Super Bowl Weekend Binge: 7 films & TV shows that tackle queerness through football culture

Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots is shaping up to be the queerest in the footballing spectacle’s history! Well, the entertainment portion anyway…

Half-time headliner Bad Bunny is reportedly planning to honor various LGBTQ+ icons during a set that’s got Turning Point USA so riled they’re staging their own anti-woke alternative, while a pre-game rendition of “America The Beautiful” will be delivered ahead by openly gay country singer Brandi Carlile. And let’s not forget that Jeremy Greer, the recent viral sensation who came out in high school, will join the event’s exclusive club of male cheerleaders. 

Of course, the sport’s complex relationship with sexuality & identity has been reflected on both the small and big screen multiple times before, from Jack’s coming out on Dawson’s Creek and signing of out-and-proud Marco in All-American to themed episodes of Coach and Law & Order and ultra-low-budget movies Vacationland and Tru Loved.

Ahead of the kick-off at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium, here’s a look at seven films and shows which best tackled the subject head-on.   

F(l)ag Football 

As its cleverly bracketed title suggests, F(l)ag Football focuses on the physical-contactless form of the sport— which will debut at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2026—and, in particular, the national league which has given the LGBTQ+ community a figuratively and literally safer space.

Straight filmmaker Seth Greenleaf’s early ‘10s portrait of queer sporting life largely centers on the New York Warriors’ preparations for the Gay Bowl. And while there’s plenty of action—including a warm-up against a hetero Long Island team initially unaware, then entirely accepting, of their opponents’ sexuality—it’s the off-the-field scenes which prove to be the most compelling. Indeed, tackling themes of community, masculinity, and prejudice, candid insights from the likes of co-founder Cyd Zeigler (also the co-foudner of our sister site Outsports!) and Wade Davis (who joined after his post-NFL coming out) help show how much progress has been made, but also how much progress is still needed.   

F(l)ag Football is available for digital rental on Apple TV.

Coming Out Colton 

Sure, there were plenty of issues with Colton Underwood’s Netflix-assisted attempt to rehabilitate his reputation. The fact he legally couldn’t discuss the behavior which led to Bachelor pick Cassie Randolph filing a restraining order; the tone-deaf closing montage where he appeared to equate coming out on Good Morning America with the pioneering activism of Harvey Milk; etc…

However, among all its problematic, and possibly manufactured, elements, Coming Out Colton also provided several more sympathetic rings of truth. None more so than in the football-themed second episode in which Underwood revisits the high school locker room whose toxic environment pushed him further back into the closet and reunites with the father figure coach who turned a blind eye. Sobering interviews with several footballers who’ve endured similar experiences—including his draft classmate Michael Sam—also help paint a much broader picture of the sport’s homophobic mindset.  

Coming Out Colton is currently streaming on Netflix.

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American Sports Story 

Focusing on the shocking descent of New England Patriot tight end Aaron Hernandez, American Sports Story’s sole season appeared to fly under the radar compared to the prolific Ryan Murphy’s Horror and Crime counterparts. And yet its grounded portrait of a deeply disturbed footballer who threw his career, and indeed life, away in the most senseless way possible remains one of the showrunner’s most accomplished efforts.

Nailing Hernandez’s unpredictable mix of charm, vulnerability, and weed-infused paranoia in a considered performance often captured in intense close-up, West Side Story alum Josh Andrés Rivera should also feel robbed of Emmy attention. Of course, there’s still plenty of creative license taken, particularly relating to the NFL star’s sexuality—the physical therapist love interest, for example, is a composite of his alleged male hook-ups. Far from feeding on tabloid speculation, though, it’s only ever used to deepen an understanding of Hernandez’s troubled soul and the ultra-macho world which chewed up and spat him out.  

American Sports Story is currently streaming on Hulu.

Geography Club 

Thankfully, not all queer football stories are shrouded in darkness, tragedy, and overwhelming despair. Indeed, the fact it first premiered on ABC Family should immediately signal that Geography Club is a little shinier and happier than your average coming out coming-of-age tale, a rarity in the pre-Love, Simon era.

Of course, there’s still plenty of teenage angst on display as secret footballing power couple Russell (Cameron Deane Stewart) and Kevin (Justin Deeley) agonize whether to keep their relationship on the down-low or to join the titular club, a front for an LGBTQ+ support group. The latter’s determination to continue being perceived as ‘normal’ also ensures it doesn’t give the satisfying fairytale ending you might anticipate. However, the script’s deftness of touch, a vibrant color palette, and scene-stealing performances from Alex Newell as the club’s most flamboyant member and Ana Gasteyer as an eccentric sex-ed tutor ensure there’s plenty of light to go with all the high school shade.   

Geography Club is available for digital rental on Amazon Prime Video.

Riley 

Based on first-time director Benjamin Howard’s own adolescence, Riley stars Jake Holley as a high school footballer pressured by his coach dad to follow in his NFL footsteps. But he’s just as pressured by society to repress his sexuality, a situation complicated by a girlfriend wanting to take their physical relationship to the next level, a major crush on his Adonis of a teammate, and an openly gay student (Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie!) who clocks the suspiciously high amount of fit men on his Instagram feed.

While the motivational speech finale leans into pure wish fulfilment, Riley is an otherwise convincing, and highly relatable, character study, buoyed by an engaging lead performance which nails the confusion and conflict of closeted teenage life. 

Riley is currently streaming on Here TV. It’s also available for digital rental on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.

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The Truth About Alex 

Okay, so it feels slightly perverse to recommend anything starring Scott Baio, the MAGA-supporting has-been who’s been accused of—among many other offenses—homophobic abuse. Nevertheless, The Truth About Alex was one of the first prime-time affairs which acknowledged that (shock! horror!) footballers could be gay.

Directed by Oscar nominee Paul Shapiro, the Canadian-American TV movie sees Baio play Brad, a high school quarterback who discovers his teammate best friend Alex plays for the other side. This being the less enlightened mid-’80s and all, both parties are then subjected to bigotry, the latter for his sexuality and the former for sticking by him. Indeed, despite pressure from his girlfriend (concerned she may fall down the social pecking order) and father (concerned about the impending West Point scholarship) to give Alex the brush-off, Brad remains an ally, even setting his BFF up with the winning touchdown in the mandatory ‘big game.’ It’s the stuff of fantasy, of course, but at a time when the gay community was being marginalized and discriminated against more than ever before, The Truth About Alex provided a much-needed relatively happy ending.  

Unfortunately, The Truth About Alex isn’t currently streaming via any official platforms, though it can be found on YouTube.

Overcompensating  

There’s not much actual football shown in Benito Skinner’s first attempt to transfer his viral success into a fully fleshed sitcom. Yet his leading man Benny, and his fledgling college experience, is still undoubtedly informed by the multi-hyphenate’s very real high school exploits as the star quarterback. Indeed, fearful of being exposed as the Britney-loving, George Of The Jungle-rewinding queer kid he’s buried throughout adolescence, Benny spends much of his time doubling down on the beer-swilling, chest-beating jock bro persona he cultivated instead.

Overcompensating doesn’t always get it right—it’s still not clear whether the thirty-something casting is satirizing Hollywood’s age-blindness—and it has a habit of sidelining its queer lead in favor of straight caricatures. Still, packed with heart and charm, it’s a continually entertaining burst of 2010s nostalgia which cleverly skewers the sport’s default state of “no homo.” 

Overcompensating is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

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