30 For 30 - No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson

Depends what’s on. The U is on its 500th repeat or so, so I think I’ll be able to catch it.

I’m still in awe of how well constructed (and under-hyped) this whole 30 for 30 series has been…just completely going against everything we’ve come to know from ESPN.

And yes, I’ll be watching. Miller Time was probably my favorite to date (with The U a close second), but I’ve got my hopes high for this one to be right there. Really strange, though, that they couldn’t get Iverson to participate in what – like you said – will probably end up veering some sympathy his way.

I’ve lived in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia since 1988. I’ve seen some great HS athletes in that time … but, none came close to “Bubbachuck”. None. He led Bethel to state championships in both football and basketball … and as good as Iverson was at basketball, he might have been even better at football. I hope ESPN shows some of the football footage of his HS days. Amazing stuff.

Anyway, I’m interested to see if the real “AI” … his mother, Ann Iverson … is portrayed accurately. She’s been a freakin’ leech from day one … and remains so until this day.

When does the Ricky Williams one air?

I should say that I too have really enjoyed the reports I have seen. My relative indifference to catching it live has nothing to do with what I expect to see.

30 for 30 has been such an excellent series. I will definitely watch this one. Iverson is to NBA players as the U was to NCAA programs. You hit it on the head — you can make a credible argument that: (1) he was commercially black-balled and poorly treated because his tattoos and image made him vibe inner-city black in a way that no other athlete at the time did; (2) that he was an unrepentant thug whose laziness kept him from ever transcending in the manner that his talent level would have permitted; (3) he was actually a much better person and family guy than clean-cut anal rapist players who had much bigger profiles; (4) he scared off the middle-class white audience Bird, Magic, and Jordan had so carefully cultivated and made it OK to look like a gang member and still play ball; (5) he was a prime contributer to the proliferation of And 1 mix-tape basketball, as well as to the bizarre NBA period in which every damn team took a white Euro in the top 10 picks because they were scared of black American players; and (6) that absolutely no one wanted to win while on the Court more than he did. So the show is sure to be awesome.

The source selection for 30 for 30 has been impeccable. I came across the Reggie Miller one a couple of weeks ago and ended up watching the whole thing.

Did I hear that correctly in the football video? 7 INTS in one game? Holy shite.

The Len Bias segment was well worth watching, and every high school athlete should be forced to watch it right after their annual physical. Moral of the story – not everyone gets a second chance.

Oh and yeah, Iverson’s football vids are incredible. He looked like Charlie Ward (the football version).

we talking about high school football? high school? let’s see him do it in college football before we declare him the best football player.. Anyone ever see Lebron football highlights?

all kidding aside, he does look quick on field but he looked like all the other top high school guys during the time.

Even that seemingly innocuous write-up is controversial depending on how one interprets the facts of the case.

“This is not Nam. This is bowling. There are rules.”

I am an Allen Iverson apologist. Dude can do no wrong in my book. It’s A.I., man.

Full disclosure: Living in Philly may have influenced this stance. Although, many natives there hated him. Of course, some of them hated Rocky too.

The only thing that is universally adored in Philly is the cheesesteak. Everthing else is guaranteed to polarize and athletes top the list, barely beating out corrupt mayors.

Vash -

Pat’s or Gino’s?

If I had to pick one I’d go with Pat’s over Geno’s because they chop up the meat. The menu and results are pretty similar and the line at 4 a.m. on a Saturday is equally long.

My favorite joint was a dive on the Bethlehem Pike in North Philly called Cisco’s. The Perfect Cheesesteak.

You might even see sizzlechest there creeping people out at the bar.

Scip,

I’m with you in that I found A.I. the athlete both compelling and frustrating. For the better part of his career I couldn’t stand the guy and held him up as the poster child for everything that was wrong with the game of basketball today. The selfish play, the inability to be coached, etc.

It wasn’t until I got the chance to see him play live that I became swayed. I was offered tickets to go to game 5 of the 76ers-Pistons playoff series a few years ago (2006 I think) and they were very good seats too. After seeing him play in the flesh I witnessed that disregard for his own body that I had always heard about but really didn’t appreciate until I was 40 feet away from it. It was hard not to root for the guy and I came away with equal parts respect and exasperation.

hiphop -
 
I agree. The quality has been very high.
 
nordberg -
 
Run, Ricky, Run airs on April 27th. It promises to be one of the best of the series. Bill Simmons has been hyping it since February.
 
t1climb1 -
 
That’s a great description. It’s hard to reconcile a guy playing that hard with his subtle, cancerous impact on a team.

Overall, I’ll pass on a 5’11 ballhog shooting 30 shots a game at a 43% clip, with an average assist to turnover ratio. I would guess his offensive impact is about average – meaning, he could prop up a bad offensive club, but weigh down a talented one with his dominance of the basketball.

…Ain’t No Mountain High Enough…A.I. floored the world. Very good article, btw.

A.I. floored the world with his wizardry. for the life of me I could not understand why he did what he did, but there was a reason for it. At the time I didn’t see it that way.

there is a reason for everything-maybe he didn’t even know why he did what he did. But hey, it worked. He’s one of the greatest athletes of all time. I wish him and his family all the best.

Simmons and Steve James discuss here.

Carry, imo.

No such thing in the NBA.

He played his ass off because he was playing for himself.

Bottom line is he was a coach and team killer. He didnt give a shit about winning and that is one very good reason why he did so little of it unless Larry Brown was camped on his ass.

Its a cliche but on most teams [Jordan Bulls and Kobe Lakers excepted] the PG HAS to make his team better and Iverson never did that, unless you count putting up constant bricks as creating offense.

As for the off the court issues, for a fast dude, that is one slow moving train wreck. Who coulda knowed?

That said, I will be watching the 30 at 30 episode and I am semi-open to persuasion on AI given the background. Will be a cautionary tale I am sure.

I loved his effort on the court. I wasn’t blessed with really any physical gifts, so all I could do was just leave it all out on the field. I appreciated that, and I had the honor of watching him do it live once against the Wizards.

As far as his personal life. Well, if any of us had to undergo the microscope he endured, be it at work, our marriages (or divorces), child rearing, money management, etc, applified by access to easy pro sports money, I’d suspect a lot of us would look like world class dickheads. There but by the grace of god.

Celebrity is just another word for everyone knowing your business. How are you going to attract top talent if you scare them away with such classy media outlets as “TMZ”? Ridiculous. Its gotten to be like politics.

Good show, as usual.

I agree, Bob. And I’m still equally conflicted on Iverson.

Saw it last night. Lots of thoughts.

If it wasn’t apocryphal that he was missing school to take care of his baby siblings was surprising. A mothering instinct much absent in his own mother, so not sure from where that sprung forth.

He hates to lose, that’s for sure.