Let’s Make Some Noise, vintage movie style: celebrating the films of yesterday and the day before.
By: Kevin Vickery
ON THE GRIDIRON, HUMANITY SHINES BRIGHTEST
Welcome back, readers, to our regular look through the celluloid vault where we continue to explore feature films from 50, 40, 30, 20 and 10 years ago.
This month, I’ll spare you the guessing game as the theme is obvious. We are looking at three turn-of-the-century football dramas that have aged into genuine vintage classics. These aren’t just movies about X’s and O’s; they are stories of resilient communities, second chances, and average Joes, chasing impossible dreams.
I’ve also broken the format a bit selecting three films that are all from twenty years ago instead of multiple decades. I guess 2006 was just a good year for football movies and as always; my column, my rules, so pull up a chair and let’s look at the tape.
“We Are Marshall”: 2006, Rated PG
Despite being a 20-year-old film, “We Are Marshall” is actually set 56 years ago in 1970. Directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol, (McG) this biographical sports drama film starring Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, and David Strathairn follows the immediate aftermath of the real-life tragedy when college town, Huntington, West Virginia was completely hollowed out by a horrific plane crash that claimed the lives of 75 people, including most of the Marshall University football team.
The film chronicles the painful, inspiring resurrection of a shattered program as a grieving community debates cancelling the football program entirely to honor the dead. However, a determined student body and surviving assistant coaches lobby the university board to push forward. The narrative tracks the grueling, step-by-step process of assembling a new roster from scratch, recruiting basketball players, track athletes, and true freshmen while engineering a revolutionary ball scheme just to remain competitive. It is a slow-burn journey through collective trauma, culminating in an emotionally charged matchup against East Carolina, that serves as a cinematic testament to the idea that some victories have absolutely nothing to do with the scoreboard.
Real-life head coach Jack Lengye (McConaughey) has eccentric, fast-talking energy supported by grieving assistant coach Red Dawson (Fox) while the University President Donald Dedmon (Strathairn) tries to hold a community together. McConaughey infuses the role with his usual charm, chewing through dialogue with a frantic optimism that perfectly offsets the grim, somber environment of a town in mourning. The interplay between his relentless energy and Fox’s quiet, guilt-ridden hesitation provides the film with its true dramatic anchor. Meanwhile, Strathairn delivers with a solid, quiet dignity, balancing the cold planning of running a university with the immense burden of comforting heartbroken families.
Despite its massive emotional heart, “We Are Marshall” struggled in theaters, grossing a mere $43.5 set against a hefty $65 million budget. While ignored by the Academy, the film still resonated with sports fans, earning a nomination for Best Sports Movie at the 2007 ESPY Awards and capturing the Heart Film Network’s Truly Moving Picture Award.
On the critical front, the reception was distinctly mixed. Many reviewers took issue with McG’s formulaic and overly slick direction, relying on too many clichés rather than finding true emotional depth. The general public however completely disagreed. Audiences embraced the movie’s wholesome, tear-jerking spirit, rewarding it with a strong 79% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and an “A-” CinemaScore. Ticket buyers universally reported being swept up in the honesty of the performances. I agree and would consider it as a modern classic for high school sports teams and families alike but I’m a sucker for feel-good movies about sports, especially if they happen to be based on a true story.
You can stream “We Are Marshall” on Apple TV+ or rent it via Amazon Prime Video.
“Invincible”: 2006”, Rated PG
Directed by Ericson Core, this biographical sports drama film from 2006 is set 50 years ago in the rough-and-tumble streets of 1976 Philadelphia and plays like a love letter to the American working class. Starring Mark Wahlberg as Vince Papale, a down-on-his-luck, 30-year-old substitute teacher and part-time bartender who defies all logic to make the NFL roster and Greg Kinnear who delivers an excellent performance as legendary coach Dick Vermeil, capturing the intense institutional pressure of a high-profile coach taking a massive gamble on an unproven civilian.
The economy is broken, the local neighborhood is struggling, and the town’s beloved Philadelphia Eagles are a disaster. When the team’s newly appointed head coach announces an unprecedented open tryout for regular citizens, our protagonist is reluctantly pushed by his neighborhood buddies to attend. After losing his job, his wife and his last shred of self esteem Vince, armed with nothing but pure raw speed and a lifetime of playing unpadded sandlot football, shocks the scouting staff by making the initial training camp cut.
The narrative unfolds as an intense, bone-bruising survival story as a 30-year-old amateur undergoes the brutal reality of an NFL training camp. Vince is faced with enduring the open hostility of elitist veteran players, overcome and his own deeply rooted impostor syndrome, while carrying the collective, desperate hopes of an entire depressed blue-collar neighborhood on his shoulders.
Wahlberg is perfectly cast, utilizing his own Boston roots to inhabit the gritty, quiet dignity of a working-class regular guy who expects nothing from the world. Elizabeth Banks shines brightly as Janet Cantwell, the sharp-witted bartender who enters Vince’s life, infusing the film’s hard-hitting sports landscape with a softer romantic element that never slows down the pacing.
“Invincible” scored well at the box office debuting at number one and grossing $58.5 million domestically. Critics and audiences both absolutely ate up this underdog story for its bone-crunching sincerity, authentic recreation of 1970s Philadelphia, as well as its motivational, working-class spirit and well integrated classic rock soundtrack. Today, it remains widely regarded as one of Disney’s finest live-action sports accomplishments
I wholeheartedly agree. Come for the feel-good football story and stay for Ted Nugent’s Stranglehold. It’s a win/win.
“Invincible” is currently available to stream on Disney+.
“Gridiron Gang”: 2006, Rated PG-13
Directed by Phil Joanou, this 20-year-old biographical sports drama film directed by Phil Joanou, is set 36 years ago in the razor-wire concrete jungle of 1990 Los Angeles. “Gridiron Gang” strips away the typical Hollywood gloss as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars in a grounded, dramatic role as Kilpatrick Detention Center probation officer Sean Porter, alongside rapper Xzibit as his fiercely loyal assistant coach.
Based on an incredible true story, this gritty feature follows a group of juvenile detainees who swap gang colors for football pads. The plot centers on at Kilpatrick Detention Center where teenage felons are too often locked into a vicious cycle of violence and recidivism. Frustrated by the lack of long-term rehabilitation, a bold supervisor (Johnson) proposes an unorthodox experiment of forming a competitive high school football team out of rival gang members within just four weeks. The heart of the story details the psychological struggles of forcing deadly street rivals to trust one another, memorize complex playbooks, and channel their rage into disciplined sportsmanship. As they face outside high schools that view them as nothing more than criminals, the team must learn to block out the prejudice of society and the violent pull of their home neighborhoods, transforming their defensive armor into a shield for their futures.
Johnson displays an impressive emotional range in “Gridiron Gang,” trading his usual charismatic winks and blockbuster superhero mannerisms for the worn-down, deeply fatigued eyes of a social worker fighting a losing battle against the streets. His scenes with the young cast crackle with a tough-love authenticity that has an unscripted feel. Xzibit balances the dynamic unexpectedly well, playing the steady, reliable tactician who provides a quiet undercurrent of stability to a volatile locker room.
“Gridiron Gang” was a success at the box office, grossing $41.5 million worldwide. the film earned widespread praise from community organizations for its raw, authentic depiction of youth rehabilitation.
Mainstream film critics gave the movie a tough time, due to what they felt was a predictable, by-the-numbers underdog script arguing that despite its grit, the film hit every single generic milestone of the sports genre without deviation. Meanwhile moviegoers highly praised Dwayne Johnson’s early pivot into serious dramatic acting, pushing the audience score to 81% as they connected deeply with its raw message of reform and second chances. Fans also consistently pointed out that the inclusion of real-life documentary footage during the closing credits gave the film a profound, weight that overrode any narrative predictability.
As usual, I’m in agreement with the fans and not the critics and would recommend “Gridiron Gang” to anyone who likes football films or feel-good stories.
You can find “Gridiron Gang” available to stream on Netflix.
Looking back at this era of 2000s cinema, it is obvious why these specific sports dramas continue to endure as vintage classics. Each film transcends the standard constraints of sports entertainment by treating the game of football not as the ultimate destination, but as a melting pot for human transformation. Whether rebuilding a broken community after an unspeakable tragedy, rescuing at-risk youth from the streets, or providing an economic beacon of hope to a struggling city, these features prove that true stadium magic happens when the lights reflect our own shared struggles.
As we are now in the thick of football season, consider watching one or all of these films during the week leading up to whatever your particular favorite variety of football may be. Whether it’s your local high school under the Friday night lights, your favorite NCAA college team on Saturday, or watching the pros in the NFL slugging it out on Sundays, these film picks all offer a heartfelt true story of triumph from the history books of all levels of the gridiron.
