Football In Animation

[The Huntsman]

The Super Bowl is almost upon us and I was thinking about the role that football has had in various animated programs. Many animated programs have featured the sport, even though it seems to be rather rare in this day and age, and I thought having a thread to discuss such things could yield some decent conversations. I was watching an episode of “The Replacements” the other night and it featured a football related plot, even having Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer as a guest star, though it only really showed the game for less than a minute.

I’m pretty sure the most well known use of football in animation comes from Charlie Brown, but I’m hoping that we can determine just how prevalent football has been in animation throughout the years. What other shows do you know of that have had a football related plot? Do you think children really care about episodes that involve the sport?

 

[Sketch]

Football has been referenced in a great number of cartoons in America so I really don't know where to begin but the true oddity is Eyeshield 21... An animated series about a Japanese high school American Football team. You can catch 5 poorly dubbed episodes on Toonami Jetstream right now actually (they're up until the end of Sunday).

Some memorable Football related animated moments for me was the rival school football game on an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures and there was a Super Mario World cartoon episode involving football I think (I seem to recall Yoshi eating the ball).

 

[TKnHappyNess]

There were a few Simpsons football eps.

One where Lisa was helping Homer gamble, which after she discovered he only was using her for money, she stopped helping him and as a last pick, if she still loved him, the Redskins would win the Super Bowl. If she didn't, the Bills would. The Redskins win with a field goal, showing Homer that Lisa still loves him.

Flanders wins tickets to the big Pigskin Classic Homer wanted to go to, and decides to go with him instead of his original idea of whacking Flanders with a pipe and taking the tickets.

A lot of Springfield's boys are fat, and one of the suggestions Kent Brockman has is Pee-Wee Football, which leads a lot of the kids to be part of it, with Flanders as head coach, until Homer beriddles him so much, he quits and claims that Homer had just "volunteered". Bart makes a lousy quarterback and finally explains that he sucks after being pushed so hard, after getting "advice" from Joe Namath.

Homer and his new friend Wally arrange a trip to the Super Bowl, which has almost every guy in Springfield (minus a punk named Rudy) going to see the game at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, where the tickets they buy are counterfeit, and after insulting a scalper who afterwards refuses to sell them tickets, they barge into the stadium and end up in the stadium jail. Luckily Wally is friends with Dolly Parton and she busts them out. They find a skybox which belongs to Rupert Murdoch, and he has his British cops go after them. By some chance, they end up in the winning locker room and all get Super Bowl rings. At the end it has John Madden and that other guy (I don't watch NFL football) being critics about how an ep about the Super Bowl and with Dolly Parton didn't have any football or singing, and get on a bus driven by Vincent Pryce who apparently can't drive a stickshift.

 

[Goldstar!]

Tiny Toon Adventures had a football themed episode, the half hour episode titled "The Acme Bowl". The plot involved the Acme Loo football team competing in the big game against Perfecto Prep. When TTA aired on FOX Kids, they would usually air this episode during the weekend of the Super Bowl.

 

[Undrave]

Football has been referenced in a great number of cartoons in America so I really don't know where to begin but the true oddity is Eyeshield 21... An animated series about a Japanese high school American Football team. You can catch 5 poorly dubbed episodes on Toonami Jetstream right now actually (they're up until the end of Sunday).

Forget the Super Bowl! WE'RE ALL GOING TO THE CHRISTMAS BOWL! WOOT!

Oh what about that King of the Hill episode where Bobby's football coach is such a crazy maniac he chases most of the team (including Bobby) to join the Soccer team, much to Hank's dismay. That's a pretty old one.

 

[Cartman]

There was a "King of the Hill" episode in which Hank is trying to get the Dallas Cowboys to make Arlen their training camp.

Homer is watching a Cowboys game in the Thanksgiving episode.

There are plenty of classic cartoons that feature football.

Touchdown Mickey
Screwball Football (MGM, Tex Avery)
How to Play Football (Disney, Goofy)
The Goal Rush (Flip the Frog)
Football: Now and Then (Disney)
The Football Toucher Downer (Popeye)
You Gotta Be a Football Hero (Popeye)

 

[dth1971]

There were some Peanuts specials where Lucy tricks Charlie Brown from kicking a football.

 

[Daxdiv]

This is an appropriate one to mention considering who is in the Super Bowl

In Family Guy Peter join the Patriots, became there head star, but became too full of himself.

Peter gave a "Big Mean" Joe a sip of his coke in a parody of a commercial that I think aired around the time of the Super Bowl

Peter decides to return tax payer's money at the Super Bowl.

So yeah even though it is easy to find examples in Family Guy, these do stick out.

 

[Don_East]

there was a Super Mario World cartoon episode involving football I think (I seem to recall Yoshi eating the ball).

Yes, "The Yoshi Shuffle", in which Mario & Luigi try to teach Yoshi & three cavemen how to play the game in an attempt to teach the cavemen about teamwork. A Magikoopa turned Luigi into an egg which Yoshi mistaked for the ball. Three of the Koopalings capture Mario & Yoshi and they have to play a game against them to with the Luigi egg as the ball. It's quite commonly used in the YouTube Poop trend, namely this passage.

Luigi: Hey Mario, look what I made.
Maro: It's a stone, Luigi. You didn't make it.
Luigi: ***SHAKES HEAD*** It's a football, I chiseled it!
Mario: Well, what are you waiting for? Throw me a pass.
Luigi: It's even official size!
***THROWS STONE FOOTBALL. KNOCKING MARIO OVER***
Luigi: But not official weight.


There were a few occasions in Transformers G1 that involved football.

Spike tried to teach the Autobots & Dinobots how to play the game in "Atlantis Arises"
Blitzwing takes over a football stadium and has a reluctant coach give him strategies in "Triple Takeover"
Spike mentions a football game before he, Kup, & Ultra Magnus tried to make a break for it in "Five Faces Of Darkness Part 2"

The Captain N episode "The Feud Of Faxanadu" starts off with the N-Team playing football(With Princess Lana as the referee).

 

[Surreal Kangaroo]

In the Kids Next Door episode operation: LEADER, Chad is seen playing football at his middle school. Also there is an episode of Ed Edd n Eddy where they play football and Ed becomes the mascot.

 

[cyde]

Who can forget Hanna Barbera's Where's Huddles?

 

[DBZNarutoWarrior]

There was also a football game with Arnold and some older kids on Hey Arnold.

 

[Undrave]

Wasn't the first South Park episode with Big Gay Al featuring a football game??

 

[cyde]

Wasn't the first South Park episode with Big Gay Al featuring a football game??

There was; it was titled Big Gay Al's Boat Ride.

 

[Lavenderpaw]

And that new Goofy short.That was the whole reason for the short.

 

[JerryvonKramer]

Fear of Victory from B:TAS features an American football game.
​

 

[DrTooth]

Tiny Toon Adventures had a football themed episode, the half hour episode titled "The Acme Bowl". The plot involved the Acme Loo football team competing in the big game against Perfecto Prep. When TTA aired on FOX Kids, they would usually air this episode during the weekend of the Super Bowl.

The Videogame, Buster Busts Loose even features that as a level, BTW.

While it's more of a Rugby match, which is similar to Football (to the best of my knowledge), there is one in the climax of the film Asterix in Britain. It's where a barrel of magic potion ends up.

 

[TKnHappyNess]

Flintstones had one where Fred had to go back and complete high school, joins the football team and carries the entire opposing team with him on his way to a touchdown when they try to tackle him.

 

[Michael24]

Batman: The Animated Series' "Fear of Victory" episode was about the Scarecrow fear-poisoning some of the college football players. There's a couple scenes of a game being played, and if I recall correctly the finale takes place during a big game, too.

 

[Sonic_Eclipse]

Back when 4Kids TV was called the FoxBox, around Super Bowl season they use to run this event called The FoxBox Super Brawl Weekend, where they would cut and paste different clips from their shows together to make the characters look like they were fighting each other. I believe it only aired once as The 4Kids TV Super Brawl Weekend and hasn't been on since.