie Beamen in Any Given Sunday before Jamie Foxx took the role?

Reports said Combs could not throw a football convincingly, though scheduling was the official reason; Will Smith and Chris Tucker both passed on the part.

Cuba Gooding Jr.'s Oscar-winning Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire plays for which NFL team?

The character was inspired partly by Tim McDonald, a client of the real agent who served as the film's technical consultant and who has a cameo.

Which real-life sports agent was the main inspiration for the character Jerry Maguire?

Cameron Crowe wrote and directed the 1996 film, which grossed about $273 million and gave the world 'Show me the money'.

The Longest Yard star Burt Reynolds played college football for which school?

Injuries ended his playing days; the film was shot at Georgia State Prison in Reidsville with help from then-Governor Jimmy Carter.

Mean Machine, the 2001 British remake of The Longest Yard with Vinnie Jones, switched the sport to what?

In the 2005 American remake, Adam Sandler took over as Paul Crewe while Reynolds returned as the coach.

The 1971 TV movie Brian's Song is about Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers, teammates on which NFL club?

James Caan and Billy Dee Williams starred, and the film drew a 48 percent audience share, then a record for a made-for-TV movie.

Brian's Song was adapted from Gale Sayers' autobiography, which has what title?

The film won five Emmys, including a supporting-actor award for Jack Warden as coach George Halas.

In Varsity Blues (1999), Jon Voight's coach Bud Kilmer leads a team from which fictional Texas town?

The 2019 college-admissions bribery investigation was codenamed 'Varsity Blues' after the film.

Pro wrestler Jon Moxley took his ring name from a mishearing of which Varsity Blues character?

A ring announcer said 'Moxley' instead of 'Moxon' and the mistake stuck; James Van Der Beek played the rebellious backup quarterback.

How many people died aboard Southern Airways Flight 932, the 1970 crash behind We Are Marshall?

The dead included 37 players, five coaches and 25 boosters; Matthew McConaughey plays Jack Lengyel, the coach hired to rebuild the program.

Which director, known by a single three-letter name, made We Are Marshall?

The film cost $65 million and grossed only $43.5 million; Matthew Fox co-starred as surviving assistant coach Red Dawson.

Invincible (2006) tells of Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender who made which NFL team in 1976?

Mark Wahlberg is 5 ft 8 in; the real Papale stood 6 ft 2 in. Greg Kinnear plays coach Dick Vermeil.

In The Waterboy, how many straight games had the SCLSU Mud Dogs lost before Bobby Boucher joined?

The film's $39.4 million opening was a November record at the time, and it went on to gross over $190 million worldwide.

Who plays Coach Klein, the Mud Dogs' nervous head coach, in The Waterboy?

Kathy Bates plays Bobby's fiercely protective Mama, and the Mud Dogs win the Bourbon Bowl 30-27 on New Year's Day.

Which team won all three replacement games in the 1987 NFL strike and then the Super Bowl?

Keanu Reeves plays Shane Falco, an ex-Ohio State quarterback who choked in the 1996 Sugar Bowl, with Gene Hackman as his coach.

In Little Giants (1994), the game-winning trick play is named after which historical event?

The play was inspired by Tom Osborne's fumblerooski, and John Madden made his feature-film debut in the movie alongside Emmitt Smith and Bruce Smith.

Which duo play rival pee-wee coaches and brothers Danny and Kevin O'Shea in Little Giants?

Shawna Waldron's Becky 'Icebox' O'Shea is cut from her uncle's team for being a girl, which sets the plot in motion.

Kevin Costner plays the general manager of which team in Draft Day (2014)?

The script was originally set with the Bills; the film topped the 2012 Black List and was Ivan Reitman's final feature as director.

In Concussion (2015), Dr. Bennet Omalu's 2002 autopsy of which Steelers Hall of Famer led him to identify CTE?

The film grew out of a 2009 GQ article titled 'Game Brain'; leaked Sony emails showed the script was softened toward the NFL.

Ernie Davis, first African American Heisman winner and subject of The Express (2008), played for which university?

Davis was drafted into the NFL but died of leukemia at 23 without playing a pro game; Dennis Quaid plays coach Ben Schwartzwalder.

In Radio (2003), James Robert Kennedy befriends a high school football team in which state?

The film came from a 1996 Sports Illustrated piece by Gary Smith; Kennedy got his nickname from his love of listening to the radio.

Which future U.S. president played George Gipp in the 1940 biopic of Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne?

The role gave Reagan the lifelong nickname 'the Gipper'; the film's famous halftime speech actually dates to a 5-4 season in 1928, not 1930.

In Heaven Can Wait (1978), Warren Beatty plays a backup quarterback for which team?

Beatty first wanted Muhammad Ali for a boxing version, then rewrote it for football; he became the only person nominated for producing, directing, writing and acting on one film.

Heaven Can Wait (1978) remade which 1941 film, whose hero was a boxer rather than a footballer?

The 1978 version received nine Oscar nominations and won for Best Art Direction.

North Dallas Forty (1979) was adapted from a novel by Peter Gent, a former receiver for which NFL team?

Nick Nolte plays the painkiller-dependent Phil Elliott, and country singer Mac Davis made his film debut as the quarterback.

Why did the NFL refuse to let Leatherheads (2008) use the real name of the Duluth Eskimos?

The filmmakers merged Duluth with the Canton Bulldogs to invent the 'Duluth Bulldogs'; John Krasinski's war hero was loosely based on Johnny Blood.

What did players do in the scene cut from The Program (1993) after teenagers imitated it?

One teenager died and two were injured copying the stunt; James Caan plays Coach Sam Winters of the fictional ESU Timberwolves.

In Gridiron Gang (2006), Dwayne Johnson starts a football team at which LA juvenile facility?

The Kilpatrick Mustangs story had already been told in a 1993 documentary; rapper Xzibit plays assistant coach Malcolm Moore.

Facing the Giants (2006), made by a Georgia church for about $100,000, grossed roughly how much?

Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, cast mostly volunteers, and a debate broke out over whether its PG rating was for religious content.

Frank Deford's novel Everybody's All-American was set at which university, which refused to let the 1988 film shoot?

UNC suspected the story defamed campus legend Charlie 'Choo Choo' Justice; Dennis Quaid had his collarbone broken by ex-Patriot Tim Fox during the shoot.

Necessary Roughness (1991) was inspired by the NCAA 'death penalty' handed to which real program?

Scott Bakula plays a 34-year-old freshman quarterback and Kathy Ireland the team's improbable kicker for the fictional Texas State Armadillos.

Wildcats (1986), starring Goldie Hawn, was the film debut of which two future stars?

Roger Ebert gave it one and a half stars, and Gene Siskel called it a 'pathetic sports comedy'.

In All the Right Moves (1983), Tom Cruise's defensive back tries to escape which fictional Pennsylvania steel town?

It was shot in Johnstown before Risky Business had even been released, so Cruise's only notable prior credit was Taps.

Semi-Tough (1977), starring Burt Reynolds, was adapted from which sportswriter's novel?

The film's B.E.A.T. self-help cult parodies Werner Erhard's est; actor Bert Convy attended a real est session to prepare.

In Disney's The Game Plan (2007), Dwayne Johnson plays a star quarterback for which fictional team?

It was the last film to credit him as 'The Rock', and it made about $146 million on a $22 million budget.

American Underdog (2021) shows Kurt Warner stocking shelves at which supermarket chain?

Zachary Levi plays Warner, who became the first undrafted player to be named Super Bowl MVP or NFL MVP; audiences gave the film an A+ CinemaScore.

80 for Brady (2023) sends its four stars to which numbered Super Bowl, famous for a 28-3 comeback?

Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field star; Brady announced his final retirement two days before the film opened.

In Paper Lion (1968), Alan Alda's George Plimpton tries out as quarterback for which NFL team?

Real Lions Alex Karras and Joe Schmidt appear, and Lauren Hutton made her debut; the film moved the book's 1963 events to 1967.

In Horse Feathers (1932), Huxley College's football rival is named after which scientist?

ESPN ranked the climactic game, in which the brothers score from a horse-drawn garbage wagon, first among football movie scenes; the speakeasy password is 'swordfish'.

Undefeated, 2012's Best Documentary Feature Oscar winner, follows a team from which city?

Coach Bill Courtney's Manassas Tigers are the subject; the two directors shot over 500 hours of footage while doing their own sound and editing.

Patton Oswalt's parking attendant in Big Fan (2009) is obsessed with which team?

Writer-director Robert Siegel had just written The Wrestler; the ending has Paul shoot a rival radio caller with a paintball gun.

Harold Lloyd's The Freshman (1925) shot crowd scenes at a real 1924 game between which schools?

The film cost about $300,000, earned $2.6 million and started a craze for college pictures.

What exact dance score do Pat and Tiffany need for De Niro's parlay in Silver Linings Playbook?

The film is set during the 2008 NFL season, and Jennifer Lawrence became the second-youngest Best Actress winner for playing Tiffany.

In Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, ex-placekicker Ray Finkle missed a game-winning field goal for which team?

Dan Marino appears as himself, and Sean Young plays both Lt. Einhorn and Finkle in the film's notorious twist.

How many games long was the De La Salle High School winning streak dramatised in When the Game Stands Tall?

Jim Caviezel plays coach Bob Ladouceur; the streak from 1992 to 2003 was finally ended by Bellevue High School of Washington.

Who wrote The Best of Times (1986), in which Robin Williams' banker organises a rematch of a 1972 high school game?

Kurt Russell plays quarterback Reno Hightower; Shelton went on to write and direct Bull Durham two years later.

Air Bud: Golden Receiver (1998), which moves the dog from basketball to football, is dedicated to whom?

The Russian circus villains want to steal Buddy; the sequel went ahead despite the first dog's death from synovial sarcoma.

Black Sunday (1977) shot its climax at a real Super Bowl. Which numbered game did the crew film?

Bruce Dern plays a Goodyear blimp pilot plotting to bomb the stadium; the Steelers beat Dallas 21-17 as the cameras rolled.

Shane Black's script for The Last Boy Scout (1991) sold for a then-record fee of how much?

Damon Wayans plays the ex-LA Stallions passer; the film opens with a running back shooting his way to the end zone.

Disney+'s Safety (2020) tells of Ray McElrathbey raising his brother while playing for which college?

The NCAA had to rule on whether the community's help counted as improper benefits; the real McElrathbey cameos as a player named Raheem.

Adam Sandler's 2005 remake of The Longest Yard was shot mainly at a state penitentiary in which state?

The story is set in Texas; the cast mixed wrestlers Goldberg and Steve Austin with NFL alumni Michael Irvin and Bill Romanowski and rapper Nelly.

Woodlawn (2015) casts Jon Voight as which legendary Alabama coach?

The film follows running back Tony Nathan at newly desegregated Woodlawn High in 1973 Birmingham; Sean Astin plays chaplain Hank Erwin.

In The Replacements (2000), Keanu Reeves' Shane Falco quarterbacks which fictional Washington team?

Falco is a washed-up Ohio State All-American living on a houseboat; the film was Jack Warden's last screen appearance.

Which producer, famous for blockbusters, made Remember the Titans for Disney?

Boaz Yakin directed the $30 million film, which went on to gross about $136.8 million worldwide.

In which state were the Titans' home games in Remember the Titans actually filmed?

Paulding County High School stood in for T. C. Williams, with other scenes at Berry College in Rome and schools around Atlanta.

Where does Rudy enrol in the film Rudy while hoping to transfer into Notre Dame?

After two years there and three rejections he was finally accepted; the $13 million film shot on campus for 50 days.

Which studio finally green-lit Rudy in 1992 after Columbia put it into turnaround?

Filmmakers had a two-week window to revise the script and just two days to secure permission to film at Notre Dame.

Although set in Louisiana, The Waterboy was mostly filmed in which state?

Kathy Bates had thrown the script in the trash before her niece spotted Adam Sandler's name and talked her into it.

Cameron Crowe wrote Jerry Maguire for which actor, who instead went off to direct That Thing You Do!?

Woody Harrelson also turned it down before Tom Cruise took the part and earned a Best Actor nomination.

Which Bruce Springsteen song reached No. 19 on the Hot 100 in 1997 after featuring in Jerry Maguire?

Originally released in 1995, the track was re-issued after its exposure in the film and on the soundtrack.

Draft Day was first planned around which NFL team before switching to the Cleveland Browns?

The studio changed teams because production was cheaper in Ohio; the film still lost money, grossing $29 million on a $25 million budget.