Little Giants Little Giants is a 1994 family comedy film , starring Rick Moranis and Ed O ' Neill as brothers in a small Ohio town , coaching rival Pee - Wee Football teams . Synopsis . Danny O ' Shea ( Rick Moranis ) has always lived in the shadow of his older brother , Kevin ( Ed O ' Neill ) , an Irish American Heisman Trophy winner and a local football hero . The brothers live in their hometown of Urbania , Ohio and Kevin coaches the local " Pee - Wee Cowboys " football team . Despite being the best player , Danny ' s tomboy daughter Becky ( Shawna Waldron ) , nicknamed Icebox , is cut during try outs because she is a girl . Also cut are Becky ' s less - talented friends , Rashid Hanon ( who can ' t catch anything ) , Tad Simpson ( who can ' t run ) and Rudy Zolteck ( who ' s overweight and quite flatuent ) . After being ridiculed by the other players who made the team , she convinces her dad to coach a new pee - wee team of their own . At first , Danny is reluctant to do so , but later accepts in an attempt to show Urbania that Kevin is not invincible , and that there is another O ' Shea in town capable of winning . Kevin mockingly reminds him of the " one town , one team " rule and with the help of the locals , they decide to have a playoff game to determine the lone team that will represent Urbania . Among Becky , Hanon , Tad , Rudy and Nubie ( an intelligent boy who becomes assistant coach ) , Danny also gathers other children that have never been given a chance and dubs the team the " Little Giants . " One such player is Junior Floyd ( Devon Sawa ) , a strong armed quarterback and son to Danny ' s childhood sweetheart , Patty ( Susanna Thompson ) . Becky slowly develops a crush on him and struggles with her new found feelings as a girl . Two old - timers , Orville ( Harry Fleer ) and Wilbur ( Dabbs Greer ) , fan the flames of the rivalry between the brothers by reporting to both Danny and Kevin that a new star player , Spike Hammersmith ( Sam Horrigan ) , has just moved to Urbania . Danny succeeds at recruiting him by tricking his overzealous father , Mike ( Brian Haley ) , that he is the famous " Coach O ' Shea " , but this is a problem as Spike proves to be rude , arrogant , and refuses to play on a team with a girl . The deception is later discovered and he switches over to Kevin ' s more well - structured Cowboys . Kevin also encourages his own daughter , Debbie ( Courtney Peldon ) , to be a cheerleader and later convinces Becky that a quarterback will want to date a girl , not a teammate . Realizing it is her best chance to win over Junior , she decides to quit the team and pursue cheerleading . Just as Danny ' s " Little Giants " start to lose hope , a bus arrives carrying John Madden , Emmitt Smith , Bruce Smith , Tim Brown , and Steve Emtman . The NFL stars teach and inspire the young players into believing they can win . On the day of the game , Kevin chastises Danny into making an impulsive bet . If Danny wins , he gets Kevin ' s Chevrolet dealership ; if Kevin wins , he gets Danny ' s gas station . Facing a 21 - point halftime deficit , the Giants are lifted when Danny asks them to individually recall a time when they had a proud accomplishment and reassures them that all it takes is " one time " to beat the Cowboys . With this , the Giants begin to make a big comeback with a series of outstanding and unexpected plays . Realizing that Junior is the main threat to them , Spike , under orders from Mike , injures him by spearing him with his helmet after the whistle , which even Kevin considers disgraceful , unsportsmanlike conduct . Witnessing from the sidelines , an enraged Becky drops her pompoms and suits up for the game . She immediately makes an impact when she forces a fumble after a jarring hit on Spike . Other Giants make touchdowns in tandem with overcoming personal problems , such as one player overcoming his fear of dropping passes and making a completion , or another one running towards the goal line when his little - seen dad has come to watch him play . In the game ' s closing seconds with the score tied at 21 all , the Giants make a goal line stand on 4th down and stop Spike . With time remaining for one final play , their offense step back onto the field and use a trick play Nubie calls " The Annexation of Puerto Rico " . Kevin shouts out the actual name of the play as it occurs , shouting " Fumblerooski , Fumblerooski ! " The play takes up all 99 yards using three different ball carriers towards a Giants touchdown . Afterwards , Danny says that rather than have the Giants solely represent Urbania , he will merge the Cowboys into them and that both he and Kevin can coach the team . He and Patty rekindle their childhood romance and he agrees not to hold Kevin to the pre - game bet on the condition that the Urbana water tower be changed from " Home of Kevin O ' Shea " to " Home of The O ' Shea Brothers " , reflecting a much earlier promise of Kevin to Danny from their childhood that one day both their names would be on it . Box office . The film had a low budget , and was able to recoup with $ 20 million earned in box office sales .