The NFL happens to share its season with another set of accomplished competitors. Though these participants may not endure physical injury, be encouraged by cheerleaders or have a stadium full of screaming fanatics, their struggle to the top has been just as hard earned. These are the people and films of the Academy Awards. The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, will air its 81st presentation on Feb. 22 in Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre. Several of this year’s competing films have sparked controversy, broken records and surprised audiences. All one has to do is look at the five Best Picture nominees.

“Milk,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Frost/Nixon,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “The Reader” are each up for the highest award. Small-town theaters rarely screen indie (independent) films, which most of the nominees are. This usually means the films have a smaller audience and less exposure, but the substance is what makes them Oscar-worthy.

“Milk” chronicles the political career of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in San Francisco, Calif. Sean Penn has snagged a Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe nomination for the title role and has won the Screen Actors Guild award for it.

“Slumdog Millionaire,” a likely choice for Best Picture, is the light-hearted love story about a boy from the streets of Mumbai, India and his opportunity to participate in a game show. This film has won numerous awards this season, picking up Best Picture awards from the Critics’ Choice, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild.

“Frost/Nixon” highlights the events following the Watergate scandal, which led to Richard Nixon’s resignation. The film features a journalist intent on getting a public admittance of guilt from Nixon, who is portrayed by Frank Langela.

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is the highest-grossing film of the five nominees due to its non-exclusive screening in multiple theaters. The film is based on a concept by F. Scott Fitzgerald in which a boy is born elderly and proceeds to age backwards as his life goes on. Brad Pitt plays the title character.

“The Reader” is the second film to contain actress Kate Winslet at this year’s ceremony, the other being “Revolutionary Road.” “The Reader” tells the tale of a German lawyer who recalls a teenage affair with an older woman later tried for her actions as a concentration camp guard.

The animated film “Wall-E” blurs the lines between animation and reality. Almost assured the Best Animated Film award, it was a close call for Best Picture and managed rare nominations for an animated film including Original Score and Original Screenplay. With six nominations total, only Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” from 1991 matches it. Animation competitors this year are “Kung Fu Panda” and “Bolt.”

Other close calls for the Best Picture nomination included “The Dark Knight,” “Doubt” and “The Wrestler.”

“Dark Knight” fans were also let down by the fact that the film was left out of the Best Director category. Aside from these larger categories, the film scored eight nominations including Best Supporting Actor for the late Heath Ledger.

The Academy Awards of 2009 hold surprises and suspense for the award recipients and the viewers watching at home. In this aspect, it does not differ from sporting events much at all.