You may have seen the adorable ad for all the sports documentaries on Netflix.
In the ad, several football fans declare their love for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins after his star became the ideal family man on “Quarterback,” the series with Peyton Manning as executive producer.
The commercial makes more sense now that Cousins is out for the season with an Achilles injury.
I have seen and enjoyed most of the Netflix documentaries, including “Formula 1: The Drive to Survive”, “Quarterback”, “Full Swing” and “The Last Dance”.
You don’t have to be a fan of football, basketball, golf or auto racing to enjoy it.
I rarely watched a Formula 1 race before “The Drive to Survive,” but I was fascinated by the behind-the-scenes look at the personal side of racing drivers striving to succeed in a fast, competitive and competitive industry. relentless. My most recent favorite Netflix sports documentary is “Beckham,” in which soccer superstar David Beckman reveals things about his childhood, his playing career, his marriage to Spice Girl Victoria and his mistreatment by fans. British football.
People also read…
I didn’t realize that Great Britain had turned on him because he received a red card in a huge game and was eventually redeemed.
He wasn’t really upfront about his marriage rumors, but you can read the lines about his behavior.
If you’re looking for something to watch over Thanksgiving weekend, I highly recommend “Beckham” even if you don’t like football.
I would put several other sports documentaries on my watch list if you haven’t seen them already. Here are some.
The success of “Quarterback” featuring Cousins, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Marcus Mariota when he played for Atlanta sparked speculation that Bills quarterback Josh Allen could be part of the second season.
Allen didn’t rule it out in his comments during last spring training camp when he promised to focus on football. Given all the drama surrounding Allen’s play this season and the firing of offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, a season with the Bills quarterback would have been great for the show and horrible for the Bills.
Manning said the first season proved that being on the show wouldn’t be a distraction, but he better say that.
Mahomes won a Super Bowl in the season he was followed, so it wasn’t a distraction for him. But that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be a distraction for other quarterbacks.
If Allen had been part of the series during a 2023 season that went south for the Bills, he would have been crushed by some Bills fans. He was smart to move on this season.
A few other streaming sports documentaries about high-profile athletes — Heisman Trophy winner and NFL bust Johnny Manziel and NBA superstar Stephen Curry — are also worth watching.
Manziel and Curry couldn’t be more different.
The Netflix documentary “Johnny Football” doesn’t seem designed to endear the former Texas A&M star.
Manziel’s talent was undeniable from a young age, as footage of his high school years in a Texas town from “Friday Night Lights” illustrates.
He ruined his football life by abusing drugs and alcohol and breaking NCAA rules. In the documentary, he sits in a chair describing all the ways he made mistakes, a cautionary tale about someone unable to handle success and enabled by those around him.
His parents, his agent, his former best friend and a college coach also explain why Manziel wouldn’t listen to reason.
The big news from “Johnny Football” is that he said he attempted suicide after being cut by the Cleveland Browns, who made him their No. 1 overall draft pick in 2014.
The draft shows how stupid the Browns were when other NFL teams — including the Dallas Cowboys in Manziel’s home state — did their homework and stayed away from Manziel.
The documentary also shows that Manziel never did his homework, watching “zero” film as Brown.
The film makes a good point about the NCAA’s old policy of preventing former college athletes from profiting from their popularity.
Manziel was understandably upset about not being allowed to legally profit from any No. 2 Texas A&M jerseys sold because he did not own his name, image and likeness (NIL). The new NIL policy changed that and college football.
Manziel’s apparent failure was attributed to his upbringing as a spoiled brat with wealthy parents. It was a fabrication, just like the theory that Johnny Football could thrive in the NFL.
Sonya’s son and former NBA star Dell Curry overcame his skinny frame and relative lack of height by constantly training and challenging the experts.
The documentary begins with NBA Hall of Famer Reggie Miller reading Curry’s unflattering NBA draft analysis that, in hindsight, is laughable.
It contains funny old footage of a skinny pre-teen Curry sitting on a bench, an early indication of what he had to overcome.
His drive and support from his parents and the only college coach who believed in him, Davidson legend Bob McKillop, led him to leave college after his junior season and become the seventh pick in the 2009 draft by the Golden State Warriors. Interestingly, former Niagara Falls High and Syracuse University star Jonny Flynn was picked one spot ahead of him.
I’m sure many local college basketball fans remember Curry’s fantastic performance in a 2007 NCAA tournament game that Davidson lost to Maryland in Buffalo, which is briefly shown in the documentary.
Curry’s parents, separated after 33 years of marriage, were excellent role models.
His mother, who is president of a Christian Montessori school she founded in North Carolina, demanded that Curry eventually graduate from Davidson.
He is seen studying and writing his thesis during one of the summers when Golden State did not win an NBA title. At the end of the program, Curry graduated, an accomplishment almost as great as his historic career in which his three-point shooting changed basketball.
Curry’s image doesn’t need any help. But “Underrated” will only make fans appreciate him even more off the field.
“Destination NBA: G League Odyssey”
Curry’s brother, Seth, appears in the Prime Video documentary “Destination NBA: G League Odyssey.”
Seth is one of the G League’s success stories in the two-hour film along with Spencer Dinwiddie and Gary Payton, who overcame overwhelming odds to have successful careers in the NBA.
The show follows several players, including 18-year-old Scoot Henderson, who played for former Syracuse University star Jason Hart for Ignite in the G League. Henderson became the Portland Trailblazers’ No. 3 overall pick in June’s draft, but this film makes you wonder why Charlotte chose Alabama’s Brandon Miller ahead of him.
The film follows several other players, including Denzel Valentine, a former No. 1 overall draft pick playing for the Maine Celtics in hopes of returning to the NBA; Ryan Turell, an Orthodox Jew who played at Division III Yeshiva and hopes to become “a Jewish hero”; and sharpshooter Gabe York, who finally got a cup of coffee with the Indiana Pacers last season at age 29 after an eight-year odyssey.
The movie makes you root for them all – the York story was my favorite. He’s a great interview subject whose journey helps explain the odds of becoming one of the top 500 players in the world to make the NBA.
G League players are the antithesis of Manziel, athletes who give everything they have to achieve their dreams.
They all deserve to be as loved as Kirk Cousins.
