A Football Life (2011)
A Football Life is a documentary series developed by NFL Films and aired on NFL Network that documents the lives of select National Football League players, coaches, owners, and teams. Friends, teammates, family members and other players and coaches associated with the subjects are interviewed. The name of the series originated in a quote from Steve Sabol of NFL Films: Originating as an NFL Network special on the career of Bill Parcells in November 2010, it premiered as an episodic series on September 15, 2011, with the first part of Bill Belichick's documentary. 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. Season One was eventually released on DVD. Season Two began on September 12, 2012, with The Faces of Tebow. The series was nominated for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Edited Sports Series/Anthology" and "Outstanding Promotional Announcement – Episodic" for Belichick's episode in 2012.
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Episode 1 - LaDainian Tomlinson
Release Date: 2013-09-03 -
Episode 2 - Don Shula
Release Date: 2013-09-10 -
Episode 3 - Darrelle Revis
Release Date: 2013-09-17 -
Episode 4 - Derrick Thomas
Release Date: 2013-09-24 -
Episode 5 - Steve Sabol
Release Date: 2013-10-01 -
Episode 6 - Matt Millen
Release Date: 2013-10-08 -
Episode 7 - Michael Strahan
Release Date: 2013-10-15 -
Episode 8 - Pat Summerall
Release Date: 2013-10-22 -
Episode 9 - Warren Sapp
Release Date: 2013-10-29 -
Episode 10 - Randall Cunningham
Release Date: 2013-11-05A Football Life honors the life and career of one of the most influential players of his time. Now 50, Cunningham is a born-again minister who tragically lost one son and is in the midst of watching another become a football star of his own.
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Episode 11 - Cris Carter
Release Date: 2013-11-12A Football Life honors the life and career of legendary wide receiver Cris Carter with an all access look at his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the culmination of a roller coaster career.
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Episode 12 - The Forward Pass
Release Date: 2013-11-192013 marks the 100th anniversary of the official arrival of the forward pass - the most significant rule change in the history of sports. Sparked by a health and safety crisis that threatened the future of football, the forward pass has become the defining play in America's Game.
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Episode 13 - Steve Gleason
Release Date: 2013-11-26A Football Life honors the life of the former Saints star, now battling ALS.
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Episode 14 - The Great Wall of Dallas
Release Date: 2013-12-03A Football Life honors perhaps the most dominant offensive line in NFL history, who paved the way for Emmitt Smith and a Dallas dynasty but suffered the pitfalls of fame and fortune along the way.
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Episode 15 - Houston '93
Release Date: 2013-12-10In 1993 the high-flying Houston Oilers fielded one of the most talented teams in football, expected by many to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. What ensued was one of the wildest, most controversial seasons any team has ever had, a season that may have changed the course of pro football in one of America's largest cities.
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Episode 16 - Marty Schottenheimer
Release Date: 2013-12-17A Football Life honor's the life of the NFL's Ahab, a man who never quite caught his white whale, but put together one of the most successful head coaching careers of the past 40 years.
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Episode 17 - Vince Lombardi (1)
Release Date: 2013-12-24Part 1 of the Vince Lombardi story chronicles the legendary coach’s rise from his Brooklyn youth to the sidelines of Lambeau Field.
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Episode 18 - Vince Lombardi (2)
Release Date: 2013-12-31Part 2 of the Vince Lombardi story details the final years of his life, from his three-peat in Green Bay to his brief tenure as head coach in Washington and sudden, tragic death from cancer.
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Episode 19 - Tiki & Ronde Barber
Release Date: 2014-01-07A Football Life chronicles the identical twins who dominated the game but ended their careers in very different ways.
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Episode 20 - Bill Parcells
Release Date: 2014-01-14A Football Life examines the career of legendary coach Bill Parcells.
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Episode 21 - Jerry Smith
Release Date: 2014-01-21Almost 50 years ago, a young tight end named Jerry Smith joined the Washington Redskins. After 13 seasons on the team, Smith retired, but not before making two Pro Bowls, one All-Pro team, and playing in the Super Bowl. He set an NFL record with 60 receiving touchdowns, the most ever by a tight end (that record stood for 26 years). Smith was also gay, something that caused him to live a life in constant fear and tension.
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Episode 22 - Jerry Rice
Release Date: 2014-01-28A Football Life chronicles the story of how an unrecruited small-town wide receiver became the Greatest Of All Time.