I just watched the 9.79* episode about Ben Johnson and his doping scandal and it was a hot mess. Interviews were thrown at the screen and you had to figure out who was saying what and why. It was fun, but it was hard to understand what was going on. Nothing about the doping itself was talked about. We didn't understand how they doped. It's just not something you have recordings of. Here every single scene makes sense. It's a strike by NFL players in the league. They don't tell us why they strike, but I assume it's a wage issue. It's a bit hard to root for millionaires asking for more money. The teams are replaced by scabs, ergo non-professional players. Redskins is early out and get the best replacements while other teams replace players at the last moment. While the scabs are hated and shouted at by the striking players they still love this opportunity. The fans are in two minds about it. They initially don't want their favorite players gone. But many fans are not rich people and don't quite feel for these rich players. The league agrees to keep showing their games on TV and fans do watch it as... well... it's football. The Redskins scabs do really well and win all their 3 games. Most are cut, one former player even has to return to prison where he stays for 4 years. The fans loved the team, and the best talent stay and help the team win Superbowl. Then there is a big whining period in the doc where the scabs complain about not getting a Superbowl ring. But the league just didn't give the team money for it so it's kinda pointless to complain to the team about it. Complain to the league. Before that we saw how the pros started to return pretty fast as they wanted to play and wanted the cash. We are talking about many millions and players who waste money left and right. So the strike was doomed to fail.
It's a great episode where the strike, the interviews, the training, the games. Everything is shown and it's easy to follow. While the episode feels a bit small it's really all about the experience and people. I liked it! It also shows you a bit about this concept where a league overall is run by the teams so players can strike. In soccer in Europe this doesn't happen because the teams pay the players and play in leagues. The teams don't own the leagues. Single players often do refuse to play though to get a transfer and higher wage somewhere else. But there is no "outside the league". You have a contract with a single team.