The 25 Best Championship Football Games In TV And Movies

Few things get American sports fans more pumped than a championship football game. It doesn't matter if it's Pop Warner, going to state in high school, a college bowl game, or the Super Bowl—football is a way of life in this country. And over the years, countless filmmakers, screenwriters, and production companies have tried to replicate the excitement of a big game in movies and TV shows.

In case you've been living under a rock over the past two weeks, you’re well aware that Super Bowl XLVI is this Sunday. And while there will be a long wait for more football after the New York Giants and the New England Patriots square off, there are plenty of football movies and television shows to scratch that pigskin itch during the offseason. So to point you in the right direction, we give you The 25 Best Championship Football Games In TV And Movies.

Written by Jason Serafino (@Serafinoj1)

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It might be a little on the kid-friendly side, but The Game Plan hits all the right notes for a family comedy, and the championship game at the end of the movie is no different. Instead of starring a pretty-boy actor who doesn’t look tough enough for flag football, this movie stars The Rock, who was actually a defensive tackle for the University of Miami 1991 championship-winning team.

The movie is in the Disney mold, but the in-game footage is just as rough as anything you would find on Sunday afternoon. There are some really hard hits here that don’t come across as overly-choreographed, and look borderline dangerous. The movie also features booth commentary by Boomer Esiason and Marv Albert, who apparently just announces everything at this point.

In real-life, Goldie Hawn probably wouldn’t be too great of a football coach. However, in Wildcats, she not only becomes a high school head coach, but her team also qualifies for the city championship. And she does it all at an inner-city high school where most of the student’s school pictures are mug shots.

Of course, Hawn’s team triumphs over all by winning the game despite being down big at halftime, which came as a shock to no one. Thankfully, the game is extremely entertaining while it lasts. Also noteworthy: Wildcats is the big-screen debut of both Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, who later starred in another sports movie classic, White Men Can't Jump, together.

During season three of Friends, when the show was still good, Monica challenged Ross to a game of tackle football where the victor would win a family heirloom, the Geller Cup. And even though the trophy was basically a hunk of wood with a Troll doll stuck on top, these friends battled it out to see who would come out on top.

What followed was perhaps the sloppiest football game this side of the XFL, and it ends in a disappointing draw, but watching Jennifer Aniston jump up and down in slow motion is infinitely more satisfying than listening to John Gruden and Mike Jaworski fawn over Drew Brees on Monday nights.

One of Harold Lloyd’s funnier silent films, The Freshman sees the legendary comedian attempt to win the affection of the school’s hottie, Peggy, by joining the football team. Unfortunately Lloyd is the furthest thing from an athlete and he is quickly relegated to tackle dummy status.

His chance to make a real impression comes during “The Big Game” when the coach is forced to put Lloyd in after injuries cripple the rest of the team. From out of nowhere, the undersized Lloyd leads the team to victory and, in doing so, inadvertently set up the formula for future underdog sports movies such as Radio and Rudy.

In what is the most bizarre championship game on the list, this Super Bowl from Heaven Can Wait climaxes with Warren Beatty’s displaced spirit entering the body of a Los Angeles Rams quarterback who was killed on the field. Beatty then proceeds to lead his team to victory in his newfound body. This is the ultimate example of perseverance as Beatty proves that you don’t even need a body to win a Super Bowl. Now if only someone would tell that to Philip Rivers. Quit making excuses, son.

After becoming a media sensation for an embarrassing dance caught on video, the producers of the Super Bowl ask Homer to choreograph a halftime show for the big game. With the help of Flanders, Homer stages a theatrical reenactment of Noah’s Ark in front of the national audience, which becomes the subject of national scorn.

There's not much football shown, but watching Homer humiliate himself in front of the entire country provides more than enough laughs to make this one of the best championship game parodies to ever air.

The Comebacks might not be Shakespeare, but its relentless parody of every sports movie that has come before it is a welcome sight for jaded movie fans. Ripping apart movies like Radio, Friday Night Lights, Invincible, and countless others (many of which are on this list), the championship game from The Comebacks combines the slapstick comedy of every parody flick with the underrated genius of comedian David Koechner.

It’s always nice seeing Hollywood clichés get put through the wood chipper every once in a while, and this movie is absolutely savage in its satire. Plus, the film is directed by a man named Tom Brady, and you know those Brady’s know a thing or two about the gridiron.

A championship football game doesn’t have to be serious to be among the best, as Not Another Teen Movie proves. Featuring multiple concussions, profuse profanity, and a severed torso, this movie’s offbeat brand of football is more reminiscent of what the game would look like through the eyes of a hyperactive kindergartener, and it works beautifully. It’s hard hitting and ludicrous, but this game is a throwback to comedies like Airplane, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men In Tights.

If there is one thing that Everybody’s All-American got right, it’s bringing the cut-throat college game day atmosphere to the big screen. The cursing, the fighting, and the hard-nosed play is something that all college football fans can recognize from their favorite rivalry game. However, we’re not buying John Goodman as a college student or an athlete.

It becomes especially unbelievable when Goodman runs back a game winning touchdown, which they had to have used a stunt double for. But despite Goodman’s girth, this championship game provides enough action and testosterone to get anyone amped up. Yes, it's scripted, but this game comes off as naturally as real college ball does on Saturdays.

The Program took a look at the nastier side of college football with its inclusion of drug and steroid abuse among players in the locker room. And all of this behind-the-scenes turmoil came to a head during the team’s bowl game, which came down to the final moments. With its use of slow-motion and cheesy rock music, the game comes off a bit dated now, but it gets the job done and provides enough tension to keep us interested.

The Express tells the story of Ernie Davis, the first black athlete to win the Heisman Trophy. The film climaxes with the legendary Cotton Bowl Classic from 1960 where Davis won the MVP. This game perfectly captures the atmosphere and energy of the event, while not shying away from the racial components that went into it.

By using the game itself to further the story, The Express succeeds in turning the football scenes into more than just eye-candy. And it also provides a history lesson on one of the more underappreciated sports heroes during the Civil Rights Movement.

It’s always a scary scenario when Homer Simpson takes an interest in his kids, and in this episode his overzealous parenting lands him a job as the head coach of Bart’s Pee-Wee football team. Despite Homer’s general inability to perform even the simplest tasks, and the fact that he got most of his plays by studying an electronic tabletop football game, the team makes it to the championship game against Capitol City and eventually wins the game. Unfortunately Bart gets hauled away by the cops in the process after taking the fall for the team’s quarterback, Nelson Muntz.

From players intentionally breaking the legs of their opponents to a botched extra-point snap, the conference championship game from North Dallas Forty breaks all of the typical Hollywood rules by featuring the seedy side of football and a loss for the stars of the film.

This dramedy starring Nick Nolte took a long, hard look at the addiction to painkillers and booze that pollute most football locker rooms in the '70s, and this game is no different. There aren’t many feel-good moments or triumphant music as the North Dallas Bulls fall short of their ultimate goal. It’s a heart-breaking scene that also takes a look at the physical toll that the game entails.

In the third season of Friday Night Lights, the Dillon Panthers square-off against the South Texas Titans in the state championship game. While viewers quietly settled into this episode to watch the Panthers miraculously win yet another state title, they were served a curveball by the show’s writers when they lost to the Titans.

Even though there is plenty of unpredictable drama off the field for the Panthers, they usually made up for it by ending up on the winning side more often than not on the field. However, the magic wasn’t there this time and this episode helped further the unpredictable nature of the show with a close loss.

OK, it's not technically a championship game in the traditional sense, but the game featuring the prisoners against the prison guards from the original Longest Yard is for the ultimate bragging rights in the big house. Featuring plenty of violence, and even a death before kickoff, this is a game of pure intestinal fortitude as the ragtag prisoners come back from behind to beat the guards.

There is plenty of drama throughout as Burt Reynold's character is tested after being blackmailed by the Warden. But in the end, the good guys win, even though the good guys happen to be dangerous convicts. Also, it's indisputable that Reynolds makes for a much more believable football player than Adam Sandler does in the remake.

While the real Super Bowl X saw the Steelers beat the Cowboys 21-17, Black Sunday turned the event on its head by having a madman attempt to blow the Orange Bowl up with a bomb-filled blimp during the big game. There isn’t much real football shown in this movie, but John Frankenheimer’s flair for suspense made it just as intense as any game could have been.

For fans of the Steelers Nation and the Cowboys, it really shouldn’t matter which team took home the trophy because freedom was the real winner here as the attempted terrorist act was thwarted in the nick of time.

Before Friday Night Lights came out in 2004, Varsity Blues was seen as the ultimate movie about high school football. It dealt with the drama both on and off the field for these kids and the pressures they faced while playing big-time high school ball.

The championship game at the end is no different as the team has to battle back from behind and win the game during the last seconds—without the coach who the players have essentially mutinied against. It doesn’t stray from the formula too much, but Varsity Blues does give people a glimpse at the intense nature of amateur football, and the scrutiny that these players are under despite being just kids.

The championship game from the series finale of Friday Night Lights wasn’t about brute strength or crafty plays; it was a montage of emotion and closure that brought the entire series full-circle. This game reminds us that the show was more focused on the people under the pads than their actions in them.

And in the waning seconds of the game, as a pass is lofted up towards a receiver, we don’t see how it ends. Instead the show flashes forward to take a look at the players and coaches eight months down the road. Sure the outcome becomes known, but watching these characters grow is more important than the game will ever be.

It was never actually shown, but Al Bundy’s legendary four touchdown game in the city championship is the stuff of legend. It’s no secret that Bundy is an unhappy man with a pair of irritating neighbors, two dimwitted kids, and a wife that wears mascara by the ton, but his herculean effort against Andrew Johnson High is the lone beam of positivity in his otherwise dour existence.

He often views this game as one of the best sporting accomplishments in history, even though no one seems to pay attention when he recounts the tale. Still, this feat of athletic prowess is one of the best running gags during the show’s existence, and one of the most important sporting achievements in sitcom history.

The name Ray Finkle has become synonymous with a field goal kicker choking in a big situation—just ask Billy Cundiff from the Ravens. The grainy footage of Finkle missing that last-second kick and losing the Super Bowl is one of the most memorable scenes from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and has spawned an almost cult-like following for the character.

Based partly off the real story of failed Buffalo Bills kicker Scott Norwood, the Finkle game is the perfect blend of reality and fiction, and it expertly shows the irrational side of fans after a big loss. But despite the tragedy of the missed kick, seeing Finkle become a crazed, transgender dolphin kidnapper afterwards always brings a smile to our face.

The first season of Friday Night Lights did a solid job at setting the tone for the rest of the series, as well as being original enough to differentiate itself from the book and movie that it was based off of. But it all came down to the season finale, which saw the Dillon Panthers go up against the West Cambria Mustangs for the state championship—led by underdog backup QB Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford).

Despite the normal amount of drama surrounding the team off the field, the Panthers won the game over the Mustangs and sent fans of the show home happy after a stellar debut season. There would be plenty more title games during the show’s existence, but this first one remains the most satisfying.

The final game of Remember The Titans is an emotionally charged battle that serves as a microcosm for the themes that run throughout the film. It doesn’t have the flashiness of the football shown in a film like Any Given Sunday, but this game has more story behind it than most Academy Award winning dramas. It doesn’t pull any punches and shows racial divides in an absolutely brutal way.

Following the formula often found in Hollywood, the Titans win the game in grand fashion during the final seconds. But much like Hoosiers did for basketball films, Remember The Titans succeeds despite the clichés and it provides us with one of the most tense championship games ever.

Friday Night Lights gave casual audiences a look at the near-religious following that high school football has in Texas. The film culminated in the state championship game where Permian High battled Carter High for dominance in Dallas. To people from the area, this wasn’t just a game, it was life or death.

The game itself was intense and dramatic, thanks to director Peter Berg’s eye for action and a moving halftime speech that gave people a glimpse at the bubbling emotions that go into every big game. Like any sports movie worth its salt, the big game came down to one last play. Instead of bowing to Hollywood formula, Permian High comes one yard short and loses in the end. The towering highs and devastating lows of football are on full display here, and the sobering outcome further establishes the realism of the movie.

Adam Sandler’s film career has taken a nosedive over the past decade, but The Waterboy still stands as a great sports movie. As the dimwitted Bobby Boucher, a waterboy turned Ray Lewis-type enforcer, Sandler spends most of the film following the typical Happy Madison formula of slapstick and goofy one-liners, but the final championship game is pure brilliance.

Sandler's not alone in providing the laughs here as Henry Winkler truly gets to show us how crazy he has become while roaming the sidelines as Coach Klein. It features some sports movie clichés a bit too closely, but also subverts others, and there is no denying the fact that this is one of the funniest sporting events ever put on film.

Out of all of the championship games on this list, the final game from Little Giants might be the most important. Not because it’s the best executed or most exciting, but because a play that was run during the game has since been adopted by NFL teams, most notably by the Carolina Panthers earlier this season.

Called “The Annexation of Puerto Rico,” the play was used by Rick Moranis’ brand of kid-misfits in the movie to beat Ed O’Neil’s oversized Pee-Wee Cowboys and stake their claim as the top team in Ubania. The play involves a fake snap that sees the center run the ball left while the rest of the defense is chasing the quarterback right. We can just imagine Cam Newton popping in a DVD of the movie to study tape of Devon Sawa.