5 more sports documentaries you probably haven't seen

Feb 19th, 2012 - Posted by Andrew_Brocker in Football, American Sports, Other

bettingexpert blog editor. Always taking the alternative route to finding the value.

Our first list of obscure sports documentaries was so popular, we decided to make another. So today on the blog Andrew brings to you - 5 more sports documentaries you probably haven't seen......but really should.

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Sonicsgate - Requiem for a team

Overall133 This 2009 documentary directed by Jason Reid details the 2008 relocation of the Seattle Supersonics NBA franchise to Oklahoma City. We follow the history of the Sonics from their inception in the late 60's through periods of success and struggle, focusing on the club's ultimate and underhanded demise.

We hear from passionate fans, reporters as well as ex-players such as Gary Payton and former head-coach George Karl. All speak candidly about the club's relocation, putting a spotlight on the two faced and scandalous backroom dealings that orchestrated the club's eventual relocation bringing into question not only the modern nature of the sports industry but the motives and actions of those at the very highest levels of league management.

At times a highly engaging if despairing expose, this is a must see for any sports fan who wants to truly understand the modern cut-throat nature of professional sports franchise management or for any sports fan who wants to spend a couple of hours stoking their discontent with the alienating corporate character of the modern sporting landscape.

Watch Sonicsgate on Youtube.

Visit Sonicsgate.org

Salute

Overall133 When African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fist in symbolic protest at the 1968 Olympics, few knew it would become such a powerful image for generations to come. Now decades later, few know the impact that the event had upon the other man standing upon the winners podium that night in Mexico City.

Salute takes us through the events of that day in 1968 looking at the life of white Australian athlete Peter Norman, the man who ran 2nd in the 200m final collecting a silver medal. While Norman speaks openly about the events of the day and the injustice he endured for his part in the protest, some of the most moving tributes come from Tommie Smith, John Carlos and other black athletes who decades later recognise and appreciate Norman's gesture of solidarity and ultimate professional sacrifice.

One of the more powerful documentaries you are ever likely to see, a chronicle of the moment and a man who paid a price for his own unflinching yet obscure part in one of the most explosive images in sports and political history.

Salute will receive world-wide release in February 2012.

Watch the preview for Salute on Youtube

Visit the Salute website

Go Tigers!

Overall133 Brace yourself for football small-town America style. This 2001 documentary from Kenneth Carlson takes us behind the scenes of the Massillon High School football team.

We not only see just how central the high school football team is to the life of the community, defining its very identity but more so the many desperate lengths the team will go to in order to achieve success on the field including holding back players an academic year, so they can compete on the field even bigger and stronger as they approach graduation.

Go Tigers! is an amazing if not sometimes bewildering insight into the passion many communities all over America have for their high school football teams and the pressures that confront athletes who are yet to even reach the age of 18.

Watch the preview for Go Tigers! on Youtube.

Visit the Go Tigers! website

The Referee

Overall133 How often have we asked the rhetorical question - Who'd be a referee? This 2010 documentary directed by Mattias Low looks at how one mistake can impact the lives of so many in a profession where perfection is the expectation.

The documentary follows one of the best referees in Swedish football Martin Hansson, a former fire fighter with dreams of refereeing at the World Cup. Beginning 12 months prior to the kickoff of the 2010 World Cup, the film chronicles the most turbulent year in Hansson's career, giving the casual sports fan a great insight into the life of a football referee, not to mention the criticism and abuse he would endure for an error that would go down in history as one of the greatest in international football history.

A moving portrayal of a man who at the height of his profession would live out his dream despite one nightmarish evening in Paris.

Watch The Referee at Documentary Heaven.

A Different Pitch

Overall133 This documentary from director Doug Aubrey follows Scotty Lee, a football coach who ventures to war torn Kosovo. While discovering a nation coming to terms with years of violence and ethnic conflict both director and coach remain faithful to their belief, that while football has the ability to entertain millions every weekend, it is a passion that can similarly change lives for those living in corners of the globe so darkened by violence.

While at times a difficult film, it reminds us not only of the deep impact war can have upon a society and the people struggling to come to terms with such devastation, but likewise how sport and football can help people overcome a tormenting and common experience.

Watch a preview for A Different Pitch on Youtube.

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