A Football Life

A Football Life
GenreDocumentary
Created byNFL Films
NFL Network
Narrated byJosh Charles[1]
Theme music composerDavid Robidoux[2]
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons10
No. of episodes116
Original release
NetworkNFL Network
ReleaseSeptember 15, 2011 (2011-09-15) – present

A Football Life is an American documentary series of 116 episodes, developed by NFL Films and aired on NFL Network that documents the lives of select National Football League (NFL) players, coaches, owners, and teams. Friends, teammates, family members and other players and coaches associated with the subjects are interviewed.[3]

History

[edit]

The name of the series originated in a quote from Steve Sabol of NFL Films:[4]

For a company that prides itself on telling good stories, this is one hell of a story. Dad makes the Hall of Fame. Son's going to be his presenter. Son gets a brain tumor. Now the story is, Is the son going to be there? Will the son make it? Who knows? I could be around until the Super Bowl in New York [2014]. But I've had a lot of time to think ... So they talk about heaven, and I don't know what is waiting for me up there. But I can tell you this: Nothing will happen up there that can duplicate my life down here. That life cannot be better than the one I've lived down here, the football life. It's been perfect.

Originating as an NFL Network special on the career of Bill Parcells in November 2010,[5] it premiered as an episodic series on September 15, 2011, with the first part of Bill Belichick's documentary.[6] Unlike most episodes, the episode on Belichick was a two-hour documentary, and focused specifically on the 2009 season; Belichick agreed to be wired for sound for the entire season.[7] The documentary was viewed by about 657,000 viewers, the most-watched documentary in NFL Network's history, and was the second-most watched program in Boston at the time with 151,000 viewers, trailing behind a Boston Red Sox game.[8]

Season Two began on September 12, 2012, with The Faces of Tebow.[9]

The series was nominated for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Edited Sports Series/Anthology"[10] and "Outstanding Promotional Announcement – Episodic" for Belichick's episode[11] in 2012.[12]

Season One was eventually released on DVD.[13]

Episodes

[edit]

Season One

[edit]

Source:[14]

No. Subject Original air date
1 Bill Belichick September 15, 2011
2 September 22, 2011
3 Reggie White & Jerome Brown September 29, 2011
4 Kurt Warner October 6, 2011
5 Walter Payton October 13, 2011
6 Ed Sabol October 20, 2011
7 Mike Ditka October 27, 2011
8 Tom Landry November 3, 2011
9 Al Davis November 11, 2011

Season Two

[edit]

Source:[15][16]

No. Subject Original air date
1 Tim Tebow September 12, 2012
2 Ray Lewis September 19, 2012
3 Tom Coughlin September 26, 2012
4 Cleveland '95 October 3, 2012
5 The Fearsome Foursome October 10, 2012
6 Steve McNair October 17, 2012
7 Eddie DeBartolo October 24, 2012
8 Chris Spielman October 31, 2012
9 Jimmy Johnson November 7, 2012
10 John Riggins November 21, 2012
11 Barry Sanders December 5, 2012
12 Marcus Allen December 12, 2012
13 The Immaculate Reception December 19, 2012

Season Three

[edit]

Source:[17][18][19][20]

No. Subject Original air date
1 LaDainian Tomlinson September 3, 2013
2 Don Shula September 10, 2013
3 Darrelle Revis September 17, 2013
4 Derrick Thomas September 24, 2013
5 Steve Sabol October 1, 2013
6 Matt Millen October 8, 2013
7 Michael Strahan October 15, 2013
8 Pat Summerall October 22, 2013
9 Warren Sapp October 29, 2013
10 Randall Cunningham November 5, 2013
11 Cris Carter November 12, 2013
12 The Forward Pass November 19, 2013
13 Steve Gleason November 26, 2013
14 The Great Wall of Dallas December 3, 2013
15 Houston '93 December 10, 2013
16 Marty Schottenheimer December 17, 2013
17 Vince Lombardi December 24, 2013
18 December 31, 2013
19 Tiki & Ronde Barber January 7, 2014
20 Bill Parcells January 14, 2014
21 Jerry Smith January 21, 2014
22 Jerry Rice January 28, 2014

Season Four

[edit]

Season Four was announced for September 10, 2014.[21][22]

No. Subject Original air date
1 "Mean Joe" Greene September 12, 2014
2 Brandon Marshall September 19, 2014
3 Sean Taylor September 26, 2014
4 Warren Moon October 3, 2014
5 Eric Dickerson October 10, 2014
6 Doug Flutie October 17, 2014
7 Terrell Davis October 24, 2014
8 Ricky Williams October 31, 2014
9 Earl Campbell November 7, 2014
10 The Perfect Backfield (Csonka, Kiick & Morris) November 14, 2014
11 Lyle Alzado November 21, 2014
12 Dick Butkus & Gale Sayers November 28, 2014
13 Roger Staubach December 5, 2014
14 Keenan McCardell & Jimmy Smith December 19, 2014
15 2006 Rose Bowl January 2, 2015
16 Bill Walsh January 23, 2015
17 Joe Namath January 30, 2015

Season Five

[edit]

Season Five began on September 18 at 9 pm, and it had 13 new episodes including Terrell Owens, Dick Vermeil, Paul Brown, and more.[23]

No. Subject Original air date
1 Christian Okoye September 18, 2015
2 Dexter Manley September 25, 2015
3 Jerome Bettis October 2, 2015
4 Terrell Owens October 9, 2015
5 Alan Page October 16, 2015
6 Steve Largent October 23, 2015
7 Dick Vermeil October 30, 2015
8 Paul Brown November 6, 2015
9 Mike Singletary November 13, 2015
10 Charles Haley November 19, 2015
11 Bruce Arians December 11, 2015
12 Marshall Faulk December 18, 2015
13 Ken Stabler December 25, 2015

Season Six

[edit]

Season Six premiered Friday, September 16 at 9:00 PM ET and aired 13 new episodes starting with the story of Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Curtis Martin, and including Brett Favre, Chuck Noll, and Jim Brown.[24]

Two mini-episodes were released on the NFL's official YouTube channel. In contrast to the television series, these two episodes feature fictional characters Rod Tidwell and Frank Cushman from the movie Jerry Maguire, with Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Jerry O'Connell reprising their roles. The Tidwell episode used footage from the film, while Cushman's used edited footage of Brian Griese from the NFL Films archives.

No. Subject Original air date
1 Curtis Martin September 16, 2016
2 Rodney Harrison September 23, 2016
3 Chad Johnson September 30, 2016
4 Steve Young October 7, 2016
5 Brett Favre October 21, 2016[a]
6 Pat Tillman October 28, 2016
7 Michael Vick November 4, 2016
8 Jim Brown November 10, 2016
9 Steve Smith Sr. November 18, 2016
10 Chuck Noll November 25, 2016
11 Troy Aikman December 2, 2016
12 Charles Woodson December 9, 2016
13 Kevin Greene December 16, 2016
  1. ^ This episode first aired on CBS.[25]

Season Seven

[edit]

Season Seven of A Football Life premiered on Friday, September 15 at 9:00 PM ET and subsequently aired 13 episodes beginning with the former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino. Other episodes featured former Oakland Raiders coach John Madden, former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and former Washington Redskins coach and current NASCAR owner Joe Gibbs.[26]

No. Subject Original air date
1 Dan Marino September 15, 2017
2 Emmitt Smith September 22, 2017
3 John Madden September 29, 2017
4 Wes Welker October 6, 2017
5 Sam Mills October 13, 2017
6 Jim Kelly November 3, 2017
7 Larry Fitzgerald November 10, 2017
8 Eddie George November 17, 2017
9 Joe Gibbs November 25, 2017
10 Jerry Jones December 1, 2017
11 Aeneas Williams December 9, 2017
12 John Randle December 15, 2017
13 Lynn Swann & John Stallworth December 22, 2017

Season Eight

[edit]

Season Eight of A Football Life premiered on Friday, September 14, 2018 at 9:00 PM ET and subsequently aired 11 episodes. It featured Mike Holmgren, Dwight Clark and The Catch, Lawrence Taylor, Thurman Thomas, Carson Palmer, Brian Dawkins, Doug Williams, Willie McGinest, Cris Collinsworth, Tony Romo and Bill Cowher.[27]

No. Subject Original air date
1 Carson Palmer September 14, 2018
2 Lawrence Taylor September 21, 2018
3 Tony Romo September 28, 2018
4 Willie McGinest October 5, 2018
5 Brian Dawkins October 12, 2018
6 Dwight Clark November 2, 2018
7 Bill Cowher November 9, 2018
8 Mike Holmgren November 16, 2018
9 Cris Collinsworth November 23, 2018
10 Doug Williams December 7, 2018
11 Thurman Thomas December 14, 2018

Season Nine

[edit]

Season Nine premiered on Friday September 13, 2019, and the episodes included Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw, Tony Gonzalez, Bruce Smith, and Ronnie Lott.[28]

No. Subject Original air date
1 Terry Bradshaw September 13, 2019
2 Tony Gonzalez September 20, 2019
3 Ronnie Lott November 1, 2019
4 Bruce Smith November 29, 2019

Season Ten

[edit]

Season Ten premiered on September 17, 2021.[29]

No. Subject Original Air Date
1 Nick Saban September 17, 2021
2 James Harrison September 24, 2021
3 Calvin Johnson October 1, 2021
4 Drew Pearson December 3, 2021
5 John Lynch December 24, 2021

Season Eleven

[edit]

Season 11 premiered on September 16, 2022.[30]

No. Subject Original Air Date
1 Joe Theismann September 16, 2022
2 Rod Woodson September 23, 2022
3 Edgerrin James November 18, 2022
4 Julian Edelman November 25, 2022
5 Franco Harris December 23, 2022
6 The 1972 Miami Dolphins January 13, 2023
7 DeMarcus Ware November 17, 2023

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Forsberg, Chris (August 29, 2011). "Belichick documentary set for NFL Network - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston". Espn.go.com. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  2. ^ "CREDITS". Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  3. ^ "NFL Network's 'A Football Life' Chronicles the Lives & Legacies of Reggie White & Jerome Brown". Sportsmedianews.com. September 23, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  4. ^ King, Peter (September 18, 2012). "In his brilliance and impact on NFL, Sabol truly lived 'a football life'". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  5. ^ "Parcells is what documentary says he is". sun-sentinel.com. November 20, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  6. ^ "A Football Life: Bill Belichick". Patriots.com. August 29, 2011. Archived from the original on September 25, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  7. ^ "Belichick documentary set for NFL Network". ESPN.com. August 29, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  8. ^ ""A Football Life: Bill Belichick" Most-Watched Documentary Ever On NFL Network - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. September 16, 2011. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  9. ^ "9/7 – 'The Faces of Tebow' Debuts Sept. 12 on NFL Network | DC Sports Net". Dcsportsnetwork.com. September 7, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  10. ^ "Breaking News - Emmy-Nominated Series "A Football Life" Returns Wednesday, September 12 at 8:00 PM ET on NFL Network". TheFutonCritic.com. August 28, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  11. ^ TCIPF Staff (March 20, 2012). "NFL Films is nominated for 8 Sports Emmy Awards! : NFL Films Blog". Nflfilms.nfl.com. Archived from the original on May 20, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  12. ^ "The Emmy Awards - THE NATIONAL TELEVISION ACADEMY ANNOUNCES THE NOMINEES FOR THE 33RD ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY® AWARDS". Emmyonline.tv. Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  13. ^ "NFL Network Presents: A Football Life - Season 1 DVD". NFL Shop. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  14. ^ "A Football Life: Complete Episode List". Thetvdb.com. December 6, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  15. ^ "NFL Network's A FOOTBALL LIFE to Return 9/12". tv.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  16. ^ "NFL Network's A Football Life Explores Life, Legacy of Steve McNair Oct. 17". titansonline.com. October 12, 2012. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  17. ^ "'A Football Life' preview: LaDainian Tomlinson". National Football League. August 29, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  18. ^ "'A first look at what NFL Films has in store for Season 3 of A Football Life'". Awful Announcing. September 1, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
  19. ^ "'A Football Life Season 2013'". TV.com. September 3, 2013. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  20. ^ "NFL Network's 'A Football Life' Examines 'The Great Wall of Dallas' Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 9:00 PM ET'". NFLCommunications.com. November 27, 2013. Archived from the original on December 1, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  21. ^ "NFL Films-Produced Series 'A Football Life' & 'America's Game' Return on NFL Network". NFLCommunications.com. August 28, 2014. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  22. ^ "Pro Football Hall of Fame Quarterback Warren Moon Featured on 'A Football Life'". NFLCommunications.com. September 30, 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  23. ^ "NFL Network's A Football Life returns with 14 new episodes". awfulannouncing.com. August 31, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  24. ^ "Return of 'A Football Life' and 'The Timeline' to NFL Network Highlight 25 NFL Films Documentaries for 2016". nflcommunications.com. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  25. ^ Cain, Brooke (September 3, 2016). "What to Watch on Saturday: A look at Brett Favre's 'Football Life'". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on September 4, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  26. ^ "NFLN to air new seasons of 'A Football Life', 'The Timeline'". nfl.com. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  27. ^ "NFL Network on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  28. ^ "A Football Life: Season 9". Thetvdb.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  29. ^ "NFL Films Emmy-Nominated Series 'A Football Life' Returns Friday, September 17". NFL Communications. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  30. ^ Gomez, Maddison (September 6, 2022). "1972 Dolphins are introduced "football life"". Florida News. Retrieved September 11, 2022.[dead link‍]
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