Everyone loves a good 30 for 30. For those of you who don’t know, ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 is a series that is meant to tell an intimate, compelling story that stands on its own and brings to life the filmmaker’s vision in the sports world.
A few of my favorites over the years, for those who want some recommendations…
- The U- documented the Miami Hurricanes Football team in the 1980’s
- Four Days in October – the Red Sox historic comeback against the Yankees in 2004
- The Fab 5 – The story of the 1991 Michigan Men’s basketball recruiting class which changed college basketball
- You Don’t Know Bo – The phenomenon that was Bo Jackson, arguably the most gifted multi-sport athlete our country has ever seen
- This was the XFL – The rise and fall of the XFL led by Vince McMahon
I always love bringing up a little debate with my buddies on future 30 for 30 ideas. I’ve put together a list of 5 ideas that I believe we’ll see (or should see) down the road.
1. Not 1, but only 2 – The story of LeBron James and the Big 3 in South Beach.
Back in the summer of 2010, LeBron James hit free agency for the first time in his career. The million dollar question was, “Will he resign with the Cavs?”. As we know now, he spurned the Cavs and changed the NBA Landscape forever by teaming up with 2 of his best friends, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade, via free agency. The group would form “The Big 3.” LeBron made it “normal and acceptable” to team up and form a super team during free agency. Once LeBron’s career finally ends, it’ll be strongly debated whether his 4 years in Miami were a success or failure. He would go on to win 2 titles in 4 years. That total was nowhere near the 6 or 7 he was talking about in his introductory hype night shown in the above YouTube video.
2. JFF… Johnny Frickin Football – The rise and fall of the most entertaining yet controversial College Football player in years.
In the last several years, the only other college football player in the same media attention stratosphere as Johnny Manziel was Tim Tebow. Johnny was much more controversial than Tebow. On the field, Manziel was a generational talent in college. He became the first freshman to ever win the Heisman Trophy. Anytime he was on TV, it was ”must view” television. Off the field, Manziel was often in the spotlight as well, but for the wrong reasons. He found himself in numerous controversies while at Texas A&M. He was allegedly accepting payments for autographs, presenting a fake ID to cops as a 19 year old, and oversleeping at Peyton Manning’s football camp. JFF was drafted in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. His career was a major failure. This was in large part due to growing off field issues. Manziel’s off field issues became so bad that super agent Drew Rosenhaus terminated Johnny as a client. This was the first time Rosenhaus had ever terminated a client in his 27 years as an NFL agent. Out of the limelight the last few years, Manziel is now on record saying that he’s got his life back together and wants to make a comeback. Maybe there will be more to add to this 30 for 30…
3. An era of phonies – The MLB steroid era.
Photo credit: Chicago Tribune.
2018 marks the 20th anniversary of one of the most memorable baseball seasons in MLB history. In 1998, Major League Baseball was at the height of popularity. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were in the midst of chasing the single season home run record of 61, held by Roger Maris. The entire nation was buzzing about the race between Sosa and McGwire. McGwire would finish with 70 HR’s, Sosa with 66. Barry Bonds would go on to break the record again in 2001 by smashing an astonishing 73 dingers. Fast forward several years later and it turns out the era was led by a group of phonies who all took performance enhancing drugs. If you looked at the following list 15 to 20 years ago, there would have been no doubt these guys were Hall of Famers… Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Manny Ramirez and Rafael Palmeiro. All of these players were perennial All Stars back in the day. Now they lead the list of players whose statistics were inflated by performance enhancing drugs and may never make a trip to Cooperstown.
4. The fix is in – The story of an NBA Referee who used his job to fix games he would ref.
Photo credit: NY Daily News
Tim Donaghy was an NBA referee from 1994-2007. He was involved in one of the most controversial scandals the NBA has ever seen. It seems that most people have forgotten the seriousness of this scandal. In the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 season, it was revealed that Donaghy was betting on games that he officiated during those seasons. It was also discovered that he made calls on the court to affect point spreads and was giving bookies insider information about injuries and player/referee relations. In passing this inside information to bookies, he made $30,000. Donaghy spent 11 months in prison. I cannot recall the last time this black eye for the NBA was discussed, nor do I remember any type of documentary on the scandal.
5. Not so Happy Valley – Joe Paterno’s role in the Jerry Sandusky Scandal.
The most shocking ending to any professional or college sports coaching career was Joe Paterno and his final days at Penn State. Paterno holds the record for most wins in NCAA FBS History. For years he was the most beloved coach in College Football. All of this changed in 2011, when the child sex abuse scandal came out involving his former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky was charged on 45 counts of sexual abuse of young boys from 1994-2009. When the allegations began, everyone asked, “What did Joe Pa know?” We now know that one of his assistants witnessed Sandusky’s despicable actions back in 2001 and confronted Joe Pa, along with University officials. Evidence pointed to Joe Pa and his assistants knowing about Sandusky’s abuse. Many of the details are still murky and being pieced together to this day. HBO is releasing a movie called “Paterno” which will focus on Joe Paterno and the subsequent outcry, after the allegations against Sandusky became public. You can see the preview in the above YouTube link.
A few other future ideas:
- Employing a Murderer – The story of Aaron Hernandez and how his life spiraled out of control
- The Worst Thanksgiving Ever – The night Tiger Woods’ life changed forever and how his career was impacted
- The Big 3 that never was in RIP City – Injuries derailed the careers of Greg Oden and Brandon Roy. What could have been if these 2 players and Lamarcus Aldridge had stayed healthy and together?
- Alexander the Great? – Diving into Alexander Ovechkin’s accomplished, yet puzzling career, which has never seen him reach the Conference Finals (to date)
- Half Diva, Half Amazing – A deeper look into the legendary diva Wide Receivers over the years including T.O., Keyshawn Johnson, Randy Moss, Chad Ochocinco, and Plaxico Burress
I can go on and on with more ideas… I’d love to hear from my readers about others I may have missed!
Sports Chatter with MJD 