ESPN 30 for 30 ("Believeland" 3/31 at CLE Film Festival, ESPN airing 5/14 9:30 PM EST

I was supposed to go see this during the film festival. Instead, while my wife and stepson went, I sat at home, cut myself with razor blades, and poured salt in the cuts

I figured that would be both less painful and cheaper than reliving a bunch of agonizing memories that still sting.

Plus, I didn't have to fight the traffic either.

CLEistheCITY said:

Disagree. The better team didn't win that series. Roiding Manny and Papi single handedly won that series for the sox.

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Miocic finally faced Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum at UFC 198 on May 14th, 2016. He caught Werdum with a short right hook counter while backpedaling away from a flurry of punches in the first round, earning the championship while breaking Werdum's winning streak from June 2011 and the 51-year-old Cleveland sports curse.[43]


Literally every major sports outlet saying Stipe Miocic winning ends the curse. Get the fuck out of here.

Is there any way to watch this online?

I wasn't alive during the Browns run in the 80s so seeing that footage of all the fans was interesting. But the thing that caught my eye during the replay of it was just how big of a rockstar Kosar was in the pictures, him wearing the leather jacket, at his press conference in Miami announcing he's leaving. Hearing it from your parents is one thing, but actually seeing it was awesome.

I know this was an ESPN production so it’s to be expected, but there was way too much commentary by ESPN analysts and employees. The damn thing was practically narrated by Rizzo with how much screen time he got. Do Rizzo and Douchehammer really best represent the psyche and opinions of the average Cleveland fan?

I did enjoy Scott Raab’s contributions though. He’s not perfect either, but since he’s not an ESPN employee he doesn’t have to run everything through that company’s bullshit spin filter. You can tell he’s an actual die-hard Cleveland fan.

Overall I enjoyed it, although there were a lot of things I would have done differently if I were directing it. Far and away the best part of the film was the Earnest Byner stuff...that was really well done. As well as bits and pieces of the LeBron saga. The section about the Browns moving could probably be stretched to an entire film by itself because of how much backstory there was. And they probably didn’t have enough time for the ‘00s Indians, which I don’t fault them too much for.

My dad was at the game during The Drive and on the side where Denver kicked the field goal, behind the goal post. He said the field goal was no good, yet they called it good. He said it went straight, then went to the left and didn't go through, or something like that.

Simon said:

My dad was at the game during The Drive and on the side where Denver kicked the field goal, behind the goal post. He said the field goal was no good, yet they called it good. He said it went straight, then went to the left and didn't go through, or something like that.

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It was hooking wildly to the left when he kicked it. If there were replays back then it probably would have stood, but it sure looks like a miss.

This was a great watch for people, like myself, under the age of thirty. I remember watching the Indians lose in the WS in '95 and '97, but anything prior to that is not a memory. I was born in October 1988 so I've never seen a Browns team that was good. I know they won a playoff game in the nineties, but it's remarkable to me that a 27 year old can go this long without a football playoff winning memory. I remember the Browns moving but it didn't have a huge impact on me since the Indians were so good.

Two major takeaways from this documentary.
1.) like I mentioned, the Browns playoff droughts. Honestly I remember ONE playoff Browns game in my lifetime.. ONE. Realize that. ONE in 27 years.. By the way, we blew a 2nd half lead to our bitter rivals, the Steelers. ONE playoff game. They're my favorite football team but it's truly shocking their history the past quarter decade. Seeing the film of the Browns being good is such a crazy idea, that I truly enjoyed watching the film of Bernie and Co.
2.) the Indians roster in the nineties. I bring this up a lot amongst friends and family but that lineup was incredible. 1-9 was so stacked, we had Jim Thome and Manny batting 6 & 7. Unbelievable. It was great listening to Kenny talk about the way the team carried themselves. They were cocky and confident. Something an Indians team hasn't had since. People my age were born expecting heartbreak. No matter what happens, Cleveland loses. It was nice seeing/hearing people talk about the good ole days when this town was a winning city.

Thought the documentary was depressing, it was a very good watch and I really enjoyed it. Defiantly reccomend to anyone under the age of thirty. Its a great history lesson in sports depression.

CLEistheCITY said:

Is there any way to watch this online?

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It's available on watchESPN

All in all, I was actually disappointed.

Whenever ESPN would reference the Red Sox drought, they'd make sure they'd mention how loyal Red Sox were. They did that a little here, but only a little. Mostly media types (even ones I like: Rizz, Donovan, Windy, Raab) just recounting what had happened. No real insight into what it's like to be a fan, just "Hey, remember this shitty that happened? Didn't that suck."

Why is Wright Thompson somehow the expert on Cleveland's cultural history? Couldn't get, I don't know, anybody who actually lived in the city from the 50s-70s to speak. My dad would've made a better city historian, and he spent half the 60s in Vietnam.

The David Modell segment was complete trash. ESPiN really had to let the Modell family have a say? What a buffoon that guy is. I repeat, he can go fuck himself.

The Schottenheimer-Byner segment was easily the best. Not enough parts like that, though.

Overall, 3/10. You could read wikipedia and get the same amount of info in 10 minutes.

PS - Also, can we not get one person to try and explain why we were the road team in all 3 postseason series in 95? You'd think a documentary like this would at least acknowledge this.

Someone help me out...are we supposed to like the "Burn On" song that was played at the beginning of this doc? Also was played at the beginning of Major League.

I cant remember what documentary it was but I have a DVD of basically the exact same information. It is probably even presented better.

I still love it but the 90 minute cap hurt it big time. It always felt disjointed. It jumped from 88 to 95 to 97 back to 94 etc. Was slightly annoyed.

Rob said:

Someone help me out...are we supposed to like the "Burn On" song that was played at the beginning of this doc? Also was played at the beginning of Major League.

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Because when you think of Cleveland, you must think of the river catching on fire.

Rob said:

Someone help me out...are we supposed to like the "Burn On" song that was played at the beginning of this doc? Also was played at the beginning of Major League.

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No.

You're not supposed to like anything by Randy Newman. You're not supposed to like anything by Michael McDonald or Michael Bolton either.

They're all supposed to make your skin crawl.