Still think ESPN has a North-East Bias?

[The Artful Dodger]

I'd rather read about football.

Thanks. I've been looking for something new to put in my sig.

Fantastic, I'll talk some football now.

Seriously, I found "The Two Escobars" on Youtube (in Spanish though) and just finished it. It was an excellent in-depth documentary that painted a comprehensive picture of Colombian society as a whole in the mid-90's and its effect on the national team. The documentary excels in giving a rich, detailed backstory of the drug cartels, their influence on Colombian football at the club and national levels, the political corruption, and it ties well in leading up to the events of the '94 World Cup and Andres Escobar's eventual tragic death. By the end of it, I was more fascinated about Pablo Escobar and he was given a fair shake of a depiction too. Perhaps the filmmakers were a bit extra generous in highlighting Pablo's acts of philanthropy, but I think it also does well in evoking some sympathy for the man too. Hardly anyone on both sides of the law seemed purely innocent, anyway.

The only gripe I have about The Two Escobars is that from time to time, game footage was interspersed with other game footage that wasn't relevant to the game in question. Minor, but nonetheless I found it nagging. Also, I think the documentary neglected the fact that Romania fielded quite a strong team and best in their nation's history. They weren't touted as heavy favorites by the press as Colombia but Romania were a brilliant counterattacking side led by arguably Romania's greatest footballer, Gheorghe Hagi. That was a tougher match than what the documentary seemed to convey.

Looking back on it, I've always thought it was a shame that Colombian football declined as it did, following the World Cup exit and of course, Andres Escobar's death. Carlos Valderrama enjoyed quite a long career and I'd immediately rank him as one of the greatest passing midfielders I've ever seen in my time. Off the top of my head, Zinedine Zidane and Paul Scholes rank higher. Faustino Asprilla had the skills and flair of a top-notch striker but he was a relatively undisciplined lad himself and fell short of realizing his potential. Of course, the irony is had Rene Higuita not been jailed for shady reasons, perhaps Andres Escobar's own goal might not have happened. Higuita was a beast of a keeper and the Colombian stand-in #1 at the World Cup was partially at fault too for Andres Escobar's blunder.

[bigh0rt]

Okay, so after your long-winded, but typical, response, I'll just say that you should watch some of the other 30 for 30's. Last night's on the biggest post-season collapse on sports history, 'Winning Time' on Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks, the one on Len Bias, the one on Allen Iverson, 'Run Ricky Run' on Ricky Williams. All very good to excellent.

[bigken117]

my non sports fan wife got roped into the Reggie Miller one.

[Tavish]

The 30/30 on the Raiders that was made by Ice Cube was awful, The U was pretty good though.

[Metroid]

I didn't find the "Straight Outa L.A." one awful, it wasn't the better of the ones I've seen but it was okay. I liked the "June 17, 1994" one too.

[The Artful Dodger]

Okay, so after your long-winded, but typical, response, I'll just say that you should watch some of the other 30 for 30's. Last night's on the biggest post-season collapse on sports history, 'Winning Time' on Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks, the one on Len Bias, the one on Allen Iverson, 'Run Ricky Run' on Ricky Williams. All very good to excellent.

I'll pass on the Yanks/Red Sox ALCS. I enjoyed the Winning Time documentary a great deal and I'll make it a point to see the Len Bias and AI films.

Also, I read there will be a 30 for 30 on the late Drazen Petrovic and his friendship with Vlade Divac, and how it was affected by the Croatia/Serbia war of the 90's. I'm sure to tune in for that one.

[knapplc]

The 30/30 on the Raiders that was made by Ice Cube was awful, The U was pretty good though.

I actually watched the one on Miami. It was interesting how they glorified their reprehensible behavior. What Miami used to be has no place in amateur sports, and I'm glad to see that "the U" has changed for the better.

[A Fleshner Fantasy]

I've noticed a ton of you complaining about fluff and how the people aren't serious enough and there's too much just geared towards entertainment. My question is, why is this so bad? I mean, how boring do you guys want your tv to be that it's all completely serious discussion about in depth issues with football? The entertainment value is funny and enjoyable. I love shows like Sportsnation that are actually geared towards mindless humor rather than in depth discussion.

[The Artful Dodger]

I've noticed a ton of you complaining about fluff and how the people aren't serious enough and there's too much just geared towards entertainment. My question is, why is this so bad? I mean, how boring do you guys want your tv to be that it's all completely serious discussion about in depth issues with football? The entertainment value is funny and enjoyable. I love shows like Sportsnation that are actually geared towards mindless humor rather than in depth discussion.

Different strokes for different folks, really. I can understand that ESPN has to cater to all kinds of sports fans as possible. I just don't happen to be one of them.

For me, I can't find the entertainment value all that enjoyable. It's the same old, brash, over-the-top attention-seeking analysts who speak with extra inflection in their voices as if to say, "Look at me I have an opinion, hear me roar". It's the regurgitation of catchphrases, regurgitation of "breaking or developing news", and needless influx of pop culture with sports. Hardly anything of substance in a good deal of their programs. Our ESPN Los Angeles dumbs us down as if we all stroll to the Pinkberry and walk our chihuahuas there. Likewise, fans who are much too reliant on ESPN like life support to form a sports opinion aren't too bright, because of such dumbed down coverage.

I will give ESPN their due for things like 30 For 30 and their football, erm, soccer coverage when ESPN had the Champions League. It's things like the East Coast Bias or the unnecessary TMZ-like coverage of off-the-field incidents that make me avoid ESPN like the plague.

If you think I'm critical about ESPN, you should hear me rant about BBC and their anti-Man United bias, as well as their piss-poor Match of the Day analysis too.

[AquaMan2342]

The 30/30 on the Raiders that was made by Ice Cube was awful, The U was pretty good though.

I actually watched the one on Miami. It was interesting how they glorified their reprehensible behavior. What Miami used to be has no place in amateur sports, and I'm glad to see that "the U" has changed for the better.

This. I thought the U one was arguably the worst of the series for this exact same reason. Wow we were thugs who didn't give a damn about the rules....we're sooooo badass. It was annoying. I mean, it was basically their old players telling old stories like they were at a class reunion or something.