We only listen to the people we understand, or who understand us. Such is the case for many athletes, artists or actors in our world, hence why series such as Behind the Music and The Actor’s Studio are popular and high points for any person’s career that is in any of those industries. ESPN’s 30 for 30 series is similar in that many of the great stories of our beloved sports, both tragic and beautiful, are finally coming to the mainstream world that may not be privy on these stories.

I am not a huge football fan in any capacity – never have been and never will be. I know what is going on, but it is just something I do not get a thrill from unless it’s Superbowl time and each team’s unique story comes to the forefront.

I decided to expand my horizons and watch 30 for 30‘s “The U” episode out of pure curiosity. Not only did the story give me the same rush of a basketball game tied up 50 seconds into the end of the game, but it made me want to love football. It shows you the background behind the dirty world of college sports and the wild wild west life it used to live during the 80s, as well as the racial shift the era brought and its influence on the world of sports. I never knew about this story but I have a weakness for stories that chronicle the rise, fall and possible resurrection of any individual, group or sports team and the 30 for 30 series is great for that. It gives those who may not know much about sports in general, or have any interest in the sport at all to have an educational yet entertaining walk through of some of the great cautionary tales.

The Len Bias story hit me deep because it was one of the many cautionary tales of my Maryland roots that any individual who is Black and an athlete has heard before.

ESPN did the story justice by chronicling a level of greatness that was never fully actualized due to the lethal combination of bad judgment and far too much freedom and influence. The Two Escobars was that story for Colombia, only extenuating circumstances and the stark reality of the corrupt world Andres Escobar lived in proved to be greater than his soccer talent and potential to be greater.

However, while all of these films were great in their own right, The Fab Five brought the critic and basketball fan out of everyone. Twitter was uproarious, and the episode was talked about for months for Jalen Rose’s comments about Grant Hill when he was a young player. It brought Juwan Howard to the forefront after years of playing the bench for the franchise Miami Heat, and Chris Webber became a trending topic for his absence in the documentary possibly due to the most controversial time out in sports history.

It’s important for sports to be seen in this kind of methodic manner, because it is part of our American culture to have so many various sports that are loved by millions. Most of these stories were tales only known amongst individuals who had a love for any of these sports, but the lessons attached to them need to be universal.