As someone who considers himself to be a well-versed sports fan, I truly believe there is no better reality show than a sporting event. I watch it all: football, baseball, basketball, mixed martial arts. You name it, I watch it because in the end there is always a winner, always a loser, and always the die-hard fans that watch it all unfold. Every match-up has a story-line: those who defied insurmountable odds, those who battled through debilitating injuries, those that were thrust into the spotlight because when faced with adversity they accomplished something truly remarkable and inspired legions of fans and naysayers in the process.
Sports have become embedded into the human psyche. Our athletes have become heroes, sports our escape. So it’s easy to see how television networks came to the conclusion that sports-related programing is not only popular but essential to the range of human emotions: from love to pride, happiness to awe, anger to fear and disgust. Out of all of the shows that I consider to be essential sports-programming, the following nine made the final roster because they embody the sports-loving persona better than the rest:
Getting ready to debut its second season today on Spike TV, Blue Mountain State brings the raunchy, raucous, and teenage angst to sports television programming. Having much more to do with the parties, girls, and shenanigans that go on in a football obsessed university than the actual games, BMS definitely brings cheap laughs at the expense of its largely unknown cast of characters. Its second season promises to bring big time sports celebrities and you can bet it will continue to jab at topics the general sports population classifies as taboo. So if you ever wondered what a shows would look like if the movie American Pie birthed shoulder pads and a helmet, this would be it.
Kenny Powers and his gang of misfits are back! Season 2 picks right up where Season 1 left off. Kenny is deep inside of Mexico trying to resurrect his career with a locally affiliated minor league baseball team, The Charros. If Chuck Norris and The Most Interesting Man In The World combined their DNA, they’d get Kenny Powers. The storyline is superb and its characters well developed and because it’s HBO you get all the uncensored anger, loathing, and disgust you can handle. Danny McBride epitomizes what it is to be Kenny F*$%ing Powers
Fantasy sports has steadily grown since its inception more than 30 years ago with the inaugural Rotisserie Baseball League. Curbed to feed the obsession with sports stats, it became a game we now call Fantasy Baseball. But with the professional football fast becoming America’s favorite past time, it was only a matter of time before Fantasy Baseball stepped aside for what has fast become America’s obsession, Fantasy Football. The League is a show about that obsession: a group of old friends with vastly different lifestyles and philosophies trying to covet the most treasured trophy in The League, dubbed The Shiva. This semi-improvisational show (see Curb Your Enthusiasm) is accurate in the way it portrays a group of grown men whose yearly obsession with winning their league borders on childish. Are there times where things get over exaggerated and a bit over the top? Yes. Can men really be this obsessed with winning something so juvenile? Yes. This is what makes it hilarious and dumb. I love that they know exactly what they are trying to accomplish here. To get people to laugh at themselves. Mission accomplished.
This web exclusive from ESPN is about Kenny Mayne, ESPN blogger and SportsCenter host, putting athletes and celebrities in uncomfortable situations through sketch sequences that we can all enjoy. Mayne Street recently resumed its Emmy nominated series with Season 5 and though you never know if each episode laughs with or at the celebrities and topics at hand, the results are always short, sweet, and to the point. Kenny Mayne isn’t afraid to beat around the bush: he cuts right through it. Be sure to add this series to your Clicker playlist if you want to stay on top it, though, because the series posts new episodes erratically.
Sport Science is an Emmy Award-winning TV series that uncovers myths and mysteries about an athlete’s anatomy and the spectacular feats that can be accomplished in his or her respective sport. By using the latest technology to measure friction, momentum and the laws of gravity, Sport Science can determine how feats of incredible strength, agility and focus are accomplished. Sport Science is like MythBusters, but motivated to dissect and analyze only the awe-inspiring athletic feats we see featured in presentations like SportsCenter Top 10 highlight reels. Not only do we get to watch how mind-numbing dunks, jaw breaking punches, and trail blazing speeds are accomplished, but we learn some scientific facts in the process. Win-win situation in my book.
From the same producers who created Sport Science, Fight Science is dedicated solely on the arts of combat and how it works in real life situations. Martial arts masters are brought in from different styles of combat and they are pitted against each other. Who can hit the fastest or the hardest? The series also delves into the different branches of military and armed forces units. Fight Science might have the best pilot episode in the history of sports-related programming. Chuck Norris would be proud.
“Two white collar guys fed up with their lives leave it all behind and step into the ring. They decided to quit their jobs to become amateur boxers.”
If that doesn’t entice you, check your pulse. With millions of Americans stuck in office jobs doing menial work behind three walls of demoralizing cubicle this concept has to have crossed your mind at least once. But instead of becoming rock stars or actors, Kai Hasson and Nate Houghteling decided to give amateur boxing a go. This web series is impressive considering its menial budget and single camera attack. I don’t think there’s any sport more blue collar than the sport of boxing. To go from a desk job to the ring is extremely impressive. This series definitely brings pride and happiness with its awe-inspiring story.
First it was a book, then it was a movie and now it is the critically acclaimed sports drama from NBC. Friday Night Lights follows the same plot as the story and movie before it: a high school football team in football-crazed Dillon, Texas struggles to find its identity with coach Erik Taylor (Kyle Chandler), his wife Tammy (Connie Britton) and their family. Centered around the Dillon Panthers, FNL uses football as a gateway into all the antics, drama, trials and tribulations of life in high school. Its soundtrack, inspired by Explosions in the Sky, is so perfectly matched to the setting and tone of the show, you’ll wonder what you were doing with your life before you heard about this band. Considering Season 5 (premiering Oct. 27, 2010) will be its last, this is a show that will be truly missed. Both Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton have been snubbed numerous times for an Emmy, but they have one last chance to get it right. You, on the other hand, can make up for lost time because Seasons 1-3 are available on Netflix’s Instant Watch and Season 4 is available for free on NBC.
ESPN decided to celebrate its 30 years on-air by helping 30 directors tell the tale of 30 different sports-related events that changed the sports landscape and how we cover them. I have seen all of the 30 for 30 episodes released thus far. I can say without doubt they are all unique in their format, story-telling, and content. This just might be the most original sports series ESPN has ever produced. I could not have thought of a more elegant way for a network to showcase its size and experience than by helping small and big-time directors tell the tales of sports events dearest to them.
You don’t have to be a sports fan to appreciate a show for its genuine prowess. There are instances where great concepts are badly executed. It is definitely rare when opportunity and talent meet head-on to create something grand.
What are sports shows that you feel people should see? Spread the wealth!
