Photo: Netflix
There’s something special about sports documentaries. While we love the spectacle of sports itself, we also love the back stories surrounding football, soccer, baseball, and other sports almost as much. It’s always fascinating to see what happens behind the scenes and away from the cameras on game day, as well as the stories that impact the games and the lives of the athletes themselves.
Recently, Netflix dropped a documentary called Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist. This multi-part documentary series dealt with the story of Manti Te’o and the shocking story of his catfishing during a pivotal football season at Notre Dame.
In honor of this documentary landing a few weeks ago, we figured the time was right to highlight some of our favorite sports documentaries of all time and rank them. Keep scrolling to see all of the epic documentaries.
Ranked Sports Docs
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10. 'Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist'
This docu-series is told both from the point of view of former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o and the person who catfished him. It involves a shocking death (or does it?) and a hoax for the ages.
Photo: Netflix
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9. 'When We Were Kings'
This boxing documentary takes an inside look at everything from the brutal dictator and the relationship between fighters Muhammad Ali and George Foremen as they battled in the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire in 1974.
Photo: Gramercy Pictures
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8. 'OJ: Made in America'
We all know about the famous OJ Simpson trial. This documentary goes into greater detail about how Simpson went from college athlete to All-Star NFL player to alleged murderer.
Photo: ESPN
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7. 'Free Solo'
While this documentary has nothing to do with Han Solo being imprisoned in carbonite, it is about professional rock climber Alex Honnold as he attempted to solo climb El Capitan’s 900-meter face at Yosemite National Park.
Photo: National Geographic Documentary Films
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6. 'The Price of Gold'
If you were around in the '90s, you’re well-aware of Tonya Harding. This documentary takes a closer look at the infamous figure skater and why her life (and a fellow figure skater) took such a tragic, violent turn.
Photo: ESPN
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5. 'The Last Dance'
This 10-part documentary series goes into detail about the six NBA championships won by the Chicago Bulls with stars like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and coach Phil Jackson.
Photo: ESPN
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4. 'Hoop Dreams'
If you only watch one basketball documentary, make it Hoop Dreams. This early '90s documentary centers around two talented Black youths named Arthur Agee and William Gates as they dream of playing in the NBA one day.
Photo: Fine Line Features
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3. 'The Battered Bastards of Baseball'
This 2014 Netflix documentary is the story of the Portland Mavericks, a now-defunct minor league baseball team in Portland, Oregon. They only existed for five seasons and were an independent team with no MLB affiliation.
Photo: Netflix
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2. 'Hillsborough'
In 1989, a stampede in the standing room area of Hillsborough Stadium in England during a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest resulted in 96 deaths and more than 700 injuries. This documentary examines what went wrong to create such a tragedy.
Photo: ESPN
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1. 'The Two Escobars'
This haunting, emotional documentary explores the connection between Colombian football player Andres Escobar and drug lord Pablo Escobar surrounding the footballer’s mysterious murder.
Photo: ESPN
