On the sidelines with Peter Newman
Kinlochleven sports writer Peter Newman has teamed up with the Lochaber Times to contribute some general ideas, thoughts and sporting trivia on an ad hoc basis during the remainder of lockdown.
This week Peter is sharing his recommendations for sports viewing from the comfort of your own home.
Basketball: Hoop Dreams.
Before the winning comes the work. This 1994 movie follows two African American high school students from Chicago at the same time as the city’s
Bulls are tearing up the professional game. Moving, inspirational and frustrating all at the same time. Netflix.
Rugby: All or Nothing – The
All Blacks. This series got exclusive access to the dressing room of the mighty All Blacks for the first time in their history. The footage and the match play are second to none – every bone snapping tackle is seen and heard in high def – and the characters within the team are fascinating. Amazon Prime.
Football: An Impossible Job
– Fancy watching an England manager screw up qualification for a World Cup, get compared to a root vegetable and upset that nice bloke off Match of the Day by substituting him for a doughy poor imitation called Smudger? Of course you do. This 1994 documentary saw Graham Taylor’ career go the way of all things and is why so many documentaries control access tightly. YouTube.
Cricket: Fire in Babylon.
2010’s Fire in Babylon is the story of the most successful team in cricket and, arguably, all sport. What many people may be less aware of is the racism and barriers encountered by this team under the leadership of legend Clive Lloyd and gum chewing Black Consciousness figurehead Viv Richards. Fire in Babylon is the real deal. DVD.
Boxing: When We Were
Kings. Lots of people know the story of the Rumble in the Jungle; or at least think they do. 1996’s When We Were Kings explains the politics behind the sport. George Foreman is all at sea; Muhammad Ali connecting with the people in a spiritual way. An Oscar winning, towering achievement of a documentary which explains the boxing in as captivating a way as the politics behind the sporting spectacle. DVD
Visit pajnewman.com to find more of Peter’s recommendations.