THE SUCCESS OF “30 FOR 30” - MIKE IN DA - 1/7/2011

THE SUCCESS OF “30 FOR 30”



Writen by: Mike in DA
Date posted: 1/7/2011


The Peanut Gallery often complains, knocks, and makes fun of ESPN, the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader" because of some of its conspicuously bad and concocted sports-related programming, but sometimes it comes up with a good idea.

With that in mind, I have to give credit to ESPN for its “30 for 30” show. It was an ambitious undertaking that was accomplished at a very high level. Some of the films were original programming, but many were already completed films that were likely never to be brought to our attention.


For those of you who have been on another planet for the last two years, "30 for 30" is the umbrella title for a series of documentaries that aired on ESPN and its sister networks. The series, which began in October 2009 and ended last month, told 30 stories from the "ESPN era," each of which details the issues, people, teams, or events that were part of the sports world since ESPN was founded in 1979.


Most of the documentary films were widely applauded with only a handful getting mixed reviews, as the series spanned many sports and eras with a great blend of rehashing mainstream stories of the past. For the younger sports fans, it was great to get the history on various stories before their time, and for many others, it added to their general sports knowledge by watching the series.

In the end, it was a win-win all the way around. Ratings were great, critics applauded it, advertisers Cadillac and Levi's found a great project to sponsor, DVD sales seem to be doing okay, and it was a constant topic of conversation with sports fans, even on local sports talk.

It was also a big win for the series creator, Bill Simmons, as it added another feather in his cap while ESPN proved that an investment in original film-making could be both commercially viable and critically acclaimed.


A summary of all the shows is below, so you can see what you missed. In addition to the DVD series, I’m sure there will be plenty of replays on the ESPN sister of networks in the future.

The list of "30 For 30" films in chronological order with a brief synopsis of each (Source - Wiki):

1. "King's Ransom" - the 1988 trade of Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings and the effect it had on Gretzky, the fans in Edmonton, and the popularity of hockey in Southern California.



2. "The Band that Wouldn't Die" - Baltimore's love affair with football and the Colts, focusing on the Colts Marching Band. After the Colts moved to Indy in 1984, the band remained in Baltimore and helped promote the eventual return of the NFL to the city.

3. "Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?" - Recent interviews and archival footage track the life and death of the USFL (United States Football League for the acronym-challenged) in the mid-1980s. A highlight is an interview with Donald Trump, the former New Jersey Generals owner whose post-interview comments on the league give this documentary its title.

 4. "Muhammad and Larry" - A look at the October 1980 Muhammad Ali-Larry Holmes fight and its impact on both fighters, featuring fresh interviews with participants and previously unseen lead-up footage from both fighters' camps.

5. "Without Bias" - The death of Len Bias from a cocaine-induced heart attack, two days after Boston selected him as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft, and its impact on casual drug use, especially by the sports community.

6 . "The Legend of Jimmy the Greek" - The life of Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, from his career as a Las Vegas bookmaker to his time on "The NFL Today", from which he was fired in 1988.

7. "The U" - The racial and cultural evolution of Miami during the 1980s as represented within the University of Miami football team.





8. "Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks" - 

The impact of Reggie Miller on the New York Knicks in the 1990s, specifically focusing on the 1995 NBA Playoffs and Miller's interaction with Knicks fan Spike Lee.

9. "Guru of Go" - Paul Westhead's coaching tenure at Loyola Marymount University (1985-1990) features his high-scoring run-and-gun offense and players such as Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers.

10. "No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson" - The 1993 trial of Hampton, Virginia, high-school athlete Allen Iverson, convicted for his role in a racially-tinged melee, and its impact on both the community and on Iverson's life. 


11. "Silly Little Game" - Meeting at New York City's La Rotisserie Francaise restaurant in 1980, a group of writers and academics develop Rotisserie Fantasy Baseball, only to see it take off in popularity and leave them behind.


12. "Run Ricky Run" - A profile of Ricky Williams focuses on his brief 2004 departure from the NFL, when he sought self-redemption amidst media criticism and fresh rumors of marijuana use.


13. "The 16th Man" - How hosting (and winning) the 1995 Rugby World Cup and Nelson Mandela's support of the Springboks national team affected post-apartheid South Africa.


14. "Straight Outta L.A." - The relationship between the Raiders and the minority fan base in Los Angeles during the team's 13 seasons in L.A. (1982-1994).

15. "June 17, 1994" - Quick-cut archival footage captures the various sporting events on the day in question and the emotions they generated, with O. J. Simpson's run from the police overshadowing an NBA Finals game between the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, the opening of the U.S.-hosted 1994 World Cup, the last-ever U.S. Open PGA tournament round for Arnold Palmer, Ken Griffey Jr. hitting a home run to add to his record-setting pace, and a parade in New York after the Rangers finally won their first Stanley Cup since 1940.


16.  "The Two Escobars" - The lives of soccer player Andrés Escobar and drug lord Pablo Escobar; the intertwining of crime and soccer in their native Colombia; and the connections between the murders of both men.


17. "The Birth of Big Air" - The life of Mat Hoffman and his 25 year career of advancing BMX riding, both creatively and promotionally.

18. "Jordan Rides the Bus" - Motivated by the dream his late father had for him, Michael Jordan retires from basketball and has a brief career in minor league baseball.

19. "Little Big Men" - The Kirkland National Little League team's success at the 1982 Little League World Series, examining why their title win is considered one of the biggest upsets in the event's history.

20.  "One Night in Vegas" - The friendship of boxer Mike Tyson and rapper Tupac Shakur and the night of September 7, 1996, when Shakur was murdered after attending the Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight in Las Vegas.


21.  "Unmatched" - A look at the rivalry and friendship between tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.


22. "The House of Steinbrenner" - The legacy of George Steinbrenner's ownership of the New York Yankees.


23. "Into the Wind" - Terry Fox's attempt to run across Canada in support of fundraising for cancer research captures the attention of his fellow Canadians and the world.

24. "Four Days In October" - The remarkable comeback of the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.

25. "Once Brothers" - The story of Croatian Dražen Petrović and Serbian Vlade Divac, NBA players and Yugoslavian national teammates, and how upheaval in their homeland adversely and irretrievably affected their friendship.


26. "Tim Richmond: To the Limit" - The career of NASCAR driver Tim Richmond, his flamboyant lifestyle, and his 1989 death from AIDS.


27.  "Fernando Nation" - The euphoria created by Fernando Valenzuela's 1981 arrival with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

28. "Marion Jones: Press Pause" - The successful track and field career of Marion Jones, her 2007 admission of performance-enhancing drug use, and subsequent prison sentence.


29.  "The Best That Never Was" - The 1981 recruiting of high school football player Marcus Dupree by multiple big-time college programs, his resulting injury-prone college and professional career, and how his college and later USFL recruitment changed the recruiting process.

30.  "Pony Exce$$"  - The rise, fall, and rebirth of the SMU Mustangs football program, which received a 2-year "death penalty" for major infractions.









MIKE IN DA

HMW

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