All of the on-the-field drama can’t compare to what goes on behind the scenes when the NFL draft comes to Radio City Music Hall every year.
So when director Ivan Reitman came knocking for his movie “Draft Day,” which opened Friday, the NFL gave unprecedented access to the 2013 draft — enlisting boldface names like Deion Sanders, Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Network personality Rich Eisen to play themselves. They joined an all-star cast that includes Kevin Costner (above) and Jennifer Garner.
Eisen says the movie got it right. “[The NFL draft is] known as the off-season Super Bowl for a reason. It is a huge day, and this movie pretty much captures that.”
But what other movies get it right? The Post turned to the pros — the players and broadcasters who eat, breathe and sleep sports — to find out what they consider classics of the canon. Only time will tell if “Draft Day” gets picked in the next round.
‘Hoosiers’— Rich Eisen (NFL Network broadcaster)
“It’s got everything that makes a good sports movie,” Eisen, who hosts “NFL GameDay Morning,” says of the Cinderella tale, inspired by the true story of a small Indiana high school basketball team that wins the state championship in 1954. The 1986 release, starring Gene Hackman (right, center) was nominated for two Academy Awards (for the score and for supporting actor Dennis Hopper).
“[There’s] a believable protagonist on a journey,” Eisen says. “There’s a father-son story with Shooter [Hopper] and his son.
“There are many scenes that apply to everyday life,” he adds, specifically pointing out when the players enter the Butler fieldhouse for the state championship and are intimidated by the size of the venue. “Their eyes are wide, and the coach takes out a measuring tape and measures the rim to the floor and the baseline to the free-throw line and says they [the measurements] are the same as his team’s gym,” says Eisen.
He calls it a reminder not to be scared when you’re doing things in a bigger arena: “It’s the same things you’ve done on a smaller stage.”
‘Happy Gilmore’ — Jason Collins (Brooklyn Nets center)
Collins casts his vote for the 1996 story of an aggressive hockey player who discovers his slapshot translates into a wicked golf drive. In hopes of winning enough money to save his grandma’s house from the IRS, Happy begins entering golf tournaments — and, in one classic scene, he’s paired with a certain “The Price Is Right” host. Things go awry; fisticuffs ensue.
“I like to laugh, and I like to laugh hard, and it’s funny. I mean, who doesn’t like a scene where Bob Barker kicks the [crap] out of Adam Sandler? [right]” asks Collins.
Another big fan of “Happy Gilmore”? CBS sportscaster Verne Lundquist, who has a cameo in the movie as a TV golf broadcaster. “And I’m also happy to keep getting the residual checks,” quips Lundquist.
‘Jim Thorpe — All American’ —Herm Edwards (ESPN sportscaster)
“I was in the ‘Best of Times’ [as an extra], but that wasn’t my favorite because I wasn’t the star — Kurt Russell and Robin Williams were,” says Edwards, the former Jets coach, with a laugh.
In all seriousness, though, “ ‘Jim Thorpe — All American’ influenced me as a young kid,” he explains. The 1951 movie is the biography of Jim Thorpe (Burt Lancaster, right), a Native American super-athlete who played pro football, basketball and baseball and also won Olympic gold medals in track in the early 20th century.
“He was, in my opinion, maybe the greatest athlete that ever lived. When I watched that movie, it made me want to become an athlete — not just a football or a baseball guy, but it made me want to do everything,” Edwards says. “As a young black kid growing up, between him and Muhammad Ali, I thought, I got my road map and I know how to do this.”
‘Remember the Titans’ — Dick Vitale (ESPN sportscaster)
Vitale says this true story of a coach who integrates a high school football team “just hit a nerve.” In fact, it so affected the basketball broadcaster that after he left the theater in 2000, he called information to get the phone number of the real-life Herman Boone (played by Denzel Washington), who took over coaching duties at northern Virginia’s T.C. Williams High School in 1971.
“I said, ‘Herman, I would love to take you to a Notre Dame football game,’ ” Vitale says.
“We had the greatest time. [Our friendship] started on a phone call after being touched by the movie.”
‘Rudy’ — Allie LaForce (Sideline reporter, CBS Sports)
LaForce calls this 1993 underdog movie “the ultimate uplifting sports story.” It tells the true tale of Rudy Ruettiger (Sean Astin), an aspiring football player told he’s too small for the game. He makes the Notre Dame squad as a walk-on and is put into a game his senior year for a single play.
The clincher: Rudy sacks the opposing quarterback as time expires and is carried off by teammates chanting his name.
“I identify because I was a walk-on on a college team,” says LaForce, who played hoops at Ohio University.
‘Any Given Sunday’ — Geno Smith (NY Jets quarterback)
The Gang Green gunslinger gives top billing to “Any Given Sunday,” the 1999 film starring Al Pacino as a washed-up pro football coach whose playoff hopes are seemingly dashed when injuries force him to use his inexperienced quarterback (Jamie Foxx).
Smith’s favorite part? “When Al Pacino delivers an epic speech at the end.” The locker room exhortation finds Pacino speaking about the team’s struggles.
“We can stay here, get the s – – t kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light,” says the coach. “We can climb our way out of hell, one inch at a time.”
‘42’ — Yasiel Puig (Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder)
True stories dominate the list of favorite sports movies, including this 2013 biopic of baseball great Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman), the first African-American to play in the major leagues during the modern era.
Now, of course, Robinson is seen not only as a great player but a barrier-smashing hero.
And the appeal for Puig, who grew up in Cuba, is simple: “ ‘42’ is one of my favorite sports movies because of the historic meaning of Jackie Robinson and his legacy.”
‘Space Jam’ — Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky forward)
Admittedly, this one’s a bit of a curveball. But the basketball star has a healthy sense of humor: “A movie that stars both Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny has to be the best sports movie ever.”
A combo of live action and animation, the flick takes a tongue-in-cheek look at Jordan’s first retirement from basketball and his middling turn as a baseball player. After aliens steal the talents of earthly hoops stars, Jordan joins the Looney Tunes team to defeat the enemy. Bill Murray makes a delightfully weird cameo.
“ ‘Space Jam’ always makes me laugh,” says Delle Donne, who adds it’s been a favorite since she was seven years old. But the 2013 WNBA Rookie of the Year has another reason to be tickled by the 1996 flick: “I love getting to see Michael, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird and Patrick Ewing on the big screen.”
‘The Blind Side’—Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury center)
“I love when sports movies are based on a true story, and the fact this one was about Michael Oher, who still plays in the NFL, made it that much cooler,” says the WNBA star.
The movie shows how Oher, a foster kid, was taken in by a family and went on to be a star at Ole Miss.
Sandra Bullock won a Best Actress Award in 2010 — which made Griner happy: “Sandra Bullock killed the role.”
‘Major League’ — CC Sabathia (New York Yankees pitcher)
This comedy about a bunch of losers — including Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger — who, against all odds, turn around the Cleveland Indians franchise, is a multigenerational treat for the Sabathia family.
“I remember going to the movies to see it with my dad, and it’s still one of my favorites,” says the 33-year-old ace. “Now me and my son, little C [age 10] , enjoy it together.”
‘The Pride of the Yankees’ — Michael Kay (Play-by-play announcer, YES Network’s New York Yankees telecasts)
“If the story wasn’t true, it would be thought of as bad fiction. Unfortunately, it is true,” says Kay of the 1942 movie, nominated for 11 Oscars.
It recounts the life of Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig (played by Gary Cooper), who became one of baseball’s greats — only to be felled by a rare disease at age 37. “It is a heart-wrenching story, even if you are not a sports fan: A strong, seemingly indestructible man, cut down in the prime of his life. Dare you not to get choked up,” Kay says. “It even survives Gary Cooper’s less-than-authentic baseball scenes.”
Plus, Kay points out a major attraction for fans craving authenticity: “How many movies can boast actual cameos by Babe Ruth [left, with actress Teresa Wright] and Bill Dickey?”