Top 10 Movie Quarterbacks
5. Cap Rooney (Dennis Quaid), Any Given Sunday
Sure, sure, Jamie Foxx’s “Steamin’” Willie Beamon had the flashy moves and the rap video but Cap Rooney, to quote Al Pacino’s head coach Tony D’Amato (and now I request that you take on an Al Pacino-an holler), is “one of the greatest pressure players of all time!!!” Also, to my knowledge, Beamon has yet to win a Pantheon Cup.
4. Levander Williams (Mykelti Williamson), Wildcats
Goldie Hawn’s ragtag band of ne’er do well but heroic high school miscreants is pushed over the top and to the “big win” after she makes a recruiting pitch to “Bird” Williams inside an inner city garbage dump and convinces him to take his talents to Prescott High. He’s kind of the 80′s version of Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson.
3. Paul “Wrecking” Crewe (Burt Reynolds), The Longest Yard
Perhaps the most crucial quarterback quality is leadership, and while one may argue a point-shaving prison inmate isn’t necessarily what we think of in terms of “leadership” it still takes one hell of a leader to mold a bunch of jailbirds into something as finely tuned as the Mean Machine.
2. Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves), Point Break
Reeves’ other movie quarterback, Shane Falco of The Replacements, gets a lot of pub but noted Movie Football Historians generally agree that Johnny Utah had the superior career (and better name). Both quarterbacks played for Ohio State but Falco lost the Sugar Bowl – a “disaster” – and Utah won the Rose Bowl. Falco failed in his one season in the pros whereas Utah never even got the chance on account of a knee injury.
1. Reno Hightower (Kurt Russell), The Best Of Times
As old school as Slingin’ Sammy Baugh and one of the very, very few movie characters whom you are allowed to describe as “tough as nails” without it being pedantic cliche, Reno not only helps David Taft usurp Goliath Bakersfield in a rematch of a game played 13 years earlier by literally drawing up plays in the dirt, he does it while still finding time to reconcile with his wife. All things considered, this remains my favorite football movie.
THAT TIME HAS ARRIVED. WHO DID WE LEAVE OUT? WHO WILL WIN THE SUPERBOWL? SOUND OFF BELOW!
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22 Comments
Seth Maxwell, North Dallas Forty. He had the lot!
I’ve never seen “North Dallas Forty.” I should probably rectify that.
What about Icebox from “Little Giants”?
I’ve never seen “Little Giants” either. Though being a MASSIVE college football geek I know that Michigan State’s infamous fake punt against Notre Dame was called “Little Giants.”
Awesome list Nick, as a huge football fan myself, I’ve seen all of those films many times. In fact, my buddies and I used to watched Necessary Roughness religiously back in high school. Yeah I’m like Al Bundy, I played high school football but didn’t score four touchdowns in one game. Ha ha.
While I’m a (college) football fan, I never played at any level. I’m a bit too much of a skinny weakling. I don’t think I could have got through flag football without suffering an injury.
Pretty good list, but in my list Burt Reynolds would occupy all 5 of the top five slots.
Paul Crewe was a champ. And Burt Reynolds, of course, was a pretty damn good real life running back at FSU.
I probably should have mentioned, too, that this list does not even acknowledge the existence of Adam Sandler’s Paul Crewe.
Number 11 on Nick’s list, Number One in your hearts, Shaaaaaannnnnnnnnee Falllllllllco.
Oh yeah! I remember him. He was a great quarterback.
If we were doing Top 10 Kickers there is no doubt that Rhys Ifans would have topped the list.
I LOVE The Last Boyscout
And Johnny Utah is such an awesome name!
Great list!
Johnny Utah is truly one of the great movie names.
Ha… I love the idea behind the list. I could’ve thought of four of these. And a fifth that you didn’t mention- that kid from The Program who was supposed to win the Heisman but instead got drunk and sat in traffic.
Ah yes, drunk and sitting in traffic, where one out of every four Heisman contenders ends up.
Somewhere in this world, Gino Torretta and Charlie Ward are standing on a busy road having a conversation about the importance of field goal kickers.
Amazing list I’ve seen some of these films and I’m certainly gonna see some of the ones I haven’t seen based on their placement on your list.
Do we get a running back? Wide receiver list? Hell I’ll accept one with players that aren’t quarterbacks…
Thank you, sir! I should probably state for the record I don’t truly “like” all the films on this list.
I do like the idea for an all-non quarterback list. I might have to do that next year. Robin Williams as the wide receiver in “Best of Times” is probably my favorite Robin Williams role simply because it’s his least Robin Williams-like performance. He’s so……calm.
I’m surprised by how many of these I’ve actually seen. Alot of them it’s been a long time and I don’t really remember. Fun list. Too bad it’s Quarterbacks so I can’t nominate Brian’s Song the best football movie ever!
Ah, “Brian’s Song.” The armchair quarterback’s rom com.
I don’t watch a lot of football or films related to it, but I did enjoy Any Given Sunday. Any film where Al Pacino outsmarts Cameron Diaz is ok in my book!
Fun list. My personal favourite is Burt in The Longest Yard. How ’bout a special mention for Dan Marino in Ace Ventura or Brett Favre in There’s Something About Mary.
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