Playmakers
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Season One (2003)
Rate:
5 out of 5
Viewed:
10/12
10/12:
Playmakers.
Hmm, is it an euphemism for Criminals? Absolutely yes! I remember
North Dallas Forty; it used to be the standard of what professional football world was
like. Then, there was The Program although it was about a big-time college football program.
Then, there came along a book that's called Pros and Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL which shocked me.
Somewhere in the fog was the release of Any Given Sunday which is actually accurate
in many ways. In 2003, ESPN did
the unthinkable by green-lighting Playmakers which had all the right elements of an HBO-produced show. It has a
reputation as one of the worst channels on television because nobody can be objective when it comes to sports
journalism. These guys are fraudulent hacks who like to give their opinion all day long, no matter how stupid or wrong they're.
Anyway, the infamous show ran for eleven episodes and then, under the pressure of NFL, was canceled. It was
never shown again on ESPN after being rewarded with a contract to broadcast NFL games on Monday night.
Why I found the show interesting is I was able to identify the characters with real-life NFL players and coaches.
Even more so, the show did predict a lot of events that eventually happened. Here's the list of
characters and their equivalents:
Demetrius Harris: Michael Vick with a bit of Lawrence Taylor in him
Leon Taylor: Tiki Barber (notice that he has twins and that he cheated on his wife with a white reporter)
Eric Olczyk: Kyle Vanden Bosch look-alike
Tony Denison: Mike Smith, coach of the Atlanta Falcons
Derek McConnell: Brett Favre with Tony Romo's bug eyes or Ben Roethlisberger
Phil Chambers: Josh McDaniels
Buffalo James: Leon Lett
Gene Wilbanks: Jerry Jones, but it can be Arthur Blank (again with Michael Vick)
Guard Dog Fredericks: Jeremy Shockey
Thad Guerwitcz: Wes Welker
Latrell Hawkins: Robert Griffith III
Samantha Lovett: Rachel Nichols
The Slimy Reporters: ESPN
Playmakers is indeed gripping, provocative, and arresting all rolled into one. But after maybe eight episodes, it finally
ran out of steam because they had covered just about everything as possible. Then, they started to recycle the past stuff to
fill in the rest of the episodes.
Yet I've got to credit it for making me laugh so hard. I think it's one of the funniest shows ever because it keeps
piling on drama after another as if it's a race to see if the next subplot can be the most dramatic and then go further.
In other words, Playmakers is borderline ridiculous.
Some reviewers admitted they cared about the characters. Very funny. Honestly, there's nobody to like.
The ending...it's perfect which reminds me of what happened to the Minnesota Vikings in 2003 when it started out
6-0 and was shut out of the division title and then the playoffs by the 3-12 Arizona Cardinals with seconds
left in the last game of the season.
No matter what the Cougars' record is (what city is it from again?), it's totally meaningless. By the way, what's with
the lame "Happy Thanksgiving" logo at the end? At least, the Disney trademark is a nice touch by displaying its sponsorship of such
a raunchy TV series.
All in all, Playmakers is an extremely funny but melodramatic show.