ESPN Films: Right To Play

I watched Right to Play by Frank Marshall on ESPN Classic in late August. The documentary was originally announced as part of the first ESPN 30 for 30 series in 2009. It did not air as part of the series, but premiered on Saturday, June 2, 2012 on ABC.

The film looks at the life of Johann Olav Koss, an Olympic gold medal-winning speed skater and founder of the international youth sports organization Right To Play. Koss is a former speed skater from Norway who is considered to be one of the best in history.

Koss made his Olympic debut at the 1992 Winter Olympics winning gold in the 1,500 m and silver in the 10,000 m. He finished seventh in the 5,000 m.

In 1994, Koss gained fame outside the speed skating world by winning three gold medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics in his native Norway. Spectacularly, he won all three races in new world record times. For his performance, he was named Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year in 1994.

While Koss was an Olympian, he participated in the Olympic Aid program. Olympic Aid was conceived in 1992 by the Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee (LOOC) in preparation for the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway. The program raised funds for children in disadvantaged situations by building on the momentum of Olympic Games.

After spending some time studying medicine, Koss decided to dedicate himself to the cause. Within a decade, Koss had grown Olympic Aid into Right to Play, an international humanitarian agency that uses games and sports as a tool to teach, inspire and empower children in war-ravaged and distressed countries. The documentary includes a number of segments showing Right to Play staff on the ground in a number of countries.

Although it seems a little light on content compared to some of the other 30 for 30 documentaries, I enjoyed the film. Given that it ran outside of the 30 for 30 or ESPN Films promotion cycle, I don't think that it got the attention that it deserved. Right to Play is worth looking for. Unfortunately, it is not available on iTunes or Amazon.

Right To Play - Trailer from The Kennedy/Marshall Company on Vimeo.

the inspiring tale made by @KenedyMarshall about @RightToPlayUSA, airing today on @ESPN Classic at 6 & 9PM. Set those DVRs accordingly

— Johann Koss (@JohannKoss) August 19, 2012

Harvard Beats Yale 29 to 29

Running on the treadmill, I watched Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 on the ESPN Classic channel. This is a 2008 documentary about the 1968 meeting between the football teams of Yale and Harvard. The game has been called "the most famous football game in Ivy League history."

For the first time since 1909, the Harvard and Yale football teams were each undefeated with 6-0 records in their conference (8-0 overall) when they met for their season's final game on November 23, 1968 at Harvard Stadium. Ranked nationally, Yale was heavily favored to win and they quickly led the game 22–0. With two minutes remaining on the clock they still led 29–13. As the last seconds ticked down, Harvard tied the game, scoring 16 points in the final 42 seconds. The Harvard Crimson declared victory with a famous headline, "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29."

There is an amazing array of people associated with the game. Calvin Hill (Grant Hill's father) who later starred for the Dallas Cowboys played running back for Yale. Tommy Lee Jones who was rooming with Al Gore at the time played offensive tackle for Harvard. George W. Bush was attending Yale. One of the Harvard players was dating Meryl Streep who was attending Vassar. Garry Trudeau's earliest Doonesbury comics while he was at Yale essentially feature the Yale football team.

The film mixes broadcast video of the game with interviews with close to 50 of the surviving players. The film was created to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the game. In addition to actual game footage and the contemporary interviews, the film includes commentary about the Vietnam War and the sexual revolution. One of the players had served a tour of duty in Vietnam.

Although not as slick as some of the 30 for 30 documentaries, it is worth seeing. I was struck by how football today looks very much the same as it did almost 45 years ago.