With the release of Quarterback (and Captains, Drive to Survive, and Full Swing before it), Netflix has now created four inside-look documentaries at the lives of different professional athletes.
The point of these kinds of productions isn’t necessarily to feature the biggest names, per se. It’s to tell an interesting story, regardless of that individual’s quality. Because, in the end, we want to learn something new about someone who carries intrigue and maybe a slight air of mystery about them.
That got me thinking. Now that the NFL, Men’s soccer, F1, and golf have all been covered by the relentless streaming-service machine, what other significant sports trios should get this up-close-and-personal treatment? There’s so much room for flexibility and creativity that I almost think it’d be a mistake for Netflix not to branch out elsewhere. Honestly, I’d probably gobble up anything that lets me see the day-to-day life of a sports star.
But maybe that’s just me. (I don’t think it is.)
From a few baseball stars and WNBA dynamos to the next Big Things in the NFL at the college level, here are a few ideas for Netflix to tackle next in the first-person sports documentary world.
My parameters for my selections are simple:
- An athlete can be a big name/star in their respective league or sport.
- An athlete can be merely Very Good as a member of a contending and/or championship team.
- An athlete can be some kind of rising star or young phenom with a seemingly impossible amount of hype behind their professional prospects.
- Athletes in one league or sport are grouped together as a trio to offer three contrasting kinds of day-to-day perspectives.
- Above all, I suspect that the names I picked would simply present the most interesting stories to learn about. That’s why I chose them. Point blank.
Note: This list is in no particular order.