To contain the outbreak of coronavirus, professional basketball, hockey, soccer, and college sports across the country (and the world) have been postponed or canceled entirely, leaving empty holes within the aching souls of millions of sports fans. Even sports with seasons yet to begin, like baseball and golf, have delayed their coming seasons as a precaution.
Whether it's in March Madness or the Stanley Cup Playoffs, if you're a sports fan you'd probably give anything to be able to watch your favorite team compete again. Unfortunately, we don't have the power to bring sports back to your screen, but we can suggest several entertaining and eye-opening documentaries to distract and educate you until they return.
In Search Of Greatness (2018) - Amazon Prime & Hulu
Rather than highlighting a single sport or person, In Search of Greatness (2018) seeks to understand the roles of nature and nurture in the development of history's greatest athletes. Regardless of your favorite sport, you'll recognize several of the athletes featured, such as Wayne Gretzky, Serena Williams, Muhammad Ali, Tom Brady, and Michael Jordan.
While it didn't quite live up to the Oscar buzz that accompanied its release, this documentary appeals to a wide variety of sports fans and effectively communicates the message that everyone possesses unique natural abilities they should seek to identify and develop.
Screwball (2019) - Netflix
Thanks to the league's recent sign-stealing scandal, cheating is again a hot topic in performance-enhancing drugs by players in the late 1990s through the 2010s. This is what Screwball (2019) focuses on.
Following the intertwining stories of ballplayer child actors re-enacting moments throughout the scandal, the documentary explains complicated concepts in humorously straightforward ways.
At The Heart Of Gold (2019) - HBO
True crime documentary enthusiasts will be interested in At the Heart of Gold (2019), a disturbing look inside the sexual abuse that poisoned the USA Gymnastics program for over twenty years. If you're not familiar with Larry Nassar, he was a USA Gymnastics team doctor who abused about 250 girls between 1992 and 2016 before he was finally arrested.
The documentary is disturbing, but light must be shed on the mistakes made during the scandal so they're never repeated. The story is told from the perspectives of several victims, and while their testimonies are heartbreakingly brutal, the bravery these women show in uniting and speaking out is inspiring.
1 (2013) - Amazon Prime
With the postponement of NASCAR and Formula One events, racing fans everywhere who miss their fast-paced thrills should enjoy 1 (2013), from award-winning editor Paul Crowder. This documentary mainly focuses on the golden era of Formula One racing in the 1960s and '70s and will introduce you to a charismatic generation of death-defying superstar drivers.
Narrated by Ford v Ferrari (2019), you won't want to miss 1.
The Short Game (2013) - Netflix
The recent news of the Masters Tournament postponement has brought dismay to golf spectators eager to watch Tiger Woods defend his title. Fans still seeking to watch the competition on the links will get a kick out of seven and eight-year-olds swinging their clubs in The Short Game (2013).
Produced by couple The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), this documentary follows participants of the 2012 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship and their families, giving it a similar feel to Best in Show (2000). The drives aren't as long as the pros, but the intensity is undoubtedly comparable.
Do You Believe In Miracles? (2001) - HBO
Last month marked the 4oth anniversary of what's widely considered the greatest and most important hockey game in America's history. During the height of the Cold War, an underdog group of American college hockey players overcame incredible odds to defeat a Soviet Union Olympic team that had won the last four gold medals.
Do You Believe in Miracles">Escape from New York).
Dare To Dream (2007) - YouTube
You probably know plenty about Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and the rest of the U.S. women's national soccer team after their exciting World Cup victory last year, but how much do you know about the generations of players and champions that laid the groundwork before them?
Narrated by Liev SchreiRay Donovan), Dare to Dream (2007) chronicles the journey of the USWNT from relative obscurity in the 1980s to their dominance in the 90s and 2000s through profiles of the team's most famous personalities, particularly a charismatic group of five players dubbed "The '91ers".
Undefeated (2011) - Netflix
The 2012 Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature, Undefeated (2011) is about the Manassas Tigers of Memphis, a perennial loser of an inner-city high school football team that's just hired new coach Bill Courtney in an attempt to make their first-ever playoff game.
Courtney, the owner of a local lumber company, feels like a character straight out of the show Friday Night Lights, but the journey his team goes through both on and off the field seems more dramatic than any Hollywood script. Connecting with the kids will feel like going on an emotional roller coaster, one that will hopefully satisfy until the next NFL season kicks off.
GLOW (2012) - Netflix
While coronavirus has yet to officially cancel this year's Wrestlemania, WWE's biggest annual match, fans have already been banned from events as a precaution, and an announcement of postponement or cancellation is expected soon. If that happens, professional wrestling's fan base could instead enjoy GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (2012).
As you follow the rise and fall of an entertaining women's wrestling league, the cheesy, rap-based 1980s commercials will make you laugh, the way retired performers reflect on how much the show meant to them will make you cry. The incredible personalities will make you want to follow up with Netflix's GLOW series until wrestling returns.
Hoop Dreams (1994) - HBO
The basketball fans to kill. Luckily, the classic Oscar-winning basketball documentary Hoop Dreams (1994) has a nearly three-hour runtime and makes use of every moment.
The story follows the lives of Arthur Agee and William Gates, two talented high school basketball players seeking to become college players on their path to achieving NBA dreams and bettering the quality of life for themselves and their families in inner-city Chicago. More than just sports, this is an epic tale of race, class, competition, ambition, and the American dream.