A Football Film Quiz for Super Bowl Sunday

A Football Film Quiz for
Super Bowl Sunday

It’s here -- Super Bowl Sunday -- sports fans biggest day of the year! And in tribute to the two remaining NFL teams -- the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints -- here’s a challenge for football fanatics. You may be an expert at offensive and defensive stats, but how well do you know your football films? Over the years, a number of Hollywood hits have featured the sport. Can you match the NFL player (real or fictionalized) below to both the actor who plays him and the gridiron movie in which he is featured?

The Players

1. Brian Piccolo - The gritty Chicago Bears running back who, despite a small frame and limited speed, becomes a key offensive factor during five seasons with the team before tragically succumbing to cancer at the age of 26.

2. Rod Tidwell - A yet-to-be proven wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals who is pressuring his agent to land him a contract he feels matches his ability.

3. Billy Clyde Puckett - The swaggering, cocksure New York Giants running back whose unusual freewheeling lifestyle includes sharing a Miami Beach penthouse with both a teammate and the daughter of the team’s owner.

4. Vince Papale - A teacher and part time bartender who, despite minimal football experience, shows up for an open tryout and beats the odds to become a Philadelphia Eagle, serving as a wide receiver and a special team member under its coach Dick Vermiel.

5. Joe Pendleton - The star quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams whose quest for a Super Bowl ring hinges on coming back from the dead and convincing his team that he’s the same talent even though he’s in a different body.

6. Shake Tiller - The laconic New York Giants wide receiver whose complicated platonic living arrangement with a teammate and the boss’ daughter gets even more complicated when he starts sleeping with the latter.

7. Gavin Grey - A Heisman Trophy winner who stumbles in his professional career as a Denver Bronco due to a lackadaisical attitude toward football.

8. Shane Falco - A former college wonder and NFL washout who gets one more chance for greatness when he is called upon to quarterback the Washington Sentinels and lead its ragtag group of misfits after the regular players go on strike.

9. Gale Sayers - The lightening quick Chicago Bears halfback who forms a unique bond with colleague Brian Piccolo, while battling a potentially career ending knee injury.

10. Willie Beamen - The perennial Miami Sharks bench warmer who gets a chance for stardom by getting a shot at the starting quarterback’s position after a devastating hit ends the season for the franchise’s star player.

11. George Plimpton - The renown Sports Illustrated writer who, wanting to experience the rigors of an NFL quarterback, talks the Detroit Lions into letting him come to training camp and vie for one of the team’s quarterback spots.

12 Michael Oher - A homeless teenager from a broken family, who with the help of his adopted family, gets involved with his high school football program. He becomes so good at the game he becomes a first round draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens.

13. Phillip Elliott - The aging Dallas Cowboy wide receiver who yearns for just one more chance at glory despite the aches and pains caused by years of bone-crushing tackles.

14. Paul “Wrecking” Crewe - A fast-fading NFL superstar, who during a league suspension for shaving points, gets thrown in jail for drunk driving and is forced to serve as quarterback for the convicts’ prison football team.

Thursday, February 4, 2010