- By Geno McGahee
Sports have always been a good basis for film and Hollywood has taken full advantage of that. No other sport has brought the drama and the fan base that football and the NFL has done. Over the years, it has been a sport that can travel across any genre including action, drama and even comedy. It has given a lot of material to the potential filmmaker out there looking to tell a story.
One of the most underrated football films of all time was THE LAST BOYSCOUT, with Bruce Willis, which not only delved into the sport but also tapped into the excitement behind betting on your favorite team. Art imitated life through this film and we see it play out as our favorite NFL teams go head to head and the fans can put down some cash to see if they can make it count. Assisting in their bets are sites that have NFL betting tips that put them on the right track to turn a serious buck.
REMEMBER THE TITANS was a great film that took place in a time of racial divide and showed how the sport can unite people, including the masses that put down their money to watch the game transpire. Denzel Washington gave one of the best performances of his career, leading his team, the Titans, to an undefeated record in an award-winning film.
The sport brought a lot of laughs with the 1998 Adam Sandler film “THE WATER BOY”, paying tribute to the strategy of the game while adding some absurdity to it. Sandler would return to the genre in 2005 with another comedy, “THE LONGEST YARD”, a remake of the 1974 film with Burt Reynolds.
One of the biggest stars in Hollywood, The Rock (Dwayne Johnson), saw the appeal of the sport as he took on the lead role in the 2007 film “THE GAME PLAN.” It would ride the line of comedy and drama of the sport and include a feel good story that would appeal to all viewers. With his history of entertaining fans in the WWE, taking on other wrestlers like Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kevin Nash, The Rock brought a fun and familiar feel to the role and also a believable one considering his athletic background. The Rock wasn’t the only grappler to be attracted to football. Austin, Nash, Bill Goldberg and many others found roles in various Hollywood productions about the game.
With the actors, filmmakers, and fans of the sport bringing the game to the big screen, there has been an attraction from the opposite direction. Football players have transitioned to the big screen and many have found great success in major motion pictures. Fred Williamson, former player for the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, became an action star in such films as THREE THE HARD WAY, ORIGINAL GANGSTAS and BLACK CAESAR.
NFL’s Los Angeles Rams drafted Terry Crews in 1991, but the game would lead to an acting career that is still going strong. Acting in over 80 productions since his departure from the game, Crews has become one of the actors that are in the most demand. Working alongside names such as Sylvester Stallone, the Wayans brothers, Eddie Murphy, David Spade and even returning to a familiar uniform in THE LONGEST YARD across from Adam Sandler, Crews has made the transition very successfully.
The NFL is America’s favorite sport and is as American as apple pie, with every fan in the country picking their team and ready to argue about who will win and why. The debates happen in bars and at work and the fans will face any weather conditions to see their team play live. It’s fair to say that the football fans are the most dedicated and find the most joy and most connection with the players they support, which is why Hollywood makes so many productions celebrating the love of the game.