Lynn Swann, Lawrence Taylor, Jimmy Johnson, Bill Cowher, Paul "The Big Show" Wight, and Rob Schneider have cameo appearances.

Bobby Boucher is a socially inept, stuttering 31-year-old man serving as the water boy for the University of Louisiana football program.

He lives with his protective and extremely religious mother, Helen, and believes his father, Robert Sr., died of dehydration in the Sahara while serving in the Peace Corps back in the 1960s.

As the players constantly bully Bobby, the Cougars' head coach, Red Beaulieu, fires him for being "disruptive" during the 18 years of his employment.

Bobby approaches Coach Klein of the South Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs and is retained as the water boy on a voluntary basis.

The Mud Dogs have lost 40 consecutive games, their cheerleaders as well as the mascot are alcoholics, and players are forced to share equipment due to budget cuts.

Bobby becomes a feared outside linebacker, in his first game, he costs the Mud Dogs a win in order to take down a player that trash-talked his mother.

The team's success earns them new uniforms and a trip to the annual Bourbon Bowl on New Year's Day to face the Cougars and Coach Beaulieu.

Twenty years ago, Klein and Beaulieu were assistant coaches at the University of Louisiana and the predecessor was retiring.

Bobby finally stands up to Helen while studying for the GED, angrily revealing that he has been playing football, going to college, and seeing Vicki, and intends to continue doing so.

Robert Sr., who has since adopted the nickname "Roberto", makes a surprise appearance to try to convince Bobby to skip school and go to the NFL so he can share in his son's newfound fame.

Sandler said "You could compare him to 'Canteen Boy,' whereas he does love water and they both get picked on a lot, but the thing I like the most about this character is just that he is a genuine, good person.

"[3] Writer Tim Herlihy said the story was intended to invert the formula of his previous films, where Sandler was an extreme character surrounded by regular people.

[4] Despite taking place in Louisiana, The Waterboy was mostly filmed in Central Florida and the Orlando area, as well as Clermont, Daytona Beach, DeLand, and Lakeland.

The Mud Dogs home games were filmed at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand, home of the local high school's football team, as well as the Stetson Hatters (Pioneer League, FCS)[5] The classrooms and gym where Bobby takes the GED are part of Stetson University, also located in DeLand.

[6] Coach Klein's office was a stage built inside of the Florida Army National Guard Armory in DeLand.

[10] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F.[11] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a negative review, saying "Sandler is making a tactical error when he creates a character whose manner and voice has the effect of fingernails on a blackboard, and then expects us to hang in there for a whole movie.

"[15] Manohla Dargis of LA Weekly gave the film a mixed review, writing: "Of course it's dumb, but every 10 minutes or so, it's also pretty funny.

"[18] Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote the film was "so cheerfully outlandish that it's hard to resist, and so good hearted that it's genuinely endearing.

"[19] Mark Savlov of The Austin Chronicle also gave the film a positive review, writing that it was "A mildly amusing bayou farce with plenty of 'foosball' action to liven the sometimes plodding proceedings.