We have to admit it, we are slightly addicted to sports documentaries of late. This type of movie and indeed television series has gained popularity over the past few years with the likes of The Last Stand, about Michael Jordan and the rise of the Chicago Bulls, and even Amazon Prime Video’s popular ‘All Or Nothing’ series rising to the tops of everyone’s streaming lists. All sorts of genres have been covered, from football to basketball, golf to the sports betting industry, with many involving the viewer in subject they wouldn’t usually be interested in. Here, we take a look at five of the best sports documentaries available across the various streaming platforms this October.
All Or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur
Focussing on the 2019/2020 football season, specifically North London team Tottenham Hotspur, this enthralling nine-parter should temp supporters from all clubs. The show starts off with the club coming off a Champion’s League final place in the season before, to a new manager in José Mourinho, who joins midway through the first half of the new campaign. The filmmakers also follow the team as they struggle with injury in the months that follow, and the COVID-19 impact as the season is suspended with just a few games to go. Available no on Amazon Prime Video.
Bet Raise Fold: The Story of Online Poker
We said documentaries cover all genres and types of sports, and this one focusses on the growing popularity of Texas Hold ‘Em poker, and this feature – originally released in 2013 – charts the rise of the game all around the world, particularly in peoples’ homes on such sites as Agen Poker online, where players are able to play in tournaments. The movie follows the history of the game from its boom in the early 2000s, to the past decade. It is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
The Short Game
If the idea of gambling is not your thing, then how about golf, which is the main focus in this excellent documentary from the same year, 2013. Josh Greenbaum directed this feature length documentary which doesn’t revolve around pro athletes, but the grade school hopefuls who are already taking to some of the world’s toughest courses, determined to become future champions. It is now available to stream on Netflix.
Pretending I’m a Superman – The Tony Hawk Video Game Story
We move to skateboarding for our next documentary and this short documentary from this year looking into the phenomenon of the Tony Hawk video games series and its monstrous popularity, dating back to 1999 when Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater sold 9 million copies upon release. This 73 minute film is available on a multitude of digital platforms but recently screened on Sky Documentaries, which is available on the Sky service, or NOW TV.
The Race To Perfection
Again on the Sky platform is this excellent mini series dedicated to the history of motor sport, particularly the top tiered Formula 1. The series was produced to screen in the 70th anniversary year of the sport, and tells the story of those seven decades of racing that F1 has enjoyed. The likes of Sir Jackie Stewart, the late Niki Lauda and current champ Lewis Hamilton all feature in the series, along with tons of archive footage. The seven episode run is playing out over October on the Sky Documentaries channel and on demand.
