ESPN's 30 Films for 30 Years

[AgentZero]

man, i feel like watching another one...trying to find Roll Tide/War Eagle about the Bama/Auburn rivalry, any sauce?

[Top Gun]

Always loved Reggie after the choke aimed at Spike Lee

Oh, and the bow.

[Rainey]

Since the original 30, there have been further additions and they've been doing the runs lately on ESPN UK. The ones that I've seen lately are You Don't Know Bo, Broke, The Fab Five and The Dotted Line.

You Don't Know Bo is the story of Vincent 'Bo' Jackson, an American athlete who played professional Baseball and Football at the same time.

Broke is pretty much a look into how so many professional athletes in the American sports have gone bankrupt. People like Allen Iverson and Mike Tyson who made fortunes during their career but have soon seen it all disappear.

The Dotted Line is all about the relationship with agents and sponsors. And The Fab Five is the story about the famous Michigan Basketball team of the early 90s which kind of turned the entire college basketball scene on its head. I believe it was first time where 5 freshman started. All 4 stories are fascinating stories.

I've got a few more recorded and ready to watch such as Unguarded, The Two Escobars and Goose. I also rewatched Once Brothers.

[IronCity]

the two escobars were very good. I had the story completely backwards until watching.

[Rainey]

Just after watching Unguarded. A very interesting story about Chris Herren, a high school basketball star and NBA player; his career-long struggles with drug abuse; and his ultimate discovery of redemption and personal fulfillment through the game.

[Rainey]

I watched Goose and 26 Years: The Dewey Bozella Story today. Not a boxing fan at all, I actually dislike the sport quite a bit but I still watched 26 Years. It was about a man called Dewey Bozella who spent 26 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, and then his determination to become a professional boxer at the age of 52. I thought it was a very nice story and well told.

Goose was the life of Reece “Goose” Tatum who played in Negro League baseball and was an original member of the legendary Harlem Globetrotters. Big basketball fan so it's always good to learn a bit more about the history of the sport even though he never played it professionally. He seemed to be the worlds most famous athlete at the time and was extremely surprised to hear that he died in his mid 40's. There was a scene where his son was giving an acceptance speech following the induction of his father to the Hall of Fame of Basketball and I'm not going to lie, I had a tear in my eye. Things like that always get me.

[Rainey]

Watched 'Benji' last night. It's what you expect from one of these films, a fascinating story and well told.

Spoiler: 

The story of Ben Wilson, the number one High School player in the nation who was destined for great things but was unfortunately shot and died later that day, aged just 17.

[Bish]

Can't wait for this one:

The popular ESPN “30 For 30″ series of sports movies returns with new installments soon, one of which will focus on the 1983 NFL Draft.

Entitled “Elway to Marino,” Sports Business Daily reports that the movie will be a collaboration between NFL Films and director Ken Rodgers and will focus on the six quarterbacks taken in the first round of that year’s Draft, including the three Hall of Famers: John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino.

The story will also dive into the significance of this particular class for the league, which was coming off a player strike and attempting to keep the USFL at bay.

The movie is scheduled to premiere on Tuesday, April 23rd and 9pm, just two days before the start of the 2013 Draft.

[IronCity]

Originally Posted by Bish

Can't wait for this one:

I had a chance to see Elway's first ever game. He came to Pittsburgh after sitting out a year so he didn't have to play for his drafted team, the then Baltimore Colts. We booed him every second because at the time he was considered nothing but a sneering rich kid (sort of like the Swansea ball boy) from Stanford who had to buck the system. He only completed one pass, sacked him 5 times with the last knocking him out of the game. It was the old days of Three Rivers Stadium where the crowd sound couldn't leave the stadium so you couldn't hear the person next to you when the fans were amped up. I remember him getting several delay of game penalties because he couldn't handle the crowd.

So Steve deBerg comes in for him, completes only 4 more passes and we lose in a defense dominated game.

On another note, Dan Marino is a Pittsburgh boy (listen to his accent on TV) who played at our rival high school, and Jim Kelly grew up just outside of Pittsburgh.