The Gridiron

There is only one movie that makes me cry.  In the movie Rudy, I always get misty-eyed during the final scenes when Rudy finally gets to play after all the years of hard work.  While Rudy is probably my favorite movie, there are several great football movies.  This weekend Julianna and I have having a football movie marathon.  We started out the evening by tailgating in our kitchen- hot dogs on the George Foreman, chips, and root beer floats.  After our first movie- The Blindside- we had hot apple cider during halftime.  We finished off the evening with Remember the Titans.  One of my fall traditions is to spend an evening watching the best football movies of all times and usually my friends are somewhat willing participants (Julianna spent the evening knitting). 

Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons in the fall were made for playing football.  (I have attended several football games where the conditions have been less than perfect but we don’t need to go into that right now.)  As a little kid, my older brother put my younger brother and I though summer football camp so we would be in top condition for our family flag football games against our parents on Saturday afternoons.  In high school I watched most football games from the percussion section of the marching band.  When a touchdown was scored, fireworks were shot off, and the band played the fight song.  While in college I loved going to K-State football games.  There is just something about the atmosphere and all the fans coming together to cheer for the Cats.  For a person who doesn’t like to sing, I can’t help myself when it comes time to belt out Wildcat Victory.  As an athletic trainer I also got to spend a fair amount of time at football practices and on the sidelines of high school football games.  While this isn’t the way most college students would prefer to spend their Friday nights I enjoyed it (my Friday nights are usually pretty lame anyway).  Also in college I played on the Boyd Hall intramural flag football team.  I was the quarterback (if anyone has seen me throw a football this will give you a clue about how competitive we were).  We had some great victories- probably more moral victories than actual victories.  A great bonding experience with the other ladies on my floor and we still love sharing memories about our glories on the gridiron. 

So if anyone is looking for some great entertainment- you are apparently desperate for a good time if you are reading this blog- a football movie is always a wonderful option.  Here are my top 5 picks:

1.      Rudy- As previously mentioned, this is my favorite movie.  It is a great story of someone who is willing to dream big and work hard to achieve those dreams that everyone else has told him are impossible.  Watch it with a box of Kleenex.

2.      Remember the Titans- This is a very close second.  This is the story of a high school football team that is formed during the integration of a black and white high school.  There are also some great quotes in this movie such as “Your overcookin’ my grits, Coach” and “Jump on that ball like a starvin’ man on a Christmas ham”.

3.      We are Marshall- Based on the true story, it is about the challenges faced in rebuilding Marshall’s football program after a deadly plane crash. 

4.      Facing the Giants- A good movie that focuses on the fact that real success in all about honoring God.  The head coach of the mediocre team decides to change his coaching philosophy and encourages his team to praise God no matter what the outcome of the game.

5.      Possums- So this movie is a little different and corny but still fun.  The high school hasn’t won a football game in years.  The school ends its football program but the local radio station continues to broadcast the games which the announcer makes up.  The imaginary team ends up making it to the state championship.  

   **So this post was actually written last fall but never made it out of the depths of the files stored on Alex's laptop.  Even though it is a year old all the information is still good and K-State football is even better this year.