From the field to the reel...

Football has no doubt eclipsed baseball, at least temporarily, as America's favorite sport (Even though we all know what is king in the bluegrass). There may be no better proof of our country's love for the pigskin than seeing all the football movies that have made their way to the box office. This is also the time of year, with football season quickly approaching, that we dust off some of our favorite football inspired DVDs. So with this in mind, I am going to give you my top 5 football movies to pick up at your next trip to the local video store.

5. Varsity Blues: There is no doubt that this movie has it's cliches, but it also has it's moments of sincere devotion to high school sports. The story revolves around a fictional Texas high school where football is probably more important than religion. The second string QB gets the opportunity to lead the team when the all-state starter is sidelined. Again, the story is a bit cheesy at times, but it's also extremely entertaining; focusing on the players who carry the imagination of an entire town on it's shoulders.

4. Rudy: Rudy is usually toward the top of most football movie lists, and it's no different here. We all know the true story of "Rudy" Ruettiger who isn't a particularly good student or athlete. Yet Rudy goes after the biggest of dreams as he is determined to make the Notre Dame football team as a walk-on. It's so easy to like Rudy and the character that the movie is based on. It's fun to put ourselves in the shoes of this normal guy trying to accomplish the impossible, even though very few of us have the courage to do the same.

3. Remember the Titans: Titans is the story of racial tension in a rural Virgina town when a local high school is desegregated. The white coach is demoted to an assistant and the new black coach (played by the always good Denzel Washington) is charged with bringing the team and town together. It's a classic story of how sports has the power to heal the deepest of wounds and unite uncommon people.

2. We are Marshall: This is one of the more underappreciated football films in recent memory, it's also one of my favorites. The film centers around the rebuilding of the Marshall University football program after the tragic plane crash in 1970. The accident killed most of the team, coaches and prominent boosters; making fielding a team highly improbable. The story is far more about what happened off the field than what ever happened on it. It's message is not about winning but a reminder that sometimes the challenge is just getting on the field.

1. Friday Night Lights: Based on a book of the same title, FNL chronicles the true story of the 1988 Odessa High School Panthers in West Texas. Odessa, economically depressed, relies on football as their escape from their mundane lives. It is truly fascinating to watch how the town literally hinges on what happens on Friday night at the high school football field. The pressure that the coach feels is only second to that of the local teenage heroes. The film's ending is what turned some people off to it, yet it is exactly what made me love it. Winning is only part of the story for any team or game, there is also the rarely told story of the other side. In Friday Night Lights, you see the story from that unique vantage point, and what sports fan cannot relate to the heartbreak of defeat?

So there it is, my top 5. I could have done a top 10 or even top 20, but I just focused on my favorites. Feel free to disagree or post your own, you have every right to be wrong.