You might be in a sports slump. You’re waiting for football season to return or waiting for playoff baseball. What better way to pass the time in the dog days of summer with sports than with a great sports documentary?
Sports documentaries provide a lot of great insight into separating the athlete from the person. Oftentimes, fans overlook the fact that athletes are still everyday people. Since the pandemic, mental wellness and facing real adversity together connected athletes, fans and the community.
While waiting for the sports atmosphere to pick back up, watch these great sports documentaries about overcoming adversity – and even just good fun.
Untold: Breaking Point (Netflix)
Summary: This 2021 documentary is apart of the Untold nine-part series telling stories of different athletes’ journeys in history. “Breaking Point” talks about American tennis star Mardy Fish and the rise of his career. At the height of his career, he learns he suffered from severe anxiety and other mental health challenges that impacted his life on and off the court.
Why You Should Watch It: This was the first sports documentary I saw that talked about an athletes’ mental health journey and I loved it. Not only does it bring light to the fact that athletes are not indestructible, but it really hones in on the connection that people with mental health challenges share.
Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals (Max)
Summary: This 2010 documentary between former NBA stars Magic Johnson and Larry Bird that began in the 1979 NCAA Basketball Championship Game. The main point of the documentary is that without the mass media focusing on the Magic vs Bird rivalry through their careers, the NBA might not have made it through the 1980s following the merger with the ABA.
Why You Should Watch It: Media, sports media in particular, love storylines. This particular storyline happened to potentially save the NBA at a time when it wasn’t as popular. This documentary perfectly talks about how important those stories are not only for the sports leagues, but for fans to get involved with, too.
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 (tubi)
Summary: This 2008 documentary film by Kevin Rafferty explores the 1968 meeting between the Yale and Harvard football teams. For the first time since 1909, both teams were undefeated 8-0 overall. In the final game in November 1968, Yale was heavily favored to win starting 22-0. With two minutes to go in the game, Yale led 29-13. Then, Harvard came back scoring 16 point in 42 seconds. Harvard was then declared the winner of the meeting, defeating Yale 29-29.
Why You Should Watch It: The title might not make a lot of sense, but it’s so much deeper than just a score. Intertwined with the game are various interviews from the men who played in the game. They talked about the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution and various player relationships with George W. Bush, Al Gore and Meryl Streep. This doc shows the ways that football can be both an escape and a way to bring a community together.
Untold: Malice at the Palace (Netflix)
Summary: This 2021 documentary directed by Floyd Russ talks about the infamous brawl that occurred between NBA players and fans during the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons in November 2004. The teams were competing in one of the first games of the season with high tensions. The two teams competed in the Eastern Conference Finals the season prior, where the Pistons won the series. At the end of this next game, a confrontation between the two teams occurred after a foul. Pacers player Ron Artest was struck with a drink thrown by a Pistons fan and a brawl broke out from there. Both teams were told not to speak about the events of that night – until now in this documentary.
Why You Should Watch It: Things like these I find to be very monumental in sports history (for obvious reasons) and I think it’s great that the athletes are speaking up about that night.
What documentaries should be added? Add your favorites to the comments below!
First & Jenn 
Leave a comment