Sunday, February 3, 2013

You Don't Know Bo

By crossing two professional sports seemingly without effort and with freakish, natural athletic ability, Bo Jackson established a legacy of near mythic proportions. Born in small town Alabama and becoming a Heisman winner at Auburn, Bo was a star athlete for the L.A. Raiders in the fall and Kansas City Royals in the summer, before his athletic career was cut short by a bizarre accident. "You Don't Know Bo" is a 30 for 30 entry that falls into what has become a standard trap for the series in that it is heavy on the commentary and exceedingly light on the actual documentation. Jackson's story is told with so much "expert" analysis, and a lot of hyperbole at that, that it is even a stretch to call this film a documentary. The sequences actually featuring Bo and his exploits are interesting, and he seems like a decent enough guy, but hearing a bunch of 40 year old losers talk about his Nike commercials and their fondness for Tecmo Bowl has a counterintuitive effect and diminishes his brief, yet significant legacy.