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Women in football movies: blink and you'll miss themApparently, I harbor an inner redneck. Earlier this week, I blogged about country music, and today I'm blogging about football, both of which I like a great deal. I'm not sure how all of this meshes with my musical theater–loving New York ways, but I guess we all have our contradictions. Happily for me, my girlfriend tolerates the country music (and the showtunes) and embraces football. So we do OK. I'm mentioning all of this right now, of course, because this Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday, and I will be rooting for my hometown Giants. (Although my regular season team is the Pittsburgh Steelers.) Despite the emergence of numerous women's professional football leagues over the years (you can check out a pretty good history here), football is a guy sport. Women can and do play, but next to nobody pays attention — including me. While I generally like women's sports more than men's, I simply cannot get into women's pro football. But I do like women in football movies when I can find them. Here are the very, very few. 1. Tami Maida — Quarterback Princess (1983)
I'll bet I wasn't the only young adolescent who developed a crush on Helen Hunt in her turn as high school quarterback Tami Maida. I had already seen her on Family, The Facts of Life and that ABC Afterschool Special, Desperate Lives, where she jumps out the window while on angel dust. But in Quarterback Princess, she played some football and crusaded for the rights of girl athletes everywhere. Of course, she also made a point of how straight she was. And how she didn't like other boy things, like logging. But still, both Helen Hunt and the real Tami Maida were pretty cool. 2. Molly McGrath — Wildcats (1986)
Goldie Hawn was the girls' track coach who longed to take over the J.V. football team. (She was brought up on football.) The sexist varsity coach arranges for her to get a chance coaching a team in the slums. Against all odds, she wins over her team of ne'er-do-wells, grows closer to her daughters and stands up to her bullying (in a nerdy kind of way) ex-husband. Oh, and wins the big game against the sexist coach's team. Also, Swoosie Kurtz is in the movie. And Goldie Hawn raps (à la “The Super Bowl Shuffle”) with her players over the closing credits. “It's the sport of kings/Better than diamond rings./Football.” The only problem was that her football proficiency was not convincing. 3. Annabelle Farrell — The Replacements (2000)
Brooke Langton plays Annabelle, the cheerleader/bar owner who is Keanu Reeves' support and inspiration in The Replacements. There's a little bit of Susan Sarandon/Bull Durham to her character, but mainly I just included her here because she's hot. And that's pretty much it for movies I've seen. A friend told me that Kathy Ireland played a replacement kicker in Necessary Roughness, and Cameron Diaz was important in Any Given Sunday, but I haven't seen those movies and therefore cannot comment. I can, however, comment on a couple of TV characters who strut their football stuff. 1. Rudy “Sweet Feet” Huxtable — The Cosby Show, “Rudy Suits Up”
Back when Rudy was still little and cute, she joined a peewee football team. Claire (played by the lovely Phylicia Rashad) was initially worried, but then, with the rest of the family, got caught up in the “Sweet Feet” phenomenon when Rudy turned out to be good. I liked that there was no big gender issue to this episode. The kids were all so little that girls playing wasn't a big deal. And she stopped playing because she got all beat up in a game and it wasn't so fun anymore. (Although quitting at the first loss is not a great message for kids.) Mostly, it was just Rudy being insanely cute in a football uniform. 2. Monica, Rachel and Phoebe — Friends, “The One With the Football”
Again, the girls got to actually play football during this episode. The backstory was that Monica and Ross had not been allowed to play football since they were adolescents due to a nose-breaking incident in the quest for the “Geller Cup.”
Now, it's Thanksgiving and the gang is playing football in between turkey-basting breaks. Monica is obsessively competing with Ross. Phoebe is discovering herself as an athlete. And Rachel just wants someone to throw her the ball. Here's my favorite quote from the episode:
And here's a clip of all the football. Any other football fans out there? What movies and shows have I missed? Submitted by on February 1, 2008 - 7:00pm. |
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News, Reviews & Commentary on Lesbian and Bisexual women in Entertainment and the Media
Necessary Roughness
That is soooo weird, I just saw that movie today! The movie overall was pretty good, made me laugh so I put it in the good pile of football movies. The kicker is recruited by one of the coaches off the soccer team. She was of course scoffed at when she just joins the team but she has a mean leg and the big, samoan center/nose tackle takes a liking to her so the rest of the team dears not to mess with her. She takes a couple of hits in the games but is sturdy and not girly at all.
Other girls in football movies is Hayden Panettiere's character in Remember the Titans. She doesn't not play but is heavily involved in the game as her father is the coach. Then there's the little girl in the Disney feel good movie with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson The Game Plan. Johnson plays a QB that learns he has an eight year old daughter that comes to live with him for a month. She is taken to practice and becomes well liked by the entire team. She even gets to suit up for the obligatory group-slow-motion shot, helmet and all. A fun movie I recomend if you want to have something light and entertaining to watch.
Yes, I really love American football. And I think that most of us harbor an inner redneck and I'm not even from the US! Swedish girl here! I'll be rooting for NYG on Sunday, them Pats make me... But I shall not speak ill of them. I just hope that the best team wins and that that team will be led by Mr. Eli Manning. Um, ok, obviously I care a bit too much. Anyways...
EDIT: Oh, I forgot, the parody movie The Comebacks did the female kicker thing but they combined it with Bend It Like Beckham so the kicker had Indian shawl over her pads and jersey. Kind of a bad movie but it made me laugh(I'm easily amused) so it wasn't a complete waste of time.
Little Giants
thats the only movie I remember that has a girl footbal player..Becky the Ice Box..yeah pretty cool movie.
Oh yeah Lindsay Lohan too in that movie were Tyra Banks come out Lindsay is a footbal player.
Little Giants
In Urbania, Ohio, snobby ex-football star Kevin O'Shea conducts try-outs for the town's Peewee football team, the Urbania Cowboys, which will compete for a chance at the state Peewee football playoffs. Kevin slights his younger brother Danny O'Shea by rejecting Danny's daughter Becky "Icebox" O'Shea, who is a good player. Kevin rejected her simply because she's a girl. Becky and some of her friends, boys who were also rejected, get the idea to start up their own team, to be coached by Danny. After Kevin tries to put a stop to that plan, Danny gets Kevin to agree to a game to decide which team will represent Urbania, because each town is allowed only one team. Danny and Becky scour the town in search of willing players, and they gather a crew of kids who have limited skills and no team spirit. They luck out when Becky discovers Junior Floyd expertly passing rolls of toilet paper right into a shopping cart at the supermarket, as though he's passing a football. With Becky and Junior on board, the new team, the Giants, has a chance to make a good showing, and they begin their training. But low morale continually threatens to break up the team. A chance visit by former NFL football coach John Madden and four NFL football stars -- Steve Entman, Bruce Smith, Emmitt Smith, and Tim Brown -- leaves the team with several tips on how to create an advantage. Becky develops a crush on Junior Floyd, and she's jealous when her cheerleader cousin Debbie flirts with Junior. Becky decides to compete for Junior on equal terms, so she puts on make-up and a cheerleader outfit, joining the cheerleaders and abandoning the team. But the Cowboys will be coming into the game with a vicious new player named Spike Hammersmith. Will Becky be there for the team if they need her? Written by Todd Baldridge
It's a really good movie, I loved it as a kid growing up.
The movie with Lindsey Lohan is...
called Life Size. It's about a little girl who doesnt have a mom and somehow brings her barbie doll to life, that is where tyra comes in. Another tv show that has girls playing football is The Proud Family. There is an episode that Penny tries out for the team and the coach does everything in his power to not let her join. In the end she makes the team and is the hero of the homecoming game, well kind of. And who could leave out Waterboy and his mamma. She is prolly my all time favorite female in a football movie!
I'm having delusions of granduer.....
Partida
Instant Rivalry
I'm sorry, you said you like the Steelers? That's a shame because i, as a Browns gal, am now your sworn enemy. But i'd actually rather play than watch. I used to be a running back anytime i played. I was actually really good, but my high school's football coaches were sexist southern boys who thought i should stick to home ec., so i never actually played for my high school's team.
Anywho, i don't think i've ever seen any of the movies or tv moments you mentioned. I know i'm probably missing out, too.
Friday Night Lights!
Friday Night Lights, Friday Night Lights, Friday Night Lights!!
I love football (well, I could give or take pro football, but I have a standing date with SEC college football every saturday late august-november.) and I love great tv. So I love love love Friday Night Lights. And who doesn't love Lyla Garrity and Tyra Collette facing off at the powder puff football game?
Charlie's Angels
There's a classic episode where the Angels have to go undercover in a women's football league.
And Sabrina totally gets hit on by the owner/manager of an opposing team...
Ooooh
Seriously!
Memories
One of my favorite characters...
My real life football hero....
ah, THAT football
Bend it Like Beckham?
Not Only But Also
And Also...
Gregory's Girl (UK - 1981) - I was only a little bairn at the time, but the girl-gets-on-the-football-team storyline had me strangely fascinated, even then....
Not Only But Also
Hot Womyn in Football.
I highly recommend, Ace14, for you to watch Any Given Sunday. I thought Cameron Diaz did a really good job acting in that movie, which was outside of her comedy movie generes. I'm not a 100% football lover. I'll watch sports movies with hot womyn in them.
"Do I have to dial 9 to call 911?"(This quote was shared to me by a nursewho was talking about her then 14 year old daughter who asked her mom while the father was having a heat stroke)
Any Given Sunday
Cameron Diaz was great in that movie....a cut-throat Football team owner who played right along with the big guys. Definetly lent to some agent-owner negotiation fantasies *blushing*.
“I sit up here and snap my fingers and say, ‘Girl, you lookin' hoochie!'"
yes, Little Giants! So glad
Yes! Little Giants!
One of my all-time favorites. And, guess what? Ice Box grew up and got all hot and stuff.
~It means pride.~
Dear Ace
I think we're lost twins separated at birth. I too have a fascination about so differnet stuff like showtunes, country music and football. The only thing is that I like the one that's actually played with feet... The american variety I really don't get. Not the name and not the rules.