The intrigue surrounding the NFL 1983 draft is well known, but only Marvin Demoff's personal notebooks, recently revealed, show just how deep it went. Demoff was the agent for both John Elway and Dan Marino, the two most promising prospects of that year's amazing quarterback crop. The problem was that Elway did not want to play for the Colts, who had the first pick that year, and if the Colts picked him he threatened to choose to play baseball (he had a standing offer from the Yankees, too). Demoff failed to reach a deal with the Colts, and the Colts picked him anyway. Six days later, through yet more dealing, the Colts traded him to Denver, and the rest is history. Dan Marino's story is far less complex and involved fewer trades and deals, and I doubt it would be told in the same breath if it hadn't been associated with Elway's and if Marino hadn't ended up being Marino. Demoff is convinced that these are the two best QBs to ever play the game. While that is debatable in the end, the lengths that these teams went to secure them (or get rid of them, as the case may be) shows that there may be some truth to it. This documentary was co-produced by the NFL, so it is not as "biting" as it could be; yet, it delivers a pretty ruthless picture of how players are traded as if they were commodities. Maybe an independent filmmaker would have been able to craft a social message or a critique to deliver along with the story, but personally I prefer it this way. This was enjoyable to watch, also because both Elway and Marino provide lengthy and insightful interviews.
MIRACLE 3 (SEC Storied) 12-28-2013
The story of three "miracle threes" at the 2008 SEC men's basketball championship tournament: Mykel Riley's buzzer-beater 3-pointer that sent Alabama-MSU overtime while a tornado hit the Georgia Dome, possibly saving thousands of people who would have been walking outside otherwise; the tourney directors' overnight struggle to move the following day's games to the closed and ill-equipped Georgia Tech arena; and underdog Georgia's three wins in 36 hours to win the SEC title against all odds and qualify for the NCAA tournament. I didn't even know this was a thing, let alone that it was so storied. This was an excellent, if sometimes confusingly presented, documentary. I would have liked to have more context upfront and for all three factors to be introduced immediately; instead, we are left meandering through a story that changes focus too abruptly from being the story about a 3-pointer to a story about managers to a story about a team. More organization, a la 30 for 30, would have made this unforgettable. As it is, it remains an entertaining and informative account of two crazy nights.
GOING BIG (SEC Storied) 12-28-2013
As I do not follow basketball a lot -- not since I was 15 anyway -- I was completely unaware of the story of Sam Bowie, the gentle giant whose career was marred by chronic stress fractures in both legs and who none the less managed to play 10 seasons in the NBA. Essentially, this is the story of a would-be: the consensus is that without these recurring injuries, Bowie would have been one of the best players in history, and it is only because of his bad luck and resilience that he is still remembered. Well, not just that. He is also remembered for the 1983 NBA Draft. In the same year that the NFL went from Elway to Marino, the NBA's first three picks were Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston), Bowie (Portland), and Jordan (Chicago). The Trailblazers' choice to go for Bowie instead of Jordan are often scorned, but this documentary does an excellent job of showing how at that time, with what was known, the choice made good sense. I enjoyed the insightful interviews with Bowie, which drive the narration, and the massive amount of newspaper headlines and archive footage to show the story, rather than tell it. One of my favorite basketball documentaries to date, though admittedly I have not watched too many.
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