Review: One Night in Vegas

I've been constantly impressed by ESPN's "30 for 30" documentary series, even if it was conceived by someone who I think is flailing artistically.* But it has been mostly entertaining and thought-provoking. When I heard there was going to be an episode about the night Tupac was shot, and the parallels between the rapper and Mike Tyson, my DVR couldn't be set fast enough.

*Two things here. First, Bill Simmons has been an idol of mine and is the reason I got into sports writing, along with Hunter S. Thompson. I still read him and enjoy his columns. But my second thought is that he has given up and been generally lazy since becoming semi-famous. He has replaced columns with podcasts, and lost a ton of respect from me since I learned that he blocks anyone on Twitter that says anything remotely bad about him. I'm not bitter, I just disagree with the thought process there. The only other person I know that does this is Jason Whitlock. I fear for Simmons' career.

I was very excited for "One Night In Vegas". Gauging from the other docs, I was ready for some inside info and details I never knew about concerning Tupac's death.

None of that was there.

Basically, "One Night In Vegas" was nothing more than stylistic masturbation, trying hard as hell to force the white audience to accept as many urban stereotypes as possible. Testimonials from leaders in the black community such as Maya Angelou and Michael Eric Dyson served little purpose other than to shout "THIS IS ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE". Same was the reasoning for interrupting the story with less-than-impressive "poets", who evoked images of auction blocks during Def Poetry-esque rants that brought nothing to the narrative at all.

I know a lot of these "30 for 30" episodes are about posturing and embellishment (such as last week's "Little Big Men", who tried to persuade us that Little League baseball saved America in the 80s), but damn. Anyone who has ever been remotely interested in Tupac* knows all of the facts presented here. What was the point?

*As someone who doesn't listen to a lot of rap, Tupac has always been my favorite artist. I completely buy into the fact that he was a misguided and misunderstood philosopher of sorts. I also believe he was an extremely important figure in black culture at the time. But not everything written or filmed about him is as deep as the man himself.

There is no point, as I can see. The film spent most of its allotted hour explaining to us who Tupac and Tyson were (again, proving that this was directed towards a white audience). The night of importance was merely a fact getting in the way of the director's intention: shoving Tupac and Tyson's culture in the face of ESPN viewers.

This was a disservice. I would love to know more about what happened that night, more about the feuds between Death Row Records and gangs, and how it all came crashing down on that fateful night. But this film wasn't about that. This film wasn't about anything.

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You Don't Know What You Think You Know

When I graduated high school, I made it a point to become as politically involved as possible. I joined a political message board (dude, I was 18, give me a break) and talked about campaigns, war and everything under Washington's sun all day long. Eventually, I became a moderator on the site and spent every waking minute discussing and researching what I believed to be important issues.

Except I wasn't. As I delved deeper into the political arena, I realized that everything important happens behind closed doors. Everything. And they stay behind those doors forever.

Of course, there are those Watergate moments that make the common person believe that injustices within politics eventually see the light of day, but those are rare occurrences. In fact, conspiracy theorists might say that scandals are leaked on purpose to give citizens that exact feeling of security. Believe what you will.

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I do know one thing for sure: wherever there is money and power, there is a whole lot of dirty shit going on that you will likely never know about. And here's another thing I know: there is a lot of money and power in collegiate sports.

I am never surprised when I hear of some behind-the-scenes scandal regarding the NCAA. Reggie Bush receiving gifts is about as shocking as hearing another Senator got caught with his pants down. It happens, it's a part of the game. What does surprise me (but probably shouldn't, when you look at people's political knowledge), is the reactions from the fans.

When the Lew Perkins scandal broke out, you would think that the guy was apart of an assassination cover up based off the general amazement of commentators. It was simply inconceivable to Joe Sports Fan that a school's AD had overseen ticket fraud and accepted free exercise equipment. People who react this way are surely not into politics.

I, for one, would be shocked if this was the worst thing Perkins has over done. I am quite certain that the athletic departments at USC and Memphis are dirtier than we imagine, and the same goes for any school who has had big-money success in recent years. You simply do not gain that much money and power without leaving a trail of dead in your wake.

But so it goes, as we see nearly every month with Senator X or Governor Y who gets caught with illegal funds from lobbyists or whatever other scandal that finds its ways to newspapers. With the millions upon millions that get shoveled around in NCAA sports, you would be very naive to believe that the movers and shakers are nothing more than savvy businessmen with nothing to hide.

This is why I haven't paid much attention to the Lew Perkins or Reggie Bush story, because it's the same story the has been and will be told. I know these things go on every day, I just don't know the specifics. There is no knowledge to be gained from the details, only reputations and programs to destroy. If that's your idea of justice, go for it, lynch 'em. Just don't act like Perkins is a scumbag and not the norm, because you're wrong about that.

If you're reading this, more than likely you are a sports fan. You're not a political junkie with inside information. If this scandal surprised you at all, then you know less about the going-ons in the world than 18 year olds who frequent message boards.

Stick to Saturdays, stick to what you know.

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