ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

[cima]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

So where do we watch these now? Netflix doesn't have them anymore, the ESPN app has some...anywhere else?

[cima]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

Next 30/30: Celtics/Lakers Rivalry

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=19149269

[TripleCrown9]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

I can get behind that.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

Why two parts though?

EDIT: Nevermind, this answers my question and it makes sense:

Hock said the Celtics-Lakers documentary will air in two parts on ESPN, running either at 90 or 120 minutes per episode. The film will likely air next June around the time of the NBA Finals.

“There’s really a lot to work with here,” said John Dahl, the vice president and executive producer for ESPN Films and Original Content. “This isn’t just a basketball story but a cultural one. I think the film will create a lot of buzz because the Celtics and Lakers are eternally marquee franchises.”

As part of his pitch to ESPN, Hock said the Celtics and Lakers embodied the racial and cultural tensions of the sport—East Coast vs. West Coast, Hollywood glamor vs. blue collar toughness and black vs. white. The film will alternate from the perspective of one club to the perspective of the other and explore the cultural and social impact of the rivalry that took place beyond the basketball court. One theme that promises to be interesting is an examination of the perception that each team represented different races.

“The irony was going back to the 1960s, the Celtics were far away the most racially progressive organization in basketball, If not all of major sports,” Hock said. “But people perceived them to be the white team in the 1980s and the Lakers as the black team. The most revealing anecdote so far for me was from Cedric Maxwell. After leading the Celtics in scoring in Game 7 of the 1984 Finals against the Lakers, Maxwell went home to North Carolina, expecting to be celebrated by all his old friends. Instead, they were all mad at him, telling him they had all been rooting for the Lakers. They saw the Celtics as the ‘white’ team and identified with the Lakers.”

Never knew this since I was born right after their rivalry cooled down.

[DJ]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

I gravitated to the Lakers because of the style of play, and especially the play of Magic Johnson, my all-time favorite player. I grew up in a predominantly white area of Central NY, and I'd say people were pretty split between the Lakers and Celtics during the 80's.

[daflyboys]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

I gravitated to the Lakers because of the style of play, and especially the play of Magic Johnson, my all-time favorite player. I grew up in a predominantly white area of Central NY, and I'd say people were pretty split between the Lakers and Celtics during the 80's.

Not sure what the racial element was between this rivalry, but then again, my understanding is that Bird was pretty rednecky. I'll have to watch it, though it will be difficult because my desire was for this to have been a 76ers/Lakers thing instead. But the 6ers at that time were their own undoing.

[Brandwin]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

I am looking forward to the Ric Flair 30 For 30.

[Jeffx]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

Not sure what the racial element was between this rivalry, but then again, my understanding is that Bird was pretty rednecky. I'll have to watch it, though it will be difficult because my desire was for this to have been a 76ers/Lakers thing instead. But the 6ers at that time were their own undoing.

The city of Boston has a long checkered past when it comes to race. Bill Russell dealt with it, and then you had the busing issue in the 1970s, which got very ugly. Many black folks perceive Boston as a city hostile to them. Back in the day, all the brothas & sistas I knew who lived there rooted for the Lakers. They hated Bird, the Celtics and the Red Sox (the last MLB team to integrate).

Thing was, Larry wanted no part of the "great white hope" crap the media and fans tried to put on him. It made him uncomfortable talking about it (the Magic & Larry special goes into this). All he wanted to do was whip your a** on the court. Dude always gave black ballplayers their due. I hated him because he was a Celtic and always killed my Knicks, but he had my respect as a baller and as a man.

[Jeffx]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

Watching ESPN's 30 for 30 about the Lakers/Celtics battles during the 80s brought a smile to my face. That's the kind of basketball I'm talking about. It was intense, nasty & physical. So was Celtics/Sixers, Celtics/Pistons, Pistons/Bulls - they were old-fashioned blood feuds. And it continued in the 90s when my Knicks battled the Bulls, Pacers & Heat. Give me those 87-84 NY-Miami defensive slugfests any day. The league has become too nice.


If not for the tragic death of Len Bias, I think Boston would have won another title.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

Yeah, really awesome 30 for 30 Lakers/Celtics

Those were the golden years of the NBA for me.

81-99

It has become far too ......can't even find the word for it.

Everyone gets along?

Rivalry seems contrived these days.

No true bad blood and guys just looking to hop to the next team quickly.

Nothing will beat what the NBA had back over those 20 years.

Game has become virtually unwatchable these days.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[ddtrane]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

This rivalry happened during my late teens and early twenties. The best that sports has to offer.

Im not sure what this link is theyre playing now, but it doesnt come close to those days.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Operation Sports mobile app

[daflyboys]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

I was a Sixers fan at the time, so to see the success of these 2 franchises all around that '83 championship was often hard to watch, especially seeing Boston come back from 3-1 down. I remember hating M.L. Carr and his sideline towel waving. But it is fun now to watch them all reflect on that time period in what was a tremendous era in sports overall. I've only seen part 1 at this point, but it still re-affirms the observation I made at that time as well.

Spoiler

Larry Bird had the ugliest, rattiest mustache in the history of the game!

[Jeffx]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

I was a Sixers fan at the time, so to see the success of these 2 franchises all around that '83 championship was often hard to watch, especially seeing Boston come back from 3-1 down. I remember hating M.L. Carr and his sideline towel waving. But it is fun now to watch them all reflect on that time period in what was a tremendous era in sports overall. I've only seen part 1 at this point, but it still re-affirms the observation I made at that time as well.

Spoiler

Larry Bird had the ugliest, rattiest mustache in the history of the game!

Philly had some great battles with BOTH teams.

To this day, that 1981 ECF is still one of the best playoff series I've ever seen.

[daflyboys]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

Philly had some great battles with BOTH teams.

To this day, that 1981 ECF is still one of the best playoff series I've ever seen.

Yes, but overall it mainly felt like bridesmaid vs. bride. That "we owe you one" commercial after a while felt like "we owe you four" at the time.

As a side note, the Phi Slamma Jamma episode was quite good too. Next to Doc, I gotta say Clyde "The Glide" was my favorite player who wasn't a Knick in the early 70's.

[Jeffx]

Re: ESPN 30 for 30 Discussion Thread

Yes, but overall it mainly felt like bridesmaid vs. bride. That "we owe you one" commercial after a while felt like "we owe you four" at the time.

As a side note, the Phi Slamma Jamma episode was quite good too. Next to Doc, I gotta say Clyde "The Glide" was my favorite player who wasn't a Knick in the early 70's.

And I was SO happy when Doc & Clyde finally got their rings, after years of playoff heartbreaks. I lived in Uniondale (not far from the Nassau Coliseum), so I had the pleasure of seeing Doc in his ABA-prime days with the Nets. It broke my heart when Roy Boe sold him to Philly. The NBA never saw the best of Julius Erving.