Believeland

When this film debuted on ESPN this year, Cleveland had been the most hapless city with at least three major league sports teams. This is because no city in this category has gone as long as they have without winning one sort of championship or another for their sports teams-- more than 50 years! The last time they were champs was back before the Superbowl...with the old Cleveland Browns becoming NFL champions several times. As for the team since then as well as the Indians and Cavaliers...losers since. And don't even ask about hockey (the film sure didn't)...as the old Barons left the city decades ago. Unfortunately (or fortunately), right after the film was released, the Cavaliers DID win the NBA championship...talk about great timing!

What follows is a history of the sports teams of Cleveland with an emphasis on the league titles. And, there is also a history of the city--with the spiraling down of Cleveland as a city mirroring the spiraling down of the quality of their teams. So, when things get worse for the city, it seemed to also create a pessimism that somehow became attached to the sports franchises. It's all very interesting and very much what you'd expect from a "30 for 30" production. Well made and worth seeing....even if the Cleveland Cavaliers just broke this supposed curse.

30 for 30: Believeland (2016)

*** (out of 4)

The latest 30 for 30 episode was meant to tie in with the NBA Championship as LeBron James had his team reaching the finals for the second straight year. I decided to watch this after the Cavs fell down 3-1 making it seem like the point of this documentary will have to wait another year. The documentary covers the history of Cleveland sports as they've gone over fifty years without a major championship, which is the only city who has three major sports.

BELIEVELAND is a good, not great, film that seems to lose it's focus towards the end because it becomes more about LeBron and not just Cleveland and their suffering fans. The film's highlights deal with the football team leaving the city and of course the Cleveland Indians classic World Series title against the Marlins. The interviews are all good and there's no question that it's an entertaining film but it's certainly far from the best.