Three Football Videos that Steal the Show so Far

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, which in case you didn’t know, means football is in full gear! Yes, I love this time of the year because I’m a huge football fan, but I also love it for another reason: With the start of football season, comes a lot of content.

I especially enjoy the football hype and intro videos that are produced this time of year. These videos tap into so much emotion (anticipation, nostalgia, excitement, etc.) and have the ability to move fans in a way that’s hard to do week after week (unless of course you’re having a golden season). Good football trailers and hype videos can also serve multi-purposes, working great in-venue and online.

I’ve gone through this year’s videos that are available online right now and pulled out some of my favorites, with a little insight into why. I hope you’ll find some inspiration in them:

1. Florida: A New Season 

Florida put football and Michael Buble together and made it work. What’s not to like? In all seriousness, a big “kudos” to the Florida video team for this video. They took into consideration the season they had last year and knew that the typical highlight reel with big hits and action shots wouldn’t work. Understanding that, they took a chance and deviated from the norm with an unlikely song and great imagery to go with it.

Additionally, the idea “it’s a new day” is simple. Most great ideas start with a simple concept, so before you start storyboarding, come up with the simple (but grand) idea for the year. What’s the theme? What’s the story you are trying to tell? Boil it down to a few words or a sentence and go from there.

2. Philadelphia Eagles: Everything & More  

This Philadelphia Eagles video created by 160over90 is– yes– everything. From the voiceover (by Bradley Cooper) to the sultry music and the imagery, they nailed every aspect of it.

What I love most about the video is it’s not focused on the on-the-field action. This video focuses on the fans and what it means to be a part of something bigger… part of the team, part of the city and part of the passion. It’s also able to strike a nice balance between emotion and humor, without being over the top. This video demonstrates how stories can be told in sports, drawing from the game, the fans, the history and the passion. You don’t have to be an Eagles fans to get goosebumps watching this. Well done.

3. UGA: The Georgia Way 

Year after year UGA’s video department produces some of the best videos in college athletics. I thought it would be hard to top what they did last year, but they managed to do so with this video. The voiceover, the scriptwriting and the imagery is all pieced together to tell a perfect story… of what it mans to me a Georgia Bulldog.

Much like the Eagles video, UGA steps away from the on-the-field action and focuses on the bigger picture- the UGA community, the road that leads home, UGA’s values, etc. That’s the beautiful thing about sports: the story is much broader than the scores and stats. If you take anything away from this post, let it be that.

I preach it all the time, but we need more of this kind of storytelling in sports. We need more content that taps into the emotional side of our industry. Teams are full of history and tradition. Teams give us hope, bring us together and unite us. We need to focus on what brings people back year after year; it’s not the winning, but the thought of being a part of something bigger than ourselves.

There are a lot of other great videos out there, so I would love to hear what videos have caught your eye so far. Share them with us in the comments section below. Thanks for reading! 

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