For football fans, it’s the best time of the year! The regular football season has started and it has us in the mood for some movies and books about football.
Arguably, Rudy is the best football movie of all time. It’s the story of a man’s dream to play for Notre Dame, even though he’s not considered to be an elite player. He walks on and puts in the work to gain the respect of his coaches and fellow players. Not only is this movie about football – it’s an underdog story about knowing what you want and not stopping until you get it.
Another great watch is 12 Mighty Orphans. This is the true story of the Mighty Mites, a team made up of orphans from kids from Fort Worth during the Great Depression. The ultimate underdogs, their winning season drew the attention of many football fans, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Knowing that his team wasn’t full of burly players, coach Rusty Russell developed football strategies to help the team win with their wits.
If you’d rather watch something lighthearted, give 80 for Brady a try. Starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field, and Rita Moreno, the movie tells the story of four female fans over 80 years old determined to attend the Super Bowl in Houston and meet quarterback Tom Brady. It’s based on the true story of an alll-female fan club made of widows all over the age of 80 whose dream is was to attend the Super Bowl. Spoiler alert: the real fans never made it to the game. However, the movie is full of humor and tales of close friendship.
But what about books, you ask? Surely there are football-related books I can check out and enjoy. You’re right!
Friday Night Lights by H.G. Messenger is the true story of the people and culture of Odessa, Texas, which revolves around the local high school football team. Almost every resident organizes their life around games and the team. The author includes an afterward that looks at the town and the team members ten years later. The book later inspired a movie and a television series. It is available as an e-Book on eReadIllinois.
For a more straight-forward non-fiction book, try Why We Love Football: a History in 100 Moments by Joe Posnanski. This is a moving celebration of the history of American football from the New York Times bestselling author of Why We Love Baseball. Posnanski’s book is a must-have deep dive into the archives and legends of the sport, and the result is a rousing tale of the 100 greatest moments in football lore.
Not big on non-fiction? No problem. We’ve got the book for you. North Dallas Forty by Peter Gent is a novel about the dark side of football. On the field, the men who play football are gladiators, titans, and every other kind of cliché. But when they leave the locker room they are only men. Peter Gent’s classic novel looks at the seedy underbelly of the pro game, chronicling eight days in the life of Phil Elliott, an aging receiver for the Texas team. Running on a mixture of painkillers and cortisone as he tries to keep his fading legs strong, Elliott tries to get every ounce of pleasure out of his last days of glory, living the life of sex, drugs, and football. North Dallas Forty was a bestseller when it was released in 1973. It is available to read as an eBook on Libby.
Want to write your own story about football or the other sports you love? Join us at our Short Story Writing Workshop on Thursday, September 25 at 6:00 pm. The program is free and you don’t need to register. Just show up with paper and a writing utensil or a laptop!
Interested in more stories about football and other sports? Contact the reference desk at [email protected] or (815) 756-9568 ext. 2150. We’d be happy to give you recommendations.