Some events are so huge that we automatically record and remember our locations when we hear about them through the media. I remember where I was when I heard the news of 9/11, the Oklahoma City Bombings, the falling of the Berlin Wall, and yes during the OJ Simpson Bronco chase down an LA freeway on Friday, July 17th, 1994 (I was at a Tribe game gathered around a television monitor, ignoring the then stellar Indians). I knew that I was witnessing a great media event, but I did not realize that it had been the capper to a red letter day in sports history. July 17th, 1994 by Brett Morgen replays the sporting events of that day, while cutting back to that infamous chase. When not revisting the crime scene in Brentwood or watching the Bronco chase, we are shown New Yorkers mobbing the streets in celebration of the Rangers’ Stanley Cup victory while they await game five of the NBA Finals where Patrick Ewing made his last title bid with Knicks (Costas is preoccupied with chase). Also we are shown the last U.S. Open bid of Arnold Palmer which was also sadly overshadowed by the chase. So far, this is the only 30 for 30 episode to not feature talking head commentary and it features mostly archival footage of that day. The filler is older footage of Simpson’s playing days, Arnold Palmer as a young man, and the Rangers failed bids for the Stanley Cup. The result is an extremely satisfying documentary, which captures our feelings of the time.
***1/2
