Sports meets politics in doc explosion’s next wave
We are living in what has been hailed as the golden age of documentaries and, happily, sports fans aren’t being left out.
In the past five years, ESPN has received a lot of praise for its stellar 30 for 30 series of sports documentaries, helping to make it a viable genre. HBO has been no slouch, either, with several successful docs including the NHL Winter Classic behind-the-scenes look 24/7. It is building on that with the Canadian original series Sports on Fire , six half-hour episodes airing Fridays at 9 p.m. on HBO Canada.
“There was a time when if you wanted to do a sports documentary you’d be laughed out of the room, and now it’s a huge genre,” says Pete McCormack, director of Sports on Fire. “I think it has really evolved. Sports has built-in drama to it. You throw in a great game, or great sports moment, and great timing, and then you add the history (around it) and it’s combustible.”
It is that area where sports and history collide that Sports on Fire wants to mine, and the first episode is a good ol’ slice of Canadiana called A Cold War — which premiered this past Friday, with replays this week including Monday at 3 p.m. — focusing on the 1972 Canada-Russia Summit Series. With extensive commentary by Paul Henderson, Ken Dryden and Bobby Clarke — and good archival footage keeping it from being a talking head fest — it explores and explains the politics of the time, and how players reacted to the pressure.
The contrast between the cerebral Dryden and the unrepentant Clarke, in particular, really enlivens it. Clarke is the star, because he’s so honest — first about the slash that broke Russian star Valeri Kharlamov’s ankle, saying: “I (saw) him going this way, so I hunted him down. I mean, I knew where I was swinging the stick when I swung it.” What’s even better is footage from the first game after the Russia series in Czechoslovakia, where Clarke violently slashed another player. It’s worth it just to see Clarke wince a little, talking about a hit he regrets.
Sports on Fire continues with episodes on U.S. track legend Jesse Owens, the 1972 Munich Massacre, gender testing of athletes, NASCAR’s bootlegging roots and performance-enhancing drugs.
“What I like about these is trying to debunk some of the myths we have around history,” says McCormack. “Like the second episode is about Jesse Owens and it’s Germany in 1936, and people think he was booed. But no, there were a hundred thousand people cheering for him, giving him standing ovations in the stadium. And Hitler was there! It’s those type of things that don’t fit into our modern sensibilities about what happened that I like to explore.”
McCormack isn’t sure if Sports on Fire will air on HBO in the U.S., but hopes the Bell Media production will appear on TSN.
If there is a disappointment, it’s that there is no regular home on either of the big Canadian sports networks for homegrown documentaries. It seems like every other outlet is getting into them. MLB Network recently announced MLB Network Presents, starting Jan. 13 with Bob Costas hosting. It is described as a personality-driven series and the first episode, The Odd Couple, looks at the long relationship between San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy and Tim Flannery, the team’s recently retired third base coach, which began in the San Diego Padres organization in 1983.
Baseball and nostalgia go hand in hand, so it’s a smart move to mine the relationships and stories inside the game.
In any popular genre, things can also get a bit weird. A perfect example is the recently announced collaboration between ESPN Films and Marvel Entertainment — interviews with athletes intercut with images of animated Marvel superheroes. Sound ridiculous? Absolutely, and likely dreamed up in a boardroom by an executive saying: “Sports are hot! Superheroes are hot! Let’s put them together!” That said, the roster of athletes interviewed is impressive, including Russell Wilson, Dwight Howard, Brandi Chastain, Henrik Lundqvist and Cal Ripken Jr. The first documentary — 1 of 1: Genesis — is available for $14.99 on Google Play or YouTube and directed by Eric Drath, who helmed 30 for 30’s No Mas. It will be followed by 1 of 1: Origins — a series of short films, each focusing on one athlete — debuting this summer on ESPN’s digital platforms.