I had two doubts about this movie before re-watching it: 1) How would it age? I remember seeing it as a kid and loving it, then re-watching it again years ago, and still loving it. But it had been a while, and it is almost 50 years old. Would it hold up? 2) Could it be considered a football movie? I remember a lot of prison scenes in the film, and there is only one game at the end. Did it have enough football to make the list?
Those concerns were answered quickly. While the opening of the movie couldn’t get green-lit in today’s politically correct climate (more on that shortly), it fits the main character’s arc.