ESPN's 30 for 30 Program

[cumberlandreds]

Has anyone else been watching any of the series 30 for 30 that ESPN has been producing. For all the garbage that ESPN puts out there sometimes this makes up for it. These shows are really worth your time to watch. ESPN has gotten 30 different filmmakers to produce a sports related story that has happened over the last 30 years,1979-2009. They go behind the scenes and get human element of the subject. I've just started watching some of these and have DVR'd some repeated ones. Yesterday I watched their lastest one. It was about Marcus Dupree who was a celebrated HS running back from the early 80's. It was two hours which is longer than most but some of best TV viewing I have seen in a while.
Some others I have watched are:
June 17,1994
Jimmy the Greek
The Red Sox big comeback against the Yankees in 2004
The beginnings of Fantasy Baseball
Tim Richmond,the NASCAR driver from the 80's. I knew hardly anything about him but was still a very compelling story.
Below is a schedule. Looks like they will be repeating many during the holidays. I know I will be setting my DVR to get a few of these.


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

[Reds Fanatic]

The 30 for 30 series has really been excellent. In addition to the list you mentioned that you have watched some of the other really good ones are:

The Two Escobars
Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks
The U

I would highly recommend catching those when they replay.

It also looks like there is at least one more new one coming up called Pony Excess on December 11th. It is about the SMU football program and what lead to them getting the death penalty.

[Jack Burton]

I agree, these are flat out awesome. I also watched the one recently on DuPree and it was great, really heartfelt.

"Into the Wind" is a must watch as well.

[BuckeyeRed27]

I've seen about half of them, but my favorite so far has been "The Two Escobars". Just a fantastic (and tragic) story that was really well done.

[Boss-Hog]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeRed27

I've seen about half of them, but my favorite so far has been "The Two Escobars". Just a fantastic (and tragic) story that was really well done.

Agreed - I really enjoyed that one.

[RiverRat13]

"The Two Escobars" was excellent. My favorite thus far on pure entertainment value is "The U".

Thanks for posting that schedule. There are several that I've missed and would like to DVR.

[macro]

What if I told you that something typed on a keyboard could be read by people around the world in a matter of seconds? that those keystrokes could be used to start a discussion about a film series? What if I told you that the person responsible for those keystrokes was just a stone's throw from a nation's capitol?

Okay, enough of that. Thanks for the heads-up on the upcoming schedule. I missed nearly all of these the first time around, and I think the one about Tim Richmond is the only one I've seen. It was excellent, so I'd like to catch the rest.

[dabvu2498]

The Two Escobars, The U, Run, Ricky, Run, and the ones about Tim Richmond and Marcus Dupree were all fantastic.

But the one about Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic was probably the most worthwhile time I've ever spent watching television.

Sometimes we forget that these are real flesh and blood men and women that we watch doing these things in arenas and on TV. This series reminds us how very human they are.

[BuckeyeRed27]

Originally Posted by dabvu2498

The Two Escobars, The U, Run, Ricky, Run, and the ones about Tim Richmond and Marcus Dupree were all fantastic.

But the one about Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic was probably the most worthwhile time I've ever spent watching television.

Sometimes we forget that these are real flesh and blood men and women that we watch doing these things in arenas and on TV. This series reminds us how very human they are.

I forgot about the Vlade Divac one. I believe it was called "Once Brothers" and it was also fantastic. I was pretty young when that was all going on and the history of it was something that I was completely unfamiliar with.

[Homer Bailey]

They do a great job of highlighting significant sports events that the average fan just doesn't know enough about. Hate ESPN. Love the series.

[Redsfaithful]

This is easily one of the best things going on tv right now.

[MWM]

It's about the only worthwhile thing ESPN has done in more than a decade. I've enjoyed most of them, especially Two Escobars as many have referenced. I have a former political refugee from Colombia who works for me who was able to give me some more context on it. She watched it and said it was very accurate.

The one that made no sense to me as far as the series was the one on Miami. I thought that one was a waste of time. I also couldn't have cared less about the Steinbrenner one.

[Redsfaithful]

Interesting, I thought the Miami episode was one of the standouts.

My favorite might have been the one on Terry Fox, but Marcus Dupree's is up there. I've missed a few though.

[1990REDS]

The 2 Escobars and Once Brothers are honestly 2 of the best, most well done documentarys ive ever seen.

[MWM]

Originally Posted by Redsfaithful

Interesting, I thought the Miami episode was one of the standouts.

It wasn't a knock on the quality of the documentary. It was more a topic I couldn't care less about. And I really don't see how it was a topic worthy of being included in this kind of undertaking. Maybe I'm missing something, but I still don't get why it's so newsworthy.