Viewed in
2010
Formats
HD cable TV
Premise
Part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series, a documentary about the college football recruiting scandals of Southern Methodist University in the 1980's.
Liked
Everything.
Thoughts
An entertaining and educational film.
It definitely covered the topic of recruiting cheating in great detail, such as factors that drove Texas to being so football-crazy, the halcyon days of athletic superiority, moral ambiguity of student-athletes, politics of how SMU was singled out for punishment, and "death penalty" devastation.
I enjoyed the interviews and footage. The documentarians collected numerous insightful accounts from players, coaches, boosters, investigators, media to help paint the picture of that era from all angles. They also had a lot of damning evidence of the corruption, including the local news story that blew the lid. Historically, it was cool to watch tape of college greats, Eric Dickerson and Craig James, dominating opponents. Also, Al Michaels' Jew-fro was a sight to see.
As much as I enjoyed the compelling story and strong narrative, I never found it to be as great as the best of the 30 for 30 series. Maybe its objective distance made it difficult to sympathize with those involved. Or maybe because even two decades later, history is still repeating itself, as the credits remind us.
What I would change
Nothing.
