Varsity Blues is a 1999 American coming-of-age sports comedy-drama film directed by Brian Robbins that follows a small-town high school football team through a tumultuous season, in which the players must deal with the pressures of adolescence and their football-obsessed community while having their overbearing coach constantly on their back.

Wanting to leave Texas and attend Brown University, he constantly clashes with his football-obsessed father Sam, and dreads playing under legendary coach Bud Kilmer, a verbally abusive, controlling authority who believes in winning at all costs.

At the hospital, the doctors, appalled at the massive amount of scar tissue found under his knee, explain that recovery will take at least a year and a half, costing Lance his football scholarship to Florida State.

Knowing his outburst has cost him his credibility, Kilmer tries unsuccessfully to rally support and spark the team's spirit into trusting him, but none of the players follow him out of the locker room.

In a voice-over epilogue, Mox recounts several characters' aftermaths: Kilmer left town and never coached again, but his statue still remained due to its weight; after the game, Tweeder drank beer and Billy Bob cried in celebration; Lance became a successful football coach, Wendell received a football scholarship to Grambling State University, and Mox went on to attend Brown on an academic scholarship.

"[7] ReelViews online film critic James Berardinelli's summary was that although it "takes a worthwhile detour or two, it ultimately finds its way back to the well-worn track of its genre.

"[8] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly also gave a positive review, remarking that while the film "has its shallow gags and cliché characters…it also creates a vivid portrait of a small-town community in the grip of an obsession".

Ron Lester reprised his role of Billy Bob by playing a nearly identical character named Reggie Ray, while Ali Larter's whipped cream bikini scene was parodied.

In December 2024, Van Der Beek announced the sale of autographed jerseys to support his colorectal cancer treatments while celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the film's release.