Attention Sportsfans

Hey football fans: know how that long stretch from the Superbowl to the first official game of the season (pre-season doesn't count; neither does Arena football, but congrats again to the Soul, anyway) totally sucks, and you're forced to watch re-plays on ESPN Classic and the occasional airing of The Replacements? And know how after a while, you get really tired of watching the same great moments in football and feeble attempts by Keanu Reeves to make us think he can act? (The metaphor can be applied to fans of any other sport; just replace the actor's name.) Fortunately, there's a whole world out there of filmmakers seeking to expand your off-season (or "this season is going so badly, I think I'm going to watch a movie about the sport instead") cinematic options. And for the first time ever, there's a festival dedicated to them: the U.S. Sports Film Festival.

Festival organizers have chosen Philly as the location for the inaugural gathering (naturally, Rocky had a thing or two to do with the selection), which will showcase both new films about sports (traditional and otherwise—apparently, pin-trading counts) and classics. Should be a good mix and a good time, and with the festival happening early on in Football season (October 23–26 in locations throughout the city), it'll give us a place to turn if the Birds are playing poorly.

Image Credit: Flickr user Adrian Wallett