The "Unofficial" Sports Documentaries Thread

We're in a such a run of sports docs, I figured we needed a spot to discuss them all. Please delete if there is a thread out there. I couldn't find it.

This week I saw Swamp Kings, which was basically a three-hour hype video for the 2005-09 Florida Gators football team and Urban Meyer PR reclamation project disguised as a documentary.

And then I saw B.S. High last night on HBO, which was the story behind Bishop Sycamore. Now that was a documentary. That was excellent in every way.

 

Whether its a movie feature or a doc - too many films seem more like "tributes" to the subject. We've seen a ton of music films that are pretty much just hagiographies - Queen, Elton John, Aretha, Whitney - and there was a run a few years ago of college football boosters making movies about some noted figure in their school's history- Texas, Arkansas, Syracuse.
I don't trust a documentary unless one of the subjects involved threatens a lawsuit to block its release.

 

Swamp Kings was definitely a Urban Meyer lovefest. There's no doubt that he and Tebow had to sign off on everything because they just ignored all the bullshit that happened at that program during his time there.

And they even omitted things that were pertinent to the field, like Carlos Dunlap getting a DUI the week of the second Alabama game. He was their best defensive lineman and a future first-round pick. His absence was directly related to Alabama kicking the shit out of them. But...crickets.

At least with "The U", those guys admitted they were assholes.

 

Nothing has gone from something I love to can’t palate in such strong terms as sports docs. Not every story is worth telling. And some stories aren’t worth telling unless you tell the whole story.

The O.J. one might be the last truly great one, and that’s a long time ago at this point.

 

Can't wait for the 10-parter on Kobe, two of which will be #GirlDad

 

There's a 10-part series Netflix bought on Jerry Jones/Cowboys is coming up. I can't expect it'll be anything spectacular, but I don't know if it's on Jerry himself (interesting figure, but not 10 parts worth) or the Cowboys four-year run of dominance, which is much more intriguing, or just some "How 'bout Dem Cowboys" slob fest like Swamp Kings was.

 

If you haven't watched the American Gladiators one yet, it's worth the time. That said, they're gonna fuck around and ruin this whole genre. No, Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys dont need a 10-parter that is directed by Jerry Jones. The Last Dance held all of our attention because COVID had just started and we all needed something new to watch. In hindsight, it was at least two episodes too long and gave Jordan kid gloves treatment.

 

The terrible thing is an unauthorized Urban Meyer-era Florida documentary would’ve been incredible.

 

For me it all comes to who's directing/producing and how much of their journalistic integrity are they willing to compromise...hopefully none. Docu-series like the OJ one and The Last Dance are outliers. Very few subjects in sports can' hold your attention for 4-5 hours worth of film. Even OJ couldn't if there wasn't a double murder case. He's just not interesting. For me there's Muhammad Ali...and...Muhammad Ali.

The Last Dance was fine. There was enough conflict there to make it plenty watchable. I wish Jerry Krause was alive to defend himself and the people who didn't like him weren't as harsh given he'd been dead for over 15 years. But the behind the scenes footage was great. Overall it was fine.

Netflix sports docs have been rough. The Redeem Team was fine, a bit jolly but had some fun stories and is a general fine waste of a couple of hours. The Malice at the Palace was well done I thought and pretty raw all things considered. There are still a lot of bad feelings there. The rest have been hit or miss and Swamp Kings was embarrassing. They really should have reconsidered putting that one out.

HBO, in my opinion, is still the standard. The BS High documentary, even though it's probably a year too late in today's "here today, gone today" environment, is still very good and it just lets the subjects determine how they are going to be perceived based on what comes out of their mouth. But you can go into their history with The Miracle on Ice documentary, the 1968 Olympics documentary with John Carlos and Tommy Smith, Broad Street Bullies....even the shorter series like the Legendary Night series. All very well done.

 

I thought the Netflix one was a great ride. Fun nostalgia. Great stories and those animated re-enactments were gold.

The ESPN 30-for-30 was a sack of shit. A three-hour soap opera based around two guys I've never heard of and couldn't give a shit about.

 

The length of the Bill Walton documentary fried my brain like a tour with the Dead. I couldn’t believe they stretched that thing so thin.

 

(Moved from TV thread ...)

I'm watching BS High right now. And more than anything, I feel skeevy watching it. Because I know this POS Roy Johnson has undoubtedly gotten a healthy chunk of change to sit there, wink and shrug off everything he did.

I don't think IMG or the other "academies" come off looking good here, either.