I’m digging this 30 for 30 on Brian Bosworth.
Bosworth distinguishes between “Brian” and “The Boz”. Brian is the guy who played football because he loved the game. The Boz is a character, a thing trying to maximize value from image. In the show, Bosworth goes though his stuff from his OU days with his son. It’s obvious he’s remorseful over the things he did back then.
Bosworth was one of the first athletes who attempted to maximize income based upon image manipulation. He used his time as a star linebacker at Oklahoma University to generate a 10-year, $11M contract with the Seahawks. In retrospect, that guaranteed his future. He only lasted 24 games in the NFL. One of the comments say Bosworth was a little small to play in the NFL, which is simply not true. Bosworth wasn’t giant, but he certainly had the size to play in the league. BSP does note Bosworth’s shoulders crumbled, which may have resulted from his admitted steroid use. Too much bulk for the body frame is our guess even though there’s no way it could ever be proven.
One brief clip states Bosworth was Deion Sanders before Deion Sanders. So, so true. No one knew linebackers before they came to the NFL. Bosworth had achieved notoriety before he entered the league. Even today, he’s recognized as one of the greatest college linebackers ever.
A lot has been made of Bosworth getting run over by Bo Jackson. In a way, this documentary sets the record straight. Bo Jackson did what he did. BSP saw Bo Jackson play and what he did to Bosworth was not spectacular. The 90-yard run was the result of a bad angle and Jackson’s incredible speed. The Jackson sequences show way more that they are football plays.
The best thing is, after Bosworth wrote a book on OU football resulting in the program getting placed on probation, he was able to apologize and return to the program. It’s a great example of some sort of redemption.
