Exploring ESPN's 30 for 30: Part 3. Small Potatos: Who Killed the USFL?

Director: Mike Tolin
Varsity Blues
Coach Carter
Big Fat Liar
Radio
One Tree Hill
All That
Keenan and Kell



SynopsisThe film follows the rise and fall of the USFL, an upstart spring football league which folded after trying to go head to head with the NFL in the fall.  The league appeared like a legitimate challenger to the NFL, signing Heisman trophy winners Herschel Walker, Doug Flutie, and Mike Rozier as well as future hall of famers such as Reggie White.  The USFL included 150 future NFL players and 15 pro-bowlers in its' ranks.  The piece pays particular attention to the impact of New Jersey Generals owner and celebrity icon Donald Trump, who spearheaded the move to the fall which ultimately doomed the USFL.  In 1986 the league won a key court decision against the NFL but were not awarded damages which would have kept the NFL afloat.  The league folded before it could play a single fall game.
ThoughtsThe film opens and intermittently plays a brief interview with Donald Trump.  Despite how short and really empty a lot of the interview is, this is the best part of the film.  This film identifies its' villain right away and the interview with Donald contains everything you want to cement the films' vision.  Unlike the first two films, which don't completely or correctly identify the bad guy, this one creates a big, Las Vegas style sign that points at him the entire film.  What's more, even though Trump really doesn't say much during the interview, his answers, his tone, his body language, everything makes you want to punch him in the face.  He is every bit the self centered, ego maniacal jerk the film wants him to be.


It is hard to cast a better villain in Donald Trump (though Peter Pocklington in King's Ransom certainly presents a more dynamic antagonist than the rather cliche inhumane rich guy we get with Trump) which is part of the reason this film succeeds.  The other reason is that there is no reason to question the wisdom of the late John Bassett.  The NFL has a notriously nasty history of crushing leagues which try to match against it and only one alternate football league has found some level of success against the NFL, and that was the AFL which was led by Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt who managed a merger with the older league (most teams in the AFC are old AFL teams).  Spring football was new but the early returns were promising.  In hindsight, if the USFL had grown alongside cable and if owners had the fortitude to withstand the massive early losses (which totaled over $160million when it folded) it might still exist.

The narrative spun by the film is pretty accurate and the stories are fantastic.  Rick Neuheisel's bit about racing his teammates across Texas highways to make sure their checks would clear is hilarious and does a fantastic job of demonstrating the financial realities several owners were facing.  The interviews are captivating and the variety of perspectives really paints a complete picture of the USFL.

My only complaint is this.  The film could have done more to flesh out the owners who sided with Trump.  He certainly wasn't alone in wanting to challenge the NFL (though he was the most vocal).  Eddie Einhorn, now a minority owner in the Chicago White Sox, was the owner of Chicago's USFL franchise and a vehement supporter of the Trump invective.  Where are those interviews?  We get Burt Reynolds, who co-owned the Tampa Bay Bandits with John Basset, but it would be really interesting to hear how the owners' side of this a little more.  This was, after all, a management decision, why not have more of their voice?

It is possible a lot of owners would be too embarrassed to go on camera to discuss what, in hindsight, looks like a major mistake, but we don't know that.

Also I need to mention that this film has by far the best Bonus Features of the first disk.  The extra interviews are fantastic and really do a great job of reinforcing the overarching theme of the film. 

Review
This is easily one of my favorite 30 for 30 films and it is easy to see why.  This isn't an incomplete story, it is the really one of the most complete perspectives of a narrative in the series which makes it more interesting.  The film makers effort to present both Trump's argument and the other side, even if it is done in an incredibly biased way, still makes a compelling narrative.



I am mixed on my opinion of the director's decision to introduce himself into the film.  On one hand it shows some gumption and some honesty to admit his bias at the outset and to show how that he has a personal connection to the subjects who were interviewed in the story.  On the other hand it gets a little over bearing at times and the only real scene where it is tangible is him handing the check for $3 which constituted the entire sum of the damages  the USFL received from its lawsuit against the NFL.  to Reynolds and Trump.  I like some of it but I could do without the constant personal pronoun references.


Thankfully, that is my strongest criticism, which should be taken as a very high compliment.