Cinematic Underdogs

Lace up the skates and tighten that chinstrap—because Faceoff: Inside the NHL isn't just a docuseries, it's a full-speed breakaway into the heart of the world's toughest league. It'sDrive to Survive meets Slap Shot—minus the charm, plus theconcussions.Prepare yourself to go way beyond the polished post-game interview version of hockey. This is raw ice, open wounds, locker room chaos, and front-office anxiety—all filmed in glorious HD.Injuries? Everywhere. Trades? Ruthless. Emotions? Constantly checked—and we're not talking stick infractions. From wide-eyed rookies trying to crack the roster to grizzled vets on borrowed time, Faceoff: Inside the NHL captures the beautiful brutality of a sport where every shift could be your last, and every goal might be the one that saves your season.This is hockey like you've never seen it and we try to give it the treatment it deserves—unfiltered, unflinching, and unforgiving. Enjoy!

Grab your passports and sharpen your skates, comrades—because on the latest episode of Cinematic Underdogs, we're defecting straight into one of the most Cold War-adjacent sports docs ever crafted: The Russian Five! That's right—we're back and chatting about the real-life Red Dawn that hit the NHL when the Detroit Red Wings recruited five elite Soviet hockey players straight outta the Iron Curtain. Envision The Mighty Ducks facing-off against Mission: Impossible—missing teeth, Russian camaraderie, KGB henchman lurking in the shadows. The doc goes far beyond hockey, though—tapping into Cold War dynamics, draft day auspiciousness, and an on-ice revolution, whizzing by on skates.Sergei Fedorov, Slava Fetisov, Vladimir Konstantinov. Slava Kozlov, Igor Larionov: this legendary group of Soviet-born ice-skating assassins redefined line chemistry and international talent acquisition with slap shots hard enough and accents thick enough to leave opponents dizzy. They brought a USSR-informed brand of hockey to the NHL (emphasizing puck possession, short passes, constant motion, & a deep understanding of spatial awareness) and quickly revolutionized the NHL in the 90's with a fast, fluid, & cerebral style of play, ending Detroit's 42-year Stanley Cup drought with a championship in 1997—and again in 1998 (albeit without Konstantinov, who was paralyzed in a tragic limo accident just days after they hoisted the cup in '97). In the episode, we slice through everything: top-secret phone calls, high-stakes defections, shadowy figures in trench coats, and yes—the heartbreaking limo accident that nearly shattered the dream team and wore heavily on the players' hearts as they repeated their championship run. From behind-the-scenes espionage to Stanley Cup glory, The Russian Five is so wild you'll think it was ghostwritten by Tom Clancy and coached by Gordon Bombay. So lace up, comrades—because this week, we're dropping the puck on The Russian Five. Let's get Red-y to rumble!

On the latest episode, we discuss the wild true-crime documentary about Kansas City Chiefs' superfan Xavier Babudar, who became a viral sensation on social media and football games for his extravagant wolf costume all the while leading a secret criminal life of multi-state bank robberies to fuel his fandom and risky sports betting appetite. We discuss what the doc does well (chronicling the many slimy, mercenary players in America's criminal justice system/industry) and where it misses (overlooking the intriguing pathologies and themes of growing chronically and unsustainably addicted to the spoils and ultra-wealthy lifestyle of an alter-ego).

It's been a good minute! We're excited to drop our latest conversation on Bookie, an underrated sitcom-series on Max created by Chuck Lorre and Nick Bakay. The show basically follows Danny (Sebastian Maniscalco), a bookie, and Ray (Omar Dorsey), his muscle, as they deal with an unorthodox profession in Los Angeles. Shenanigans ensue in the form of unstable clients, greedy family members, and random imbroglios. It's funny, filled with clever banter, and quite observant of Los Angeles culture; sadly, it was cancelled prematurely. We talk about its merits and lament the impatience of modern studios/platforms when it comes to letting shows find their audience. Enjoy!

The one and only Matt Belenky joins the pod to chat the Safdie's sports gambling masterpiece, Uncut Gems! We talk Adam Sandler's underrated brilliance, the ever increasing reach & budgets of A24 films, the long and winding creative development of this film, the split-up of the Safdie's, and why this film has captivated audiences of all ilk. Enjoy!

On this episode, we discuss Sean Durkin's American epic, The Iron Claw, which chronicles the Von Erich brothers as they make history in the burgeoning industry of entertainment wrestling and endure a series of tragedies under the hex of a family curse. Next up: Uncut Gems! Enjoy!

We're back and we're pile-driving into the dark, messy history of the WWE/WWF. Under the ownership of the polarizing Vince McMahon, wrestling went from feudal territories to cable TV mania. We examine the dueling identities of its greatest promoter, trying to unpack the Vince McMahon/Mr. McMahon split personality. You also want to tune in if you're interested in a nostalgic celebration of all the eras of the WWE/WWF, including the Attitude era, the Ruthless Aggression era, as well as the WCW vs. WWE heyday where every Monday night Raw and Nitro squared off on cable TV (giving everyone a reason to flip back-and-forth between USA and TNT). Enjoy!

On this episode, we invite Mikey from Screen Nerds Podcast (an avid Tennessee Titans superfan since their arrival in Nashville) to discuss the return of Untold with "The Muder of Air McNair." Part crime-doc and part sports-recap, this episode felt vexingly conspiratorial and disjointed. We break down why we feel it is one of the weaker entries in the docu-series and wonder if it's an anomaly or a harbinger of things to come. We also chat about the never-ending slate of 2024 streaming content, from Netflix's Receivers to HBO Max's return of Hard Knocks with the Chicago Bears. There is certainly no shortage of content available to whet our appetites for another dramatic season of America's most beloved sport, the NFL. Enjoy!

Join your friendly underdogs as we chat Bronx Zoo '90: Crime, Chaos and Baseball, Peacock's 3-part docuseries on one of the worst NY Yankee's teams in franchise history. Based around a series of Joel Sherman articles first published in the NY Post, the doc covers everything from the exile of George Steinbrenner to the downfall of Mel Hall. The 1990 season was one for the record books for all the wrong reasons: a train wreck you can't help but to look at, even as you're cowering away. From a no-hitter that ended miraculously in a 4-0 loss due to a calamity of fielding errors, to Pascual Perez playing backgammon in the Caribbean instead of showing up to Spring ball, to Mel Hall's open relationship and prom date with a teenage girl, to the back-and-forth contract feud between Steinbrenner and Dave Winfield, to the extortion and blackmail saga with Howie Spira (a NY felon, gambling addict, and all around low-life, to Deion Sander's dollar sign antics and terrible batting average, to cougars (yes, the feral felines!) in the locker room, this iteration of the Yanks was a carnivalesque free-for-all that you can't look away from. Enjoy our recap of this wild tale of shenanigans in the ballpark and beyond!

Welcome to the latest episode of Cinematic Underdogs (Or should I say, Cinematic Underska? Or is it Cinematic Under Sophisti-Pop? Perhaps Cinematic Under-Christian Jangle Pop?)... Whatever cinematic multiverse you choose to join us in, you're welcome to a frothy treat! We're joined by ska and sophisti-pop connoisseur Oye Oye Estaban for a look back at BASEketball, the 1998 sports parody directed by David Zucker (Airplane, Naked Gun, Scary Movie) and starring two of the 90's premier enfant terribles, Trey Parker and Matt Stone (creaters of South Park, duh). So get out that hemorrhoid cream and get ready for some soapy psyche-outs, hot takes on ska, Real Big Fish fandom, breakdowns of "Beer" (the song, of course), and analytic tangents on the now-obsolescent juvenilia of a bygone era, because we're coming in hotter than Jenny McCarthy buffing the lobby. Enjoy!

On this episode, Sarah Curci and Juan Hernandez join the pod to talk about the rise of Track & Field as a sport, and more specifically, how its uptick in popularity nicely coincides with teh arrival of Netflix's latest docuseries, Sprint, which follows Noah Lyles, Gabby Thomas, Fred Kerley, Marcell Jacobs, Sha'Carri Richardson, the Jamaican trio (Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, and Elaine Thompson-Herah), and many other elite speedsters as they prepare for the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. Collectively buzzing from the highs of 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, we also share some of our favorite moments: celebrating everything from Trinity Rodman's exhilarating OT goal vs. Japan in the quarterfinals, to Mando Duplantis' WR pole vault before a crowd of 80k cheering fans, to the camaraderie of Fiji surfing. We also champion the unexpected flurry of American medal performances in Track & Field during these Olympics: citing Stanford standout Grant Fisher's breakout bronze in the 5000m & 10000m, Cole Hocker & Yared Neguse's thrilling podium finishes in the 1500m, Quincy Hall's mad dash in the 400m, and on and on. We hope ya'll enjoyed the '24 Olympics as much as we did; and if you became overnight diehard fans of all things Athletics like us, you'll not want to miss this episode! Enjoy!

On this episode, we leap back to medieval times to cover the anachronistic, rennaisance-era, sports comedy and period piece A Knight's Tale with Seth Troyer, cohost of the Unwatchables pod and director of Vertigo II. Led by the romantic chivalry of Heath Ledger, the poetic panache of Paul Bettany, and some spicy pixie-girl charisma from Shanynn Sossamon, A Knight's Tale is a fun spoof film with literary wit, sportive flair, and a romantic tongue. We have a blast digging into this anacrhonistic romp featuring a wily bard that goes by Chaucer, a squire-turned-jouster masking his peasant past, a female Scottish blacksmith, a comedic sidekick who loves to use the word "fong" in every aggressive exclamation, and an evil Count Adhemar. Enjoy our conversation of this idiosyncratic, unorthodox sports film! Enjoying our podcast? Give us 5 stars, tell your friends, and preach the joy of our little underdog podcast!

We're back and we're championing Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby! On this episode, we talk about the satirical underbite of the film's rampant product placement, the sanctity of capitalist spaces, American vs. French tensions in the early 00's, Sasha Baron Cohen's pitch perfect casting, the odd conversion of Walker and Texas Ranger, and the backstabbing innocence of Cal Naughton. Shake and Bake, baby!

The Longest Yard is a total smorgasbord of tones, jokes, and cultural winks, whiffing at laughter from start to finish. We get a jail yard-sized salmagundi of half-baked jokes. Wet Willies. Terry Crewes peddling McDonald's cheeseburgers, fries, and McAssholes. Pegging the refs in the nuts. Dan Patrick cameo as a cop, clowning on Frodo. Goldberg rockin' an XXL jockstrap. Tracy Morgan as a prison yard Ladyboy. Adam Sandler drinking a six-pack during a high-speed chase. Chris Rock riffin' on white guys and Prozac. James Cromwell acting much too prestigiously for a Happy Madison project. Rob Schneider yelling, "You can do it!" as a callback to The Waterboy. Burt Reynolds hired as a nod to the much-superior original. Bob Sapp doing his best Michael Clarke Duncan in The Green Mile impression. The Great Khali looking huge. Nelly, band-aid on his cheek and all. Jim Rome and Chris Berman being themselves, offering tongue-in-cheek color commentary. Kevin Nash, Brian Bosworth, and William Fichtner doing their best as prison guards, trying to infuse redemptive nuance into their villiany. Joey Diaz being chubby, homophobic, and unfunny. Steve Austin being stone-cold silly. Suffice to say, this one wasn't for us. But we do our best to tackle it anyway. Enjoy the smackdown!

We're back with our Adam Sandler vs. Will Ferrell mini-tournament/bracket and covering the overlooked sports comedy, Semi-Pro. Chronicling the travails of Jackie Moon (Ferrell) as he tries to get his flailing minor league team, the Flint Tropics, promoted to the NBA, Semi-Pro is very much a byproduct of its era. Filled with bear wrestling, stoner humor, bantering broadcasters, a cuckolded super-fan, a classic 70s soundtrack, lots of funky callbacks to blaxploitation films, and even more cameos, Semi-Pro is definitely a laugh a minute outing. Unfortunately, much of its humor felt played-out by the time of its release, causing it to bomb at the box office and signal the end of Ferrell's silly, man-child reign of 00's studio comedies. On the pod, we discuss the comedic range (and lack thereof) of Ferrell's comedic career, his off-screen persona and presence in the sports industry, the ways in which Semi-Pro feels like an all-star mixture of tired/reused gags, and the ways in which it would have fared better if it came out earlier in his heyday. We then debate whether the film's veteran brand of dumb-bro humor should've been retired by its release or whether it offers the charm and humor of a comeback sports comedy, even if it arrived in theaters a few years past Ferrell's prime. Enjoy!

Matt Belenky joins the pod to breakdown Luca Guadagnino's Challengers, a breakout 2024 hit about a steamy tennis threesome. We discuss Zendaya's star power, the nuanced dynamic of the film's central love triangle (in comparison to other love triangle movies: Vicky Christina Barcelona, Yu Tu Mama Tambien, The Dreamers, Bull Durham, etc.), Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's thumping and ecstatic electro score, how this fits into the pantheon of great tennis movies, Luca's incremental acclimatization to shooting suburban America, the refreshing arrival of an adult romantic/sports drama with palpable buzz and fervor, whether the film is kinky/erotic or a giant marketing tease, and the use of tennis as a sublimated metaphor for sex. Enjoy!

We've finally found our home on the putting green and covered Happy Gilmore, the seminal millennial sports comedy classic that largely inspired us to start this podcast. If you love Happy, Chubbs, Shooter, Subway ad placements, hockey shenanigans, and the rest of the 90s Happy Madison crew as much as we do, then you've stopped by your happy place! Grab a pitcher of beer and gallop that horse-y around your own personal heaven cause you've hit jackpot! And stay tuned, because Happy Gilmore is the first in a bracket of Sandler vs. Ferrell sports comedies coming your way this spring and summer! Cheers!

We've officially been Bingo-pilled and there's no going back. Seriously ya'll, this episode with Bingo-superfan Jed Bookout is bonkers. Completely unhinged. We talk Bingo playing cards, Bingo revolutions, Bingo's wine drunk slutty dog shenanigans, potential Bingo sequels, Bingo sex-capades, Bingo legacy media, Bingo's Schrödinger's box theory, Bingo merchandise, and so much more Bingo!  Enjoy! 

Jed Bookout joins the pod to discuss A24's early breakout hit of 2024, Love Lies Bleeding: a sapphic, bodybuilding, ultra-violent fever dream of a movie. Set in a scuzzy and sordid 1989 New Mexico setting, and tracking a pair of lesbians turned serial killers by necessity, Love Lies Bleeding is a tonal tour de force evoking the likes of Paul Schrader, Lynne Ramsey, & David Cronenberg. Perhaps the best synopsis of her sophomore entry: Imagine Nicolas WInding Refn directing a Coen Bros script.  Over the course of the episode, we also discuss Rose Glass' promising future, Kristen Stewart's best career performances, the film's moral neutrality toward ‘roid rage and its juxtapositions between the seedy and the sultry, the unorthodox structural brilliance of Vox Lox, the underrated sub-genre of vagabonds going on vacations in hell (namely, Spring), and the many influences of Love Lies Bleeding's neo-noirish, black comedy beats. And yes, we make sure the conversation veers podcast relevant by intermittently debating whether it could be considered a quasi-sports movie, likening it to everything from Black Swan to The Wrestler (although, upon further reflection, Stallone's arm-wrestling masterpiece Over the Top or the Farrelly Brothers' bowling romp Kingpin may serve as better reference points). Enjoy!

It's Oscars season and so we're back with Matt Belenky to spar with a Best Picture winner: Million Dollar Baby. Starring and directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Paul Haggis a year before he penned yet another Best Picture Winner in Crash, this pugilistic take on euthanasia is a classic tearjerker. It is also a mixed punching bag: filled with melodramatic fetishization of the southern bumpkin archetype, brilliant cinematography, a florid narration by none other than Morgan Freeman (channeling strong Shawshank Redemption vibes), and a plucky Best Actress performance (earned or not) by the always endearing (if not a little cloying) Hilary Swank (to be fair, everyone in this is a maudlin caricature, to degrees). Though nowhere near as bad as we make it out to be (one might say it's more appropriately "between nowhere and goodbye"), Million Dollar Baby received a good old-fashioned beatdown on this episode. If you're in the mood for some Academy Award-adjacent schadenfreude, you've come to the right place. Enjoy!!!

We're back to the basics this week, covering Charles Stone III's "The Underdoggs," starring Snoop Dog, Mike Epps, and George Lopez. This is a film we've been barking for: a kids' centered sports movie in the vein of The Might Ducks, Little Giants, or The Big Green, only raunchier. Filled with direct callbacks to each of movies (including a scene where a Hummer arrives on the football field just as Emilio Estevez infamously had his limo driver park on the ice, an Annexation of Puerto Rico-inspired trick play, and an asthmatic kid with an overbearing, neurotic mom a la the nose-bubble dweeb in Little Giants), The Underdoggs fills like a giant homage to his 90s predecessors. For what this 90-minute comedy offers, we found it a success. As most know, boys are a puerile bunch. They curse, they say dirty jokes, they're rowdy. The Underdoggs leans into this reality, and it does so with winks that let us know that the kids sports movies we grew up loving still have a niche place in the culture today. Sure, the dramatic beats and attempts at poignancy feel rushed and hasty (lost in the glib pastiche of surface sentiment and elision by way of meta winks), but The Underdoggs' rehashes the tropes and archetypes we know so well at the same time, reviving this little subgenre with blunts, runts, and unfiltered glee. Enjoy!

Bilge Ebiri joins the pod to talk Michael Mann's Ferarri! We chat about the film's multidimensional themes, its subtle subversion of conventional sports tropes, and the powerful way its irreconcilable conflicts and philosophical tensions linger long after the initial viewing. We also discuss Bilge's Top 5 Sports Movies and the state of the genre. *A preemptive apologies for the mixed vocal quality. There was a mic issue that caused a postproduction headache.* Enjoy!

On this episode, Chad Lott of Scary Thoughts Podcast joins us to talk about the Netflix documentary Beckham. We chat about Brit fashion, culture's uncouth obsession with exhuming salacious details on celebrity affairs, and the remarkable resilience of Posh and Becks, both on and off the pitch. Enjoy!

Gene Lyons of Shat the Movies joins the pod to talk about Apple TV's bingeable MLS puff-piece Messi Meets America! We also chat about the differences between the USL and MLS, the amazing championship run of the Phoenix Rising, the origins of Shat the Movies, Messi's GOAT-qualities, Gene's Top 5 Sports Movies, and much, much more! Enjoy!

On the latest episode of Cinematic Underdogs, we chat about Gran Turismo, Neill Blomkamp's rousing, kinetic, feel-good hit racing flick released at the tail end of the summer box office rush in 2023. Much more than a video game IP-grab, Gran Turismo is an unbelievable true story about a young SIM-racer, Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), who is chosen to compete at an academy and become a real-life racer. Much like Yann's transition from simulation gaming to actual racing, Blomkamp showcases his versatility, adapting a screenplay that is packed with heartwarming albeit cliche sports tropes and mainstream beats. Glossy and tidily packaged, the film uses platitudes to achieve an high-octane pacing that hits a lot of beloved sports movie beats. All the actors are on their A-game. David Harbour plays a has-been racer turned mechanic who begrudgingly plays a mentor with a tough outer shell that slowly melts away. Orlando Bloom plays Danny Moore, an entrepreneurial maverick who concepts a madcap marketing ploy to turn SIM-racing GT gamers into professional racers. Geri Halliwell (yes, of the Spice Girls) plays a supportive mother who cooks lentils. Djimon Hounsou plays a blue-collar ex-soccer playing father who worries about Jann's future and chides his son for excessively gaming. Mixing tragedy with inspirational zeal, and commenting on the symbiotic nature of digital/virtual SIM-racing and physical/analog race car driving, Gran Turismo has enough heart and subtext to satisfy one's emotional and intellectual needs. It's narrative is filled with spoon-fed exposition to maximize mass-appeal and some of the story beats are predictable and manipulatively rearranged, but overall it does the trick, creating a film that entertains and motivates in equal measure. Enjoy our episode as Mikey from Screen Nerds Pod joins us to celebrate and champion this underdog of a movie (which is now streaming on Netflix!).

On this very festive Christmas special, we debate whether Jack Frost (1998) could be categorized within the sports movie genre, celebrate the phony performances by Henry Rollins and Michael Keaton, recite Roger Ebert's iconic/scathing review of the Jim Henson's snowman suit, and discuss the entire canon of holiday-centered sports films (A Christmas Fumble, A Wrestling Christmas Miracle, and A Karate Christmas Miracle pretty much sum up the extent of this paltry subgenre). We also each handpick a yuletide-sports films to cover in the future, and determine which film we'd see in theaters the weekend of Jack Frost's release, on December 11th 1998.

The 100 Foot Wave is truly must-watch TV for anyone who appreciated big wave surfing. Following Garrett McNamara and his lifelong quest to catch the world's biggest wave, the 1st season tracked his dual romantic elopements—both to his wife, Nicole, and to Nazaré, a small Portuguese port town where he stumbles upon an undiscovered swell of mythic proportions.  Season 2 picks up in the decline of Garrett's dominance, chronicling his transition to family life and his maturation into a mentor figure. It also tracks the monstrous swell created by Hurricane Epsilon, the ramifications of COVID-19 on surfing, and the emerging big-wave parvenu, an endearing cast of relatable characters: Andrew "Cotty" Cotton, Justine Dupont, Antonio Laureano, Michelle Bouillons, Kai Lenny, CJ Macias, Lucas “Chumbo," and more. This niche community of big wave surfers is inspiring and likable, conquering extraordinary feats on the surf board with stupefying temerity and tenacity. This episode, covering the 2nd season of HBO's Emmy-winning docuseries The 100 Foot Wave has sat in the vault for quite some time. We were hoping to record the 1st season and release it first, however, fate keeps interrupting those plans, so the time has come to finally let this ride free (before the box office talk that kicks off the episode feels too outdated). Thus, without further ado, the time has arrived for us to let this totally rad conversation hang ten. Join Michael Burgett of Screen Nerds Podcast and I (Paul Keelan) as we work backwards from the sophomore season, waxing awestruck about our amazing watching this gem of a show. And don't fret: our episode on the sublime inaugural season will emerge when the oceans calm and the swell is ready.

For our hundred and first episode, we are back with the classics. Baseball classics to be precise! Join us as we discuss 1989's hit sports comedy Major League and 1993's hit kids' sports film fantasy Rookie of the Year. We also talk about the disappearance of Pauly Shore, the growing fervor around 90s spy/thriller film revivalism, box office gems from the time of both releases and debate the merit and trickiness around deeming anything an instant classic. It's a long episode but you can split it into two distinct listens!

We made it! Our 100th episode is here, and we couldn't be more stoked to share it with everyone. First and foremost, a huge shoutout to everyone who's listened and appeared on our podcast over the last 99 episodes. We feel blessed to have met so many awesome people, enjoyed many fun recordings of memorable conversations, and received a ton of positive feedback along the way!  We had an absolute blast recording our first Sports Movie Draft with an all-star cast of previous guests, which included Justin Khoo from Cows in the Field,  Justin Peterson from The Average Joe's Movie Club Cast, Matt Belenky (film critic + frequent podcaster + producer), Don Shanahan of Cinephile Hissy Fit & Every Movie Has a Lesson, Michael Burgett of Screen Nerds Podcast, and of course, your two cuddly, charming, adorable underdogs, Jordan and Paul.  In total, we drafted from eight categories:  Best Sports Biopic (About an individual athlete - not a team) Best Heel/Villian In a Sports Movie  Best Locker Room Speech In a Sports Movie Best Fictional Sports Announcer(s) in a Movie Best Soundtrack/Score In a Sports Movie Best Nickname or Character Name in a Sports Movie Best Futuristic Race, Game Show, or Sport Invented in a Movie Best Romance in a Sports Movie Everyone's picks were amazing. Our conversation was even better! Now it is YOUR TURN TO VOTE! So what are you waiting for? Listen to our 100th podcast episode, check out our draft board, and vote below (if you're on Spotify) for the draftee whose picks you dig the most!  Oh, and thanks for listening! Cheers to the next 100! Woof, woof!

Matt Belenky joins us for a double feature as we discuss Tony Scott's "The Fan" and D.J. Caruso's "Two for the Money". We talk the decline (or not) of "hack" studio directors, Robert De Niro's unhinged portrayal of a psychopath in "The Fan," and Al Pacino's twilight years as a leading man, among many other box office topics. Enjoy!

We finish out our football season with another docuseries, jumping back into the world of Untold with Swamp Kings. On this episode, we talk abut what makes college football uniquely special, why this documentary is wrongly maligned, and why it is fairly criticized. In terms of leaving out the dirt on Urban Meyer and his Florida Gators, this four-part series is a head-scratcher — omitting the juicy, salacious controversies one is ostensibly expecting to see. But in doing so, we get another intriguing tale of militant style training camps and college football sincerity. For the Meyer and Tebow hates, this is pure hagiography, and it is. But for those more neutral to the players and subjects of this series, this is a raw look into what it takes — psychologically and physically — to be a powerhouse college football team. 

We are still in the thick of football season and back with an episode on Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets, or The Aaron Rodgers Show as we called it. Hear us discuss our likes, dislikes, and takeaways from this season. Next episode — and our final pigskin themed docuseries for the kickoff of football season — will be Untold: Swamp Kings. Please share, rate our pod, and share some more! Enjoy!

On this episode, we continue with our (un)cinematic streak of sports-themed streaming docuseries. This time, we're talking Netflix's Quarterback (2023), produced by none other than Peyton Manning and featuring 3 of QB's at very different junctures of their career: Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, and Marcus Mariota. Justin Peterson of the Average Joe's Movie Club Cast joins us discuss their work ethic, weekly regimen, off-the-field personalities, legacies, pregame preparations, football IQ, perseverance, in-the-pocket ingenuity, and behind-the-snap theatrics. It was a magically “scripted” season and Quarterback captures all of the fun, striking gold by picking arguably the most entertaining in-season QB (Cousins) and then chronicling one of the most impressively gutsy playoff runs of all time with Mahomes unflappable quest to hoist the Lombardi trophy. 

On this episode, we compare and contrast two docuseries on American Gladiators released in 2023: Muscles and Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators (Netflix) and The American Gladiators Documentary (ESPN/30 for 30). American Gladiators was always one of our favorite TV programs from childhood and we had a blast recounting our memories of the toys, the ‘roided up gladiators, the madcap fun of 90s Trash TV, the exploits of the athletes bodies for meager pay, the scab-like underpinnings of the series (which gets aired every time there's a picket-line), and the dubiously murky origins of this gaudy, ostentatious product of pop entertainment. Enjoy!

On this episode, we talk about the rise of Jake Paul in the ring. From a YouTube hellion and obnoxious Influencer to a boxing star, Jake Paul has become one of the truly improbable sports transformations of the 21st century. He may be polarizing and milage varies greatly on his likability. But as a celebrity committed to a sudden calling after a quarter life crises and cultural cancellation, Jake Paul is a pretty remarkable figure, who has only proved himself time and time again as a formidable contender against a ragtag albeit talented group of ex-MMA fighters and seasoned athletes.  Is this a puff piece? If the ubiquity of Prime drinks is any indication, the Paul brothers' trademark self-mythology and promotional acuity is all over this thing. And there's no doubt the Jake Paul has some warranted behind-the-scenes stains on his past — along with some overblown controversies. He's played the heel, the villain, the antihero, and the problem child for years, making a killing out of marketing himself as the person people want to see being pummeled in the ring. What's crazy is that the opposite happens, repeatedly, putting the likes of Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya, the Fury family, and Dana White on blast as they're forced to chew their words, eat crow, and watch in awe.  Whether you're frothing at the bit to see where Paul's boxing career goes next or prefer to hate watch one of Influencer culture's prime public enemies, there's no denying that the entertainment factor is off-the-charts. He may be a douchebag, a shameless self-marketer, a chauvinist, or whatever, but he's also chosen a wise venue to pursue: a space of pugilistic primality where one's moral shortcomings and social pretenses are stripped away by the savage ferocity of sparring and spectacle. Carrying the dying sport of boxing on his bulky tattooed back, Jake Paul is a bleach-haired pug with a rabid will to power. He's as American, for better and worse, as an acidic apple pie smashed straight to the jugular. 

Untold: Johnny Football represents an iconic era of college football, and offers an astute examination of one of the most immature quarterbacks to ever win a Heisman Trophy, Johnny Manziel. An affable, perennial partier, Manziel was notorious for his off-the-field antics and partying. He played the game with the same freewheeling sense of intuition and exigency he seemed to live, transplanting his unhinged frat boy personality onto the field. He also transformed the Texas A&M program into a powerhouse over the course of a critical two year stint, pulled off a ridiculous heist to get drafted in the 1st round of the NFL draft, and  became a mythic bust for the Cleveland Browns. In the episode, we discuss Johnny's wild shenanigans, the WTF moments of the documentary (his father faking a cardiac arrest, his friend planting a story about a false oil inheritance to deflect attention from under-the-table side hustles that violated the NCAA, his infamous bender in Vegas), and our letdown that the doc didn't press Johnny harder with pointed, direct questions about his insane life of drugs, celebrities, and debauchery. For those who know nothing about Manziel, this is a great place to start. For those who've been fascinated by his mythic downfall, this is a bit too broad and breezy. Nonetheless, it's a great conversation starter on one of the most stupefyingly immature yet likable athletes of the 21st century.  Enjoy! 

A bonus episode consisting of two separate interviews of Jordan & Paul on The Average Joe's Movie Club Cast. We discuss or movie tastes, preferences, and habits. Enjoy!

This week, we return to the world of Manga adaptations & join our friend Matt St. Jack of Anime Talk! to chat SK8 the Infinity (you can watch it on Crunchy Roll!). In the episode, we discuss the series' nostalgic tone, ardent-hearted appreciation of skateboarding, controversies surrounding queer-baiting, technical/scientific descriptions of boarding, quirky biblical allusions, and notable popularity. Check it out!

We're back with our friends Aaron & Patrick from Feelin' Film to talk 2023's underdog sleeper hit of the year, Blackberry: a riveting, fictionalized biopic detailing the rise & fall of the now-infamous phone. Equally funny and thrilling, Blackberry taps into the spirit of Fincher's The Social Network or Boyle's Steve Jobs. It is filled with amazing performances and panache—appropriating Nat Geo-style long-lenses (a stylistic riff stolen from D.A. Pennebaker's The War Room), leaning into faux-documentary comedic beats (Christopher Guest films, The Office), celebrating the by-the-bootstraps/punk-rock ethos of indie filmmaking (Primer, Slacker, Clerks), and heavily stylizing itself with erratic camera shifts and short, snappy, WanderCam pans (which approximate a sense of eavesdropping on tense, anxiety-inducing affairs). It's also a topical cautionary message about the dangers of unchecked greed and myopic business decisions, and in this way it resembles the recent slate of streaming mini-series documenting market-driven folly (The Dropout, WeCrashed, Fyre Fraud, etc.).   Although it is only tangentially affiliated with sports (there is a fairly prominent side plot involving an attempt to purchase an NHL team), we felt like this would be a perfect companion piece to our conversation on Air. Both films track the origins of a culture-altering IP, showcasing the competitive ferocity of entrepreneurialism. Both films also examine the ways cutthroat business acumen, team camaraderie, rivaling companies, and creative playfulness clash, dictate, and shape the way technology and commerce operate. Yes, to call this a sports movie would be disingenuously lenient, even for our criminally lax standards. But sometimes it's good to question genre boundaries, as trespassing outside stringent confines can help delineate and expand one's understanding of the immanent tropes, archetypes, leitmotifs, and structural parameters that can't be compromised.

In the wake of Ted Lasso's series' finale, we decided to talk about Apple TV's feel-good sports-themed sensation by covering the show's entire 3 seasons. Painting broadly, we discuss the recurring pattern of gradually inverting character traits & expectations, contextualize the aesthetic choices/references/silliness/garishness within the canon of classic sitcoms, analyze the pavlovian opening credit sequence, debate the subtle 2nd and 3rd season shift toward prestige TV runtimes and overtones, and proclaim our overarching verdict on whether it deserves to endure in infamy or posterity.

On this episode, Harry LaBollita returns to discuss Netflix's hit series Break Point. Helmed by the same team behind F1: Drive to Survive, Break Point chronicles the world's up-and-coming tennis stars as they prepare and compete on the international professional tennis circuit, including all four Grand Slams and ATP and WTP tournaments. In Season 1, the cast of characters includes Nick Kyrgios (a "bad boy" from the Land Down Under), Matteo Berrettini (an Italian stallion with high ambitions and an equally successful girlfriend, Ajla Tomljanovic) Taylor Fritz (a So-Cal native who overcomes injury to out Nadal in the Indian Wells championship), Paula Badosa (a Spanish model dealing with mental health issues), Ons Jabeur (a Tunisian standout representing an entire continent), and Felix Auger-Aliassime (a Montreal-based wunderkind who just might be the next great). We focus on a few primary themes: namely, the emergence of mental health crises and the perils of neuroses in the sport. This leads us into a fascinating discussion about the inherent pressures of tennis, the grueling attrition of playing year-round on the pro circuit, the attrition of mental fortitude due to the overwhelming speed of the game, the isolated vulnerability of playing a singles tournament, and the relativistic medley of psychological approaches and philosophies deployed by the various teams in hopes of curbing negative thoughts before they spiral into destructive self-sabotage on the court. We also debate who we think might be the next poster child for tennis as the Big Three (Nadal, Federer, Djokovic) begin to retire or suffer from the law of diminishing returns with age. Enjoy!

We're back and this time we brought both Justin & Laura Khoo of Cows in the Field on the pod to discuss the 2006 cult sports-comedy classic Nacho Libre. Little did we know that this movie holds a truly special place in the Khoo's hearts (you'll have to check out the episode to hear exactly why). In addition to anecdotal associations, we get down to the nitty-gritty on what makes this such an indelible movie. We chat about the artisanal needle drops, the meticulous costume design and visual craftsmanship, the unique tonal blend of childlike silliness (fart jokes) and hipster cleverness (including satirical jabs at Catholicism), the endlessly quotable one-liners, the hilariously off-putting accents, the comedic mastery of Jack Black's eyebrows and inflections, and the overall feel-good timelessness of this endearingly ridiculous tale about a monastic cook clandestinely pursuing a career as a Luchador to subsidize field trips for the orphans. So go snatch some eagle eggs, nurture your mystical powers, and get ready to enjoy our conversational smackdown on everything there is to know about Nacho Libre. And always remember: It is fun to wrestle. A nice pile-drive to the face; or a punch to the face; but you cannot do it because it is in the Bible not to wrestle your neighbor.

What's up, Underdogs!? ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE!? Well, you better be because we're back, we're joined by Lou Moon, and we're diving headfirst into a raunchy sports comedy about the wonderful world of WCW wrestling. Yes, that's right: we're powerbombing 2000's puerile cult classic Ready to Rumble! This fatuously fun film is absolutely stacked. It stars David Arquette, Scott Caan, Oliver Platt, Joe Pantoliano, Martin Landau, and an ultra-hot Rose McGowan; it features epic, Slim Jim-inspired cameos from a horde of professional wrestlers (Goldberg, Booker T, Sting, Diamond Dallas Page, Randy Savage, Sid Vicious, Bam Bam Bigelow, Rey Mysterio Jr., and of course, Michael Buffer); and it's written by the king of juvenilia/silly kid-skewing sports comedies, Steven Brill. What are you waiting for? Grab those dusty spandex, queue up your entrance song, and join us as we perform a tag-team suplex on this hilariously dumb movie, which achieves something rare in Cinema, becoming the equivalent of mixing Red Bull & an Icee. No doubt, this thing is frozen in time - stuck in that strangely boyish space we knew as the late 90s/early 00s. It's one hell of a brain freeze: a serially ridiculous prepubescent buddy comedy with a shit-eating grin on its face. Why are you still reading this? Wipe that Cheshire grin away and get in the damn ring! Enjoy!

On this bonus episode, your cinematic underdogs join Feelin' Film for a guest appearance discussion on the feel-good, 2023 dad-flick Air. Directed by Ben Affleck, written by Alex Convery, and starring Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, and Chris Tucker, Air is the highly-manipulated backstory of Nike's acquisition of the GOAT Michael Jordan. Giving MJ not only a licensing fee, but also a slice of the residual pie with royalties on each sale, Nike capitulated billions in potential profit to acquire a young, unproven NBA rookie. It was a daring gamble, but one that paid off handsomely as MJ went on to become one of the most lucrative sports figures and brand icons in history. Listen to us debate whether this is a sports movie, celebrate Affleck's directorial consistency, and praise on of the underdog winners at the cineplex in 2023.

Jed Bookout joins us on this episode as we explore Phil Alden Robinson's 1989 paternalistic, cornfed, heartland classic Field of Dreams. We discuss the film's disquieting subtexts and alternative readings, grappling with multiple surrealistic and existential readings. We discuss its similarities and lack thereof to the filmography and sensibilities of Douglas Sirk & Frank Capra. We discuss whether the central conceit and deus ex-machina of the film -- the mysterious, uncredited voice -- is the remnants of a Berkeley acid trip, a biblical parable, or the summoning of a cult leader. We discuss whether the film would turn into a sinister horror movie if the James Horner score was removed. We discuss Kevin Costner's salt of the earth gravitas and onscreen persona. In fact, we discussed so much we ended up matching the official runtime of the movie. Enjoy!

Marc Dottavio of Unwatchables joins us to discuss Martin Scorsese's 1986 The Color of Money. A legacy sequel to The Hustler, this pool-hall classic incorporates all of Scorcese's usual obsessions, stylistically and thematically, in very sly ways. The whip pans, snap zooms, time-lapse sequences, needle drops, and gritty mise-en-scene nicely complement the slow-burn tempo and 8-ball sequences, setting the tone for a cunning exploration of authenticity and integrity in life and sport alike. Often overlooked in discussions surrounding the filmographies of Tom Cruise, Paul Newman, & Martin Scorsese, The Color of Money is a complex character study within a neorealist milieu. It is filmmaking that deserves to be celebrated as one of the best of its decade: both raw/unvarnished & filled with directorial flair, frigid & impassioned, literal & filled with subtextual layers (including a meta commentary on weaponizing the power of observation & acting). We kick off the pod with a topical discussion on how we'd compare The Color of Money's 3 Academy Awards nominations (for Best Supporting Actress, Best Art/Production Design, & Best Adapted Screenplay) to the 2023 Oscar nominees (we recorded on the eve of the 95th Academy Awards ceremonies). It's an insightful conversation, illuminating the ways the zeitgeist and even the industry's definitions of these awards can evolve over time. Enjoy!

Hello, fellow underdogs! We're back with Matt Belenky — film producer/film writer/film aficionado/Pittsburgh native — to discus one of the best Die Hard clone movies ever put to screen: Peter Hyams' 90's classic, Sudden Death. Matt recently celebrated Sudden Death's timeless charm and Pittsburghian ethos in the Pittsburgh Orbit article Terrorism in Overtime: Sudden Death Turns 25, and he fills us in on all the local details you'll want to hear: the casting of real-life Penguins broadcasting duo Mike Lange and Paul Steigerwald as themselves, the story being conceived by Karen Elise Baldwin (daughter of then-Penguins owner Howard Baldwin, who produced the film), and the strange circumstances in which the hockey game was filmed during the NHL lockout. We also talk about how well the film marries action genre tropes with the sports genre tropes, the fast clip at which the deaths pile up and the plotting skates along, whether or not this is Jean-Claude Van Damme's best or most iconic role, the savvy inclusion of the props/backrooms/corridors/interstices of the now-demolished Civic Arena, the hilarious culinary-themed kills (i.e., the death of the Pens mascot, Iceburgh, in an industrial-sized dishwasher), and the stunningly shot stunt work/action set pieces (i.e., the helicopter crashing into the Jumbotron). Oh, and to break the ice, we have a blast breaking down the entire slate of box office releases in late December 1995 (Waiting to Exhale, Grumpier Old Men, Nixon, Dracula: Dead & Loving It, Balto, Four Rooms, Tom & Huck, Cutthroat Island, etc...) — with each of us picking the one movie we'd choose to see if we had only enough allowance to buy a single ticket on opening weekend. Enjoy!

On the latest episode, we go back to the basics and cover a newly released yet old-fashioned formulaic sports flick: Hustle. Released on Netflix in 2022, Hustle finds Adam Sandler in a groove. This film sits nicely between his prestige work in Uncut Gems and the juvenile sensibilities we've all become accustomed to expecting from the Happy Madison brand. It is packed full with NBA cameos and call-outs, and delivers its emotional and athletic beats with panache and intensity. For a feel-good and by-the-numbers underdog sports flick, Hustle is a winner. Enjoy our conversation as friend and NBA super-fan Juan joins in to chat this refreshing return of The Sandman to fine form as the film's lead Stanley Sugarman. Juan lends the episode a ton of insight on AND1 mixtapes and Anthony Edwards' sassy personality and the fun ways this film played with NBA icons' identities both on and off-the-court. It's a fun chat, if we say so ourselves! Thanks of listening!

In anticipation of Super Bowl LVII, we're back with a follow up to our episode on Hard Knocks: Training Camp w/ The Detroit Lions, this time tackling Hard Knocks in Season: The Arizona Cardinals. This is easily our most sporty episode yet. As always, though, we transfer the narratives on the field into the world of celluloid dreams. Quite literally: To break the ice, we enumerate the stories and moments from the 2022-2023 NFL season we each think might one day translate fluidly to the silver screen. Purdy, Brady, Hamlin, & Wilson all make our cut (for very different hypothetical movie genres). Finally, after confabulating wild movie premises of our own, we dig into main event and discuss the AZ Cardinal's grueling, abysmal, train-wreck season, marred by motivational apathy, nonstop injuries, and serial underachievement.  The lackluster display on the field turned so dour, in fact, it took its toll on HBO's show. Noting the gloomy moroseness of each successive episode, we end up in a caustic discussion over whether Hard Knocks in Season: The Arizona Cardinals might be best viewed as an unintentional workplace farce or a tragicomedy. On this line of thought, we have a grand old time nitpicking the depressing details and sporadic silver linings from the season, which include Kyler's conspicuous absence, Kingsbury's bro-chic MTV Cribs-style mansion, JJ's boyish enthusiasm and lovable personality, Budda's unflinching tenacity/affable sibling rivalry, Hopkin's resilient mother/artsy sensibility, and the endless carousal of random, washed-up QBs emerging in the starting lineup every week.  If you're in the mood to listen to lots of football chatter with some heady thematic extrapolations, you've found the perfect tailgate background noise to toss onto the car radio. So open up a big bag of Lay's potato chips, throw back a few cold ones, and enjoy some goofy Pre-Game bantering before the Big Game!

We're back with a classic sports fusion film: Stephen Chow's Shaolin Soccer! Ashley Naftule (freelance writer, playwright at Space 55, Twitter humorist) joins us to celebrate the zany antics and devil-may-care CGI shenanigans of Hong Kong's slapstick king. It's a truly one-of-a-kind cinematic exercise, relocating Shaolin martial arts to the soccer pitch, and we have an absolute blast singing its praises and investigating its zany and somewhat taboo archetypal/gender dynamics.  Enjoy! 

We're back and chatting Captains, yet another underrated Netflix docuseries. This 8-episode journey chronicles the heartbreaking lows and glorious highs of 7 international captains as they lead their country's squad through qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Mikey from Screen Nerds Podcast joins the conversation and we have a blast discussing the doc's diverse cast of characters and cultures. (Given a few vague references, it will be helpful to know this episode was recorded the same day Argentina knocked Croatia out of the World Cup in the semi-finals) Following the chosen leaders of Vanuatu (Brian Kaltak), Lebanon (Hassan Maatouk), Brazil (Thiago Silva), Jamaica (Andre Blake), Gabon (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang), and Croatia (Luka Modric), Captains offers an intriguing investigation into the varied qualities that define leadership. It also provides an inspiring, in-depth look into the political and economic hardships endured by these resilient figures. Each captain had to overcome immense challenges on their rise to the world stage -- growing up as a refugee, a wartime expatriate, a poor kid in the favelas, an islander with minimal resources, etc. Each of these captains display an uncompromising love for the game and a gratitude to represent their country. They also lead in wildly different ways. We found the juxtaposition of their respective roles and personality traits to be existentially riveting, and highly recommend this series to anyone interested in not only the World Cup but sports psychology in general. We hope you enjoy our conversation.