Free Spirits: ESPN 30 For 30 Review

Oct 18, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; General view of the Gateway Arch before game four of the 2012 NLCS at Busch Stadium between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

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St. Louis and professional basketball have been at odds with each other over the years. On ESPN Tuesday night, a movie called “Free Spirits” chronicled the Spirits of St. Louis. Here are my thoughts:

– Sometimes to get your career started, you need to know people to get in the door. Bob Costas got one hell of a break with that tape. You have to feel bad for those other applicants who didn’t get a chance.

– That Marvin Barnes story where he had to charter a flight to Virginia, ate McDonalds, and still scored 41 points in a game is outstanding. You couldn’t get away with that in this day and age.

– I somewhat agreed with the NBA’s stance on St. Louis. It couldn’t have an NBA team but at the time,  there would have been 4 professional teams. That wouldn’t have lasted for long because the market wasn’t that large.

– Wow. That deal took some serious foresight. Sure, we all say today that was a sucker deal that the NBA signed but who knew TV contracts would blow up the way they did. The invention of the DVR helped every sports venture get a huge contract. People watch sports events live so they will catch the advertisements. You can DVR the show, skip through the commercials and continue watching the show.

– I think it was a very good movie about a basketball team that was short lived in St. Louis and really showed the city and it’s struggle to keeping a professional basketball team in the city. I give it a 7.5/10. Not the best 30 for 30 film but a good one.

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