30 for 30

Since 30 for 30 has been hyped to be the best/most unique sports documentary series ever made, let's talk about whether it's living up to expectations.

What did people think of the episode about the former Baltimore Colts marching band?

As a former Houston Oilers fan, I found some common ground with Baltimore fans' heartbreak. The very frank discussion with Jim Irsay (the son of Robert, who moved the team) was illuminating about how his father saw the world and made decisions.

Overall, I thought this episode was much better than the Gretzky one in terms of storyline and execution--possibly because it resonated more with my personal experience. I think the Gretzky episode would have worked better if someone more in touch with the loss felt by the fans (i.e. a Canadian) had directed.

Thoughts?

I wouldn't know - they still haven't aired in Canada. Up yours, TSN.

Better story, better sport, more well rounded, less camera tricks, more footage.

I agree with Simmons that maybe a few more minutes could have been spent on the moral quandary of stealing somebody else's team because your team was stolen.

What sealed it as being better than the Gretzky piece was the loving details, especially at the end where I felt the director really took the time to show the old Colts donning the Ravens gear and all that stuff.

They didn't blow by the finale, they savored it, and by doing that, I was able to feel sympathy for people who were....let's face it....kinda losers. I can't imagine pawning my wife's wedding ring to support my defunct marching band.

But that's just me.

Me neither. My wife's wedding ring only cost $39.99.

I enjoyed the Band piece, didn't catch the first one and have been kicking myself for almost two weeks now as I can't find it anywhere online. I'm fairly young, barely turned 22 a few weeks ago, and so far these are two pieces that I either knew nothing about or knew barely anything about because they happened well before I could remember anything. I think the next one is the USFL and I think that's going to be a good one.

You can get it on itunes. It will also be on next Sunday on Classic.

http://30for30.espn.com/schedule.html

You can get it on itunes. It will also be on next Sunday on Classic.

http://30for30.espn.com/schedule.html

Cool, cool, will have to catch it next Sunday.

Just listened to the USFL podcast. Two annoyances:

1) Simmons commented "you only had 52 minutes..." This kills me. They love bragging about how ESPN was giving its directors a blank slate to work with and staying out of the process. But if somebody feels that they can tell a more complete story with a 90 or 120 minute documentary, then LET THEM. Jeez, I hate artificial time limits on things.

2) Simmons really started getting insidery at the end of the podcast. Making some "industry" joke about Chad Michael Murray. Why does it annoy me when he does that? Is it just because he used to be a regular "sports guy" but now he's turning into Mr. Show Biz?

I have to say I really thoroughly enjoyed watching the USFL one tonight. Watching it made me wish I were old enough to have been around to see the league. It also brings up the question as to why there isn't a professional football league held during the spring season. I think it would be interesting if a USFL were resurrected.

Matt

The USFL was great.

Most teams had wonderfully 80s uniforms/helmets.

Lots of stars in the league that would migrate to NFL later.

Being in the MD/PA corridor, got to watch the Stars. Chuck Fusina!~!

Being from the area, I was a Bandits fan. And they managed to do something that the NFL team couldn't do at the time: win games. The Bandits were competitive and had a very prominent league owner (well, part owner) in Burt Reynolds. I was pretty young at the time, but I remember the Bandits uniforms were pretty slick. Good colors too. Black, Red & Silver. Ironically, the Bucs would switch to similar colors about 10 years later.

I still say the XFL would have worked had Vince McMahon not been prominently involved. I think his involvement turned off commentators. Commentators just wanted to pile on about how he's an idiot, the games are fixed and it's just wrestling on a football field. When all the "experts" trash the product, the fans aren't going to like it.

I really enjoyed it. I thought their low-budget approach was the way to go. I was under the impression that they began the league under the assumption that there wouldn't be much of a following initially, but they had the capital and low costs to go for a couple of years before needing to have good TV ratings or attendance figures.

Some kind of a 2nd-tier football league in the spring would be awesome. Or even a system like the USFL had, where most of the players were 2nd-tier, but each team was allowed to pay 2 or 3 guys big bucks that might otherwise be in the NFL.

I am about halfway through the 30 for 30 show, and am feeling so wistful about the USFL. I was only 11 when it started, so I loved the idea of it, but really didn't have the ability (or the dedication) to really follow it or remember many details about the league. I just remember that the "swoosh" marks on the LA Express helmet logo went the wrong direction on one side.

I don't know if Trump truly believed what he was saying or not, but I don't see why there is any universal law that says football can't be successful in the spring.

This USFL documentary should be 7 or 8 hours long. I want more. More highlights. More behind the scenes. Those shots of Herschel Walker are amazing.

It seems like a few years ago ESPN Classic was showing an occasional complete USFL game. Has that happened recently? I don't even know if I have ESPN Classic.

I just caught the one about the Baltimore Colts band yesterday. I thought it was really interesting and well done. I like Kings Ransom, but The Band That Wouldn't Die was a far superior film.

I just caught the last 20 minutes or so of the USFL one. Music choices aside, I thought it was swell. By the way, here's a nice USFL site with stats and standings and whatnot...

http://www.oursportscentral.com/usfl/index.php