Greatest Football Movie Ever Tournament: The Blind Side vs Wildcats

The last of our three brackets is the "Other" bracket, where we put all the movies that didn't fit into the Professional or College brackets. You'll see a couple of different types of films here, although the majority of them seem to be based in high school football.

Two such movies will kick things off for us today.

The Blind Side is based on the real life story of current Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Michael Oher, and is taken from the book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis.

Young Michael Oher (played in the film by Quinton Aaron) spent much of his childhood bouncing around different foster homes in Memphis, Tennessee, largely because he keeps running away whenever he gets placed in a new home. He eventually winds up enrolling in the Wingate Christian school, where he makes a friend named Sean. Sean's mother, Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) eventually brings him into their home, and he becomes a part of the Tuohy family. Eventually, his academic problems get turned around, which allows him to join the school's football team, which is where young Oher finds his true calling.

Bullock won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in this movie, and the film itself received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

Wildcats

Wildcats came out in 1986, and stars Goldie Hawn. . .or, as a lot of the younger folks might know her, "The Woman That Gave Birth To Kate Hudson." There are a couple of other people in here that have bit parts that you might be familiar with, too. . .a couple of guys named Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes.

Molly McGrath (Hawn) is the daughter of a famed football coach that dreams of, one day, coaching her own team. When the opportunity comes up, McGrath leaves her job at a more affluent high school to take a job at Central High School in the inner city. At first, she's witness to a lot of racial prejudice and gender bias, but eventually the players realize that she's the one in charge. Eventually, McGrath takes her team all the way to the city championship game. . .and, wouldn't you know it, their opponents are from the school that McGrath left to take the job at Central High.

When I was in high school, Wildcats was one of those movies that it seemed like was on HBO three or four times a week in the afternoons during the summer when there really wasn't a whole heck of a lot else going on. Take that how you will. (People in my age bracket probably know what I'm referring to. . .and, keep in mind, I said HBO, not Cinemax. There's a difference, ifyouknowwhatImeanandIthinkthatyoudo.)

So, have at it, folks!