A 30-year retrospective on the 1985 Chicago Bears, from how they were assembled to their swaggering, dominant run to Super Bowl victory.

The '85 Bears

Jason Hehir

Dave Porter

Fantastic Lies

Four Falls Of Buffalo

A profile of the rise and fall of USC Trojans football during Pete Carroll's coaching tenure in the 2000s.

Trojan War

An exploration of the turbulent relationship between Olympic wrestling brothers Mark and Dave Schultz and their eccentric benefactor, John du Pont, culminating in the murder of Dave by du Pont.

The Prince of Pennsylvania

A look at how Bill McCartney mixed two religions—college football and evangelical Christianity—while serving as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes in the 1990s, a tenure that included a national championship.

The Gospel According to Mac

A look at how Evander Holyfield spent years (1989–91 & 1995–96) trying to arrange his first fight with Mike Tyson in an effort to gain the respect he knew he could only gain by defeating Tyson in the ring.

Chasing Tyson

A profile of the Buffalo Bills teams of the early 1990s, when the franchise became the first team to play in—and lose—four consecutive Super Bowls.

A 10-year retrospective of the Duke lacrosse case, in which a party thrown by members of the school's men's lacrosse team led to an accusation of rape—a claim that, though later proven to be false, ignited both a firestorm that damaged the school's prestige and an investigation that ruined careers.

A profile of the Orlando Magic teams of the mid-1990s, led by Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, who gained prominence both on the NBA hardwoods and in popular culture, before Shaq's departure to the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency and injury issues for Penny ended the Magic's budding dynasty before it could ever take flight.[62]

This Magic Moment

A look at the sports curse that befell Cleveland since the NFL's Browns last brought a major pro sports championship to the Ohio city in 1964. The film debuted one month before LeBron James and the Cavaliers' won the 2016 NBA Finals, after which the film was re-released with an updated ending on June 30, 2016.[64]

Believeland

The connection between the lives and careers of former New York Mets Dwight "Doc" Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.

Doc & Darryl

A profile of the iconic Houston Cougars men's basketball teams of the 1980s, fronted by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, whose explosive play and highlight-making slam dunks earned the team the nickname Phi Slama Jama.

Phi Slama Jama

A look at John Daly's rise from obscurity to two major golf championship wins and fall back to mediocrity.

Hit It Hard

A look at the notorious 1988 Notre Dame–Miami football game and its personal and cultural impact. Creadon was a senior at Notre Dame when the game took place; his roommate that year was one of the people behind the controversial t-shirt that gave the game and the film its name. (2 hours in length)

Catholics Vs Convicts

Two longtime friends, pro wrestling impresario Vince McMahon and NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol (Charlie Ebersol's father), team to form the XFL; the film follows the league's rushed development, its innovative approaches to televised football, and its rapid implosion. The ending foreshadows McMahon's plans to launch a new XFL in 2020 and the Ebersols' upcoming involvement in the competing Alliance of American Football in 2019.

This Was the XFL

The life and career of John Calipari, one of the most polarizing figures in modern college basketball, weaving his story around that of his 2015–16 Kentucky team.

One and Not Done

A three-part series, initially airing on consecutive nights, exploring the Celtics–Lakers rivalry, focusing mainly on the 1980s era of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson but also examining the entire history of the NBA through the rivalry.

Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies (1)

The Celtics-Lakers rivalry ramps up in the 1984 Finals as a cast of characters–led by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson–who changed the NBA finally went head-to-head for a title.

Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies (2)

Conclusion of a look at the 1980s Celtics-Lakers rivalry, focusing on the three years after the 1984 NBA Finals, as the teams’ disdain for each other gradually turns to respect while meeting in two more Finals.

Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies (3)

The careers of Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, their stormy 19-year partnership on New York City radio; and the duo's influence on their Big Apple audience and sports talk radio in general.

Mike and the Mad Dog

George Best, Northern Ireland's legendary star, remains one of the most naturally gifted soccer players ever. Best's skill and exuberance lifted Manchester United, but his career was essentially over before he turned 29, the result of his battle with alcoholism.

George Best: All by Himself

In any other year, the 1988 team from Dallas's Carter High School would have gone down as one of the greatest in Texas football history, featuring 28 players who received college scholarship offers, eight of whom would eventually play professional football. Fighting off racial prejudice and a grades controversy—not to mention the team that would overshadow them in book and film (Odessa Permian)—Carter would claim the state title, only to be rocked to their core when six of their players were involved in an armed robbery that's affected the community's reputation to this day; the grades controversy would ultimately lead the UIL to strip the team of the title.

What Carter Lost

During the 1987 players' strike, the Washington Redskins field a roster of replacement players that goes 3–0 and helps pave the way for the Redskins' Super Bowl victory. Thirty years on, those players bear the stigma of being dismissed as "scabs" by fans in general and Redskins management in particular.

Year of the Scab

The unlikely rise and sudden fall of boxer Tommy Morrison.

Tommy

The life and times of professional wrestling legend Ric Flair.

Nature Boy

A look at the relationship between NFL coaches Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick. Co-produced with NFL Films.

The Two Bills

The saga surrounding Indiana University firing coach Bob Knight in 2000.

The Last Days of Knight

The life of NFL legend Junior Seau, from his upbringing in a Samoan immigrant family, through his path to NFL superstardom and status as a league icon, ending in his seemingly inexplicable suicide in 2012.

Seau

A chronicle of Buster Douglas's shocking knockout of the then-undefeated Mike Tyson at the Tokyo Dome on February 11, 1990.

42 to 1

A look at Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, focusing specifically on a 24-hour span in 1992 when he sandwiched an NFL game between a pair of Major League Baseball postseason games in cities separated by 1,000 miles.

Deion's Double Play

The highs and lows of Felipe López, born into a family of Dominican immigrants to become a star high school and (at St. John's) collegiate basketball player, and the contentment he finds after a less-than-successful pro career.

The Dominican Dream

How Janet Guthrie faced scorn, skepticism, and subpar equipment to shock the racing world by becoming the first female driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.

Qualified

A look at one of the biggest rivalries in sports, that of competitive eaters Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut.

The Good, The Bad, The Hungry

30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This currently includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series under the ESPN Films Presents title in 2011–2012, and a series of 30 for 30 Shorts shown through the ESPN.com website. The series has also expanded to include Soccer Stories, which aired in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and audio podcasts.  This entry refers to the main Volumes of the series presented by ESPN

The '85 Bears

Seasons4

Season 3 Episodes32

Crew2

Discussion

Episode Summary