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Manuel
I am a man of many passions.
I’ve been known to (poorly) swing a golf club or two in my lifetime. Prime Tiger Woods I ain’t.
I can’t even hold Charlie Woods’ golf bag on a good day.
I love playing fantasy football as much as anyone, yet for as passionate as I am about “research” and “my process”, by my count I have a measly three championships to show for it over the years.
Again, in terms of team-building you aren’t looking at one of the great dynasty front offices.
However, if there is one thing I am truly exceptional at … if there is something I can whole-heartedly say I excel with all of my being it has to be …
Writ …. ummm … scratch that … couch surfing.
Yep, as you could probably guess, the 275-pound sportswriter with a taste for junk food and an obvious thirst for Type-2 Diabetes based off of his dietary choices loves him some television.
More specifically, I deeply love a well-done sports series or movie. This love has been reignited recently with Amazon Prime’s documenting of Deion Sanders and Jackson State’s 2022 football season title in “Coach Prime.”
It’s fine … I wouldn’t call it special, but it scratches the itch of a “Hard Knocks” sort of experience.
That said, this column could focus on an entire series, a single season of something or a movie.
Basically if you were looking for a sports series or movie to watch, today is your day.
First, for the best sports show of all-time, you have to look at “Friday Night Lights.”
The movie is good too, but we’re focused on the five-season TV series surrounding a high school football team, and particularly its coach, in a small town.
I’ll try to avoid spoilers, but there is no television character that captured who I want to be as a man more than actor Kyle Chandler’s portrayal of Coach Eric Taylor.
If you want to see something being perfect for an entire series, Chandler as a football coach nails it.
For my second recommendation, I’m going to take you back to Amazon Prime and suggest you watch the Arizona Cardinals season of their “Hard Knocks” knock-off, “All or Nothing.”
It made me fall in love with Bruce Arians as a football coach and wish him nothing but the best. It featured two former LSU Tigers quite prominently in Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu.
Mostly, it was just plain fun to watch and it made you feel like you knew that team and locker room.
Now, for a niche pick.
I’m not a motorsports guy. But, Netflix’s “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” is easily one of the best sports docuseries that has ever existed.
It’s so good, it made me want to follow Formula 1. That’s no small feat.
For basketball lovers, ESPN’s “The Last Dance” famously nailed the final season of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.
I’m not a Jordan guy at all. But, that was one of those shows where you had to appreciate his maniacal addiction to winning when it was through.
But of course, no list of sports movies and shows is complete without a little cheese.
Nachos are no good without it … and I’m including the 90’s teen romp “Bring It On!” as a sports movie.
It’s very loosely built around competitive cheer, sort of like what the actually good Netflix series “Cheer U” did for the sport, but “Bring It On!” did none of them.
No … it’s actually a crappy movie. But, sports shouldn’t have to make you think. Sometimes they can just be fun.
“Bring It On!” is as corny as it comes. I’m not even going to recommend it unless campy stuff is your thing.
So, maybe I’m not as good at couch surfing as I thought I was after all …
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