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Robert De Niro will star in the leading role as Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi in the upcoming ESPN Films feature Lombardi. Early reports say that the National Football League is involved with this project and a script has been written by Eric Roth.

Roth also penned for the big screen the sports-related stories Ali, Munich, and Forrest Gump. De Niro won an Oscar for his role as boxer Jake La Motta in 1980′s Raging Bull. ESPN Films produced 2002′s Junction Boys based on legendary college football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s takeover and turnaround of Texas A&M University’s football team. Although De Niro has been a shell of his former self and turned into a better comedic than dramatic actor of late this “Super Bowl” role could go either way, laughable caricature or serious biopic a la once-destined-for-Country-Music-Television Crazy Heart.

Though I’m not predicting the same jump from made-for-TV to the big screen for Lombardi like we saw with Crazy Heart nor am I foolish enough to presume De Niro has an Oscar-worthy performance left in him, I will cross my fingers and hope for the best.