Piccolo's and Sayers's sharply differing temperaments and racial backgrounds made them unlikely to become friends but they did, becoming the first interracial roommates in the history of the National Football League.

[2] The production was such a success on ABC that it was later shown in theaters by Columbia Pictures[3] with a major premiere in Chicago; however, it was soon withdrawn for lack of business.

[6] The film was written by William Blinn,[7] whose script one Dallas television critic called "highly restrained, steering clear of any overt sentimentality [yet conveying] the genuine affection the two men felt so deeply for each other.

"[4] The movie begins as Chicago Bears rookie running back Gale Sayers arrives at team practice as an errant punt lands near him.

Sayers pranks him back by placing mashed potatoes on his seat while Piccolo is singing his alma mater's fight song.

When the players later visit the hospital, Piccolo teases them about losing the game, laughing that the line in the old movie wasn't "let’s blow one for the Gipper."

The site's consensus is that "Buoyed by standout performances from James Caan and Billy Dee Williams, Brian's Song is a touching tale of friendship whose central relationship transcends its standard sports movie moments.

"[14] In his 2016 book co-written with Alan Sepinwall titled TV (The Book), television critic Matt Zoller Seitz named Brian's Song as the fifth greatest American TV-movie of all time, stating that the film was "The dramatic and emotional template for a good number of sports films and male weepies (categories which tend to overlap a bit)", as well as "an influential early example of the interracial buddy movie.

"[15] Filmink magazine said the film "has a deserved reputation for the definitive guy cry movie – cancer, race, football, stoicism.