30 for 30: Sole Man (2015)
**** (out of 4)
One of the best entries in ESPN's "30 for 30" series takes a look at Sonny Vaccaro, a man who pretty much changed how college basketball and shoe companies work. We learn about Vaccaro's early days but where his legacy took off is when he went to Nike and sold them on the idea of giving shoes to kids in exchange for money going to the coaches. From this point on summer camps and various other programs started happening but the story turned a lot darker when shoe companies started bidding over players. Vaccaro was really the "Godfather" of this as he was involved in signing Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and trying to land LeBron James.
Anyone over the age of three will be able to explain why the NCAA is so dirty when you consider how much money is changing hands yet the players often don't see any of it. This documentary is a wonderful look at how this business started as something good but slowly turned into something a lot worse since we all know money is the root of all evil. Not only do we get to hear from Vaccaro himself but we also get interviews with major sports writers as well as coaches like John Calipari, Jim Calhoun, Jim Boeheim, Larry Brown, John Thompson and players like Chris Webber and Ed O'Bannon who would become a driving force in players making some money off their images.
It's worth noting some of the people who refused to be interviewed and they include Phil Knight, Jordan, Bryant and James. This documentary really makes you understand where college sports are now and why so many people hate or don't trust the NCAA. The documentary does a terrific job at showing you how it all got started and where it started to spin out of control. Fans of sports will certainly love this episode in the series.
**** (out of 4)
One of the best entries in ESPN's "30 for 30" series takes a look at Sonny Vaccaro, a man who pretty much changed how college basketball and shoe companies work. We learn about Vaccaro's early days but where his legacy took off is when he went to Nike and sold them on the idea of giving shoes to kids in exchange for money going to the coaches. From this point on summer camps and various other programs started happening but the story turned a lot darker when shoe companies started bidding over players. Vaccaro was really the "Godfather" of this as he was involved in signing Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and trying to land LeBron James.
Anyone over the age of three will be able to explain why the NCAA is so dirty when you consider how much money is changing hands yet the players often don't see any of it. This documentary is a wonderful look at how this business started as something good but slowly turned into something a lot worse since we all know money is the root of all evil. Not only do we get to hear from Vaccaro himself but we also get interviews with major sports writers as well as coaches like John Calipari, Jim Calhoun, Jim Boeheim, Larry Brown, John Thompson and players like Chris Webber and Ed O'Bannon who would become a driving force in players making some money off their images.
It's worth noting some of the people who refused to be interviewed and they include Phil Knight, Jordan, Bryant and James. This documentary really makes you understand where college sports are now and why so many people hate or don't trust the NCAA. The documentary does a terrific job at showing you how it all got started and where it started to spin out of control. Fans of sports will certainly love this episode in the series.