Do You Understand the Words That Are Coming Out of My Mouth: Religion of Sports/Gotham Chopra have been busy in 2023 and 2024.
He’s only an Executive Producer on this ESPN docuseries, not a director but dude has been cranking out the projects lately. He directed Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story (Hulu), and in 2023 as an Executive Producer he released Destination NBA a G League documentary, Yankees vs. Red Sox and even Goliath a Wilt Chamberlain docuseries. Many blessings from the Religion of Sports.
This is Up for Debate: The Evolution of Sports Media a three-part docuseries. This sounds cool: “We dive into the historical roots of sports debate, tracing its origins from print journalism to on-camera personalities like Howard Cosell, and eventually evolving into the debate format that’s present today.”
The problem is it’s by Stephen A. Smith who I can’t stand. He’s not well-read, well-prepared or super informed and worse he yells at the TV a lot. He’s brutal and makes terrible TV. I ain’t impressed by ratings. That’s not a First Take that’s an honest take.
I’ve tired.
I’ve tired so hard.
And I just don’t get it. I’ve read Stephen A’s 2023 book: Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes. I’ve watched First Take and NBA Countdown. I’ve listened to his podcast. I do The Work before I speak.
And? I don’t get his status. I don’t find him insightful. Or controversial. (As an avid NBA fan I do my best to not click on “did you hear what he said!!” articles. That’s not sports, it has nothing to do with winning. It’s junk. Why would I read that or care?!) He’s not well-researched, his journalism is shoddy.
(Truthfully: I don’t understand Ryan Seacrest or Stephen A. Smith or Anderson Cooper or Pat McAfee. We’re clearly stuck with em and they create handsome profits for their networks so there is clearly a market out there.)
That’s not a tangent or rant; this is all related to Up for Debate: I’m growing tired of this narcissistic trend. Jordan got an avalanche of criticism for The Last Dance but most of it was not accurate. Quite simply the docuseries had to revolve around Jordan, nobody was watching for B. J. Armstrong. And there was a simple eye test…the series showed you lots of clips from the games and practices. Look for yourself, if don’t believe what the players are saying. YouTube is free as well. You don’t passively watch a documentary, you go and look up videos and books.
More importantly: Jordan was a GOAT by the time The Last Dance came out, all the docuseries did was remind or educate people. The doc didn’t hafta confirm his GOAT-ness.
Fools like Stephen A. are using docs like Up for Debate to confirm their GOAT-ness.
The problem is you haven’t been anointed.
They’re fast forwarding the process, it’s like being impressed with an NBA rookie and debating if he should be in the NBA Hall of Fame. He played one season! It don’t matter how good that season was…let’s see what he does in 10 seasons. Or more. You gotta build an impressive body of work.
In March 2023 The Dan LeBatard Show released a South Beach Sessions with Stephen A. Smith which included the following exchange:
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith responded by taking shots at Le Batard and ended by asking, “When did it occur in my career that I ignored the journalistic tenets that came with the job?”
“Oh, it’s not ignoring them,” Le Batard answered. “It’s that they shrink in the face of the need for the argument as entertainment.”
And there it is. Thank you Dan LeBatard for your thoughtful eloquence.
Hulu has a good looking docuseries called Camden dropping May 29th. It’s about the fertile creativity of that London hood and all the music it’s given us. It’s got interviews with Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Noel Gallagher, Questlove, Mark Ronson, Nile Rodgers and more.
And yet executive producer Dua Lipa is the one heavily featured in the trailer:
Her music is fine but Questlove?! Nile Rodgers?! You’re not on the same level, it’s not a conversation.
In the trailer she’s talking about the legacy of Camden like she’s part of the legacy: “it’s the place where stars are born.” Yo: you don’t have a legacy! You have a handful of hits. Nile Rodgers has Chic, Sister Sledge, Bowie and even Daft Punk on his record…that’s a legacy. Lipa has 3 albums out. You shouldn’t feel comfortable using the word legacy in public when you clearly got miles to go before you sleep.
I’m tired of this “guys I decided I’m a GOAT.” They wanna make the Cash-Hurt video at 20 years old. Nah, man. Go do The Work. Be Good At It. Then we can talk about legacy and influence and contributions and more.
Up for Debate: The Evolution of Sports Media is now streaming on ESPN+ (hopefully TSN picks it up soon).
Camden streams on May 29 on Hulu.
Sammy Verdict: #GOAT is not a participation award.
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
