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Official ESPN 30 for 30 Thread - "Broke"

RollWave35 said:
I cut it off at the 45-minute mark because a lot of them were just repeating the same thing. They were different athletes in different sports, but when they're all saying the same thing over and over, it becomes tedious. It felt like it was being dragged out. 5 guys saying "I trusted the wrong person" or "I really wanted to keep up with the Joneses" is just as effective as 15 guys saying it. Okay, I get it. Athletes like nice stuff. To me, it just ran its points into the ground with too much repetition. The pace of the story wasn't consistent. That's just my opinion though...I'm sure I'm in the minority.

Edited to add that I think a one-hour documentary on one particular athlete going broke (like a Kosar or a Rison) would've been MUCH more effective, with little statistical overlays about athletes in general thrown in every now and then.
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Interesting. My take was completely different. I thought the pace was very good. It was a good mix of stories from athletes, stories about athletes who weren't interviewed, and others in the business with contact with athletes. I think a one hour story about Kosar or Rison would have been more repetitious and you basically got their stories anyway.
 
PhDeac said:
Interesting. My take was completely different. I thought the pace was very good. It was a good mix of stories from athletes, stories about athletes who weren't interviewed, and others in the business with contact with athletes. I think a one hour story about Kosar or Rison would have been more repetitious and you basically got their stories anyway.
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Fair enough. I thought Corben's first 30 for 30 - The U - was great, and flew by. I actually think it went by TOO fast...I wanted another hour on it to really dig into that culture and era. But I know that wasn't his fault, he just had so much to work with and so little time to get the facts in there. And I love Cocaine Cowboys and own it on DVD, so I expected a lot from this. Just felt it was really disappointing.
 
Hmm. I haven't seen The U since it came out but I thought this was very similar in style, pace, and effectiveness.
 
It was able to mix in a lot more footage than just interviews because it had more to work with. Plus the material (Jimmy Johnson's swagger, prank calling Boz, Catholics vs Convicts, the Cotton Bowl, Schnellenberger's pipe, the Orange Bowl, etc.) was all entertaining and they weren't just repeating the same points over and over.
 
They could have made it shorter to alleviate that problem. They also could have included some athletes who didn't go broke to provide a contrasting story.
 
dcon69 said:
I don't know why universities don't offer athletes and the general student body a course in personal finances and fiscal responsibility. Athletes who go pro have an obvious need, but I would guess a lot students have no idea how to handle income, student debt, budgets and savings once they are out in the real world. I think it ought to be required but it certainly should be offered.
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Serious question: how much do you think this would benefit superstar athletes? Of course they have a need but they'd actually have to absorb the lessons for it to matter.
 
Just finished watching it and I thought it was well done. It's hard not to feel sorry for a lot of these individuals. Bart Scott seems like he's maybe part of the newer generation of athletes who realize that you need to plan for the future and spend wisely...Maybe it's one of the positive parts of the economic collapse back in 2008.
 
WakeHornet said:
Jamal Mashburn has definitely not gone broke -- he's always been in business and own franchises of Papa John's, Dunkin' Donuts and Outback Steakhouse, as well as car dealerships. He own over 34 Outbacks, 37 Papa John's and dealerships in Kentucky.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ba...-a-pizza-making-onion-frying-e?urn=nba-273698
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I thought early in the piece he talked about how he was broke early in his career and then got his act together. More stories like that would have been good as opposed to just the financial advisers.
 
PhDeac said:
I thought early in the piece he talked about how he was broke early in his career and then got his act together. More stories like that would have been good as opposed to just the financial advisers.
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Definitely. There are some really great stories out there about athletes who managed to keep their heads. Magic Johnson doesn't just have money- he has an empire. Nolan Ryan, Tim Ruddy, Ovie Mughelli, Arnie, Greg Norman (a whole shitload of golfers), Jeff Gordon, Eugene Profit, Hank Aaron, Steve Young- just a few off the top. 100% successful 100% of the time? No- no one is. But you will never have to worry about these guys going on the dole.

He's a lowlife who made money off the backs of others, but I guarantee you that Don King knows where every single penny out of his pocket goes.
 
I don't know how you can help these guys. The film talked about players not paying attention when they were presented information at rookie symposiums for new players about finances. I think you would have the same issues requiring a class in college.
 
ProbationDeac said:
I don't know how you can help these guys. The film talked about players not paying attention when they were presented information at rookie symposiums for new players about finances. I think you would have the same issues requiring a class in college.
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Show this film to them, in all seriousness.
 
94Deac said:
Definitely. There are some really great stories out there about athletes who managed to keep their heads. Magic Johnson doesn't just have money- he has an empire. Nolan Ryan, Tim Ruddy, Ovie Mughelli, Arnie, Greg Norman (a whole shitload of golfers), Jeff Gordon, Eugene Profit, Hank Aaron, Steve Young- just a few off the top. 100% successful 100% of the time? No- no one is. But you will never have to worry about these guys going on the dole.

He's a lowlife who made money off the backs of others, but I guarantee you that Don King knows where every single penny out of his pocket goes.
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Didn't they show that Greg Norman gave up $100M in his divorce settlement or was that somebody else?

The key problem is that 22 year old guys are idiots. 22 year old guys with money? Bigger idiots.
 
PhDeac said:
Didn't they show that Greg Norman gave up $100M in his divorce settlement or was that somebody else?

The key problem is that 22 year old guys are idiots. 22 year old guys with money? Bigger idiots.
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That was Greg Norman. You have to keep in mind that he probably has made more money off the golf course than on it.
 
Yeah, Norman, Tiger, and Couples made their former wives very wealthy women. But their off-course revenues have been ridiculous.
 
The electronic beat music that played in the background for the entire episode I thought was annoying at best, distracting at worst.
 
Bump for tonight's 30 for 30: "There's No Place Like Home"

The guy trying to win this auction is coming off as an entitled douche.
 
The one tonight was pretty lightweight. The dude definitely came off as annoying.
 
94Deac said:
Yeah, Norman, Tiger, and Couples made their former wives very wealthy women. But their off-course revenues have been ridiculous.
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When Tiger was asked if he'd be interested in buying a sports team a la Phil, he said he'd need a lot more money. Phil can buy and sell Tiger several times.
 
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