User Reviews

I happened upon this documentary series 30 for 30 the other night when ESPN 2 aired a repeat of the Univ of Miami film...It was solid, so I tuned in for this one by Tollin thinking it'd be just as enjoyable. It did not let me down.

I'm not a big sports fan, and I was only a few years old when the USFL was around, so I had never even heard of it until this film. My lack of a love of sports didn't matter here, as it was more about what could be accomplished with a small upstart in such a short period of time. These guys had some big names- Steve Young and Jim Kelley are names I immediately recognize, and most others would too- no matter if you're a big sports fan or not. So, it was obvious that this league had a lot going for it.

Much of the film focuses on "The Donald." As in, Donald Trump, the world's biggest ego. His ego is on constant display here, in clips from the time of the USFL and even in the clips today. Tollin is trying to interview him, and Trump is complaining nonstop asking 'how long is this going to take,' whining that he will only answer a few questions, etc. After whining a bit and getting up to leave, informing them he didn't have time for any more questions (I'm sorry, but NO ONE's schedule is this full), he walks past the director and says "it would have been small potatoes" and pats him on the back. The back pat was patronizing and annoying, and why did he ever get involved if it would have been "small potatoes?"

Trump contradicts himself when he says that he never gets into anything small and always wants to do it big. Yet, he was sure it would have been small potatoes?! I guess when a massive ego is involved, making sense doesn't matter so much. Trump explains, in the interview from today, that he was never interested in spring football and wanted to compete directly with the NFL in the fall. This immediately brings forth the question- why did he get involved at all? He was never interested in spring football, so he paid millions for a team playing spring football? Again with the ego- his ego is SO big, he only got into the league originally to force the other team owners (some of them fairly poor compared to Trump) to embrace The Donald's vision and move the season to the fall where it would compete head to head with the much larger NFL that had already established itself...only to get eaten up by the NFL.

In fact, the league was taken down by a lawsuit that I won't go into, but it's also an interesting story that's told.

Tollin does a nice job, but some of it does seem to generalized. It seems there isn't a solid focus on one topic, but I think it worked overall. It could have been refined a bit, but telling a story this big in 45 mins is hard enough as it is- I've edited down documentary footage, and it's easy for the thing to become really long really quickly, so I definitely understand the hardship in trying to tell a story on a limited time frame. The fact that Tollin ran the company that had exclusive rights to do the "films" for the USFL (in the same sense that NFL FILMS does highlights and reels for the NFL) is a nice bonus. He comes at it all from an insider's perspective, and you get the feeling throughout that he knows his stuff here.

Nothing too fancy visually, it's mostly one camera interview setups and old USFL footage, but it's solid on all levels technically. The story is an entertaining one that really needed to be told. The focus on the Donald is nice, because it seems that most involved point the blame his way, so he probably deserves it. Overall, a great look at an inspiring league that could have been so much more, if only things had worked out better. Definitely recommend this whether you're a sports fan or not.

...but not his ego, as it's still turned up to "11".

Nice job by Mike Tollin and his crew on this one. I didn't really remember too much about the USFL, other than the fact that they lured some real talent (Herschel, Steve Young, Flutie, Mike Rozier, Jim Kelly, etc.) away from playing in the NFL, and played a fun brand of football in the spring. I maybe watched a few games on the tube, but living in No. Dakota at that time, I was more interested in getting the hell outdoors after a crappy winter than watching more football when mid-March rolled around. But this league really did have some avid fans around the country to go with their credibility, especially when compared to that crap XFL league Vince McMahon tried unsuccessfully to shove down America's throats earlier this decade.

Tollin's film brought it all back, including showing how the league really did thrive in a bunch of markets (including Philly, Tampa & NYC). But then the owners got greedy and awarded 6 more teams the 2nd season, pocketing their expansion cash but also overextending themselves in markets where the demand for the product just wasn't there. I especially liked Rick Neuheisel's story about the San Antonio Gunslingers' owner bouncing paychecks and having their players race to a bank to cash make-up checks.

When "The Donald" bought the Big Apple team and pushed for fall football, including filing an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL that really didn't work (it netted $3.00 total in damages), the end of the league came quicker than it really should have. I think people hated seeing his mug all over the sports news then and kind of soured on the USFL (and things really haven't changed much in that regard---do you know anybody that actually watches "Celebrity Apprentice"?). Being an all-around asshole to Tollin in a present day interview makes Trump look even more pompous, it that's possible.

P.S.-it was also worth the viewing just to see (future Minn. Viking) Anthony Carter catch a curl route, turn upfield, and blow by two defenders to pay dirt. That guy could really motor back in the day, and I'm still mad the '87 Vikes didn't make it to the Super Bowl after A.C. went off for 227 receiving yards in a playoff win against the 49ers.