Always A Bridesmaid... "Four Falls of Buffalo"

The Four Falls of Buffalo (2015)

Directed by Ken Rodgers

The Story:

In 1991, the Buffalo Bills played in Super Bowl 25. They would play again in the next 3 Super Bowls, the only team to ever make it to 4 straight Super Bowls.

However, they also have lived in infamy for failing to win any of them.

This is their story of how things didn't go so well for them, and yet, they may very well be the greatest team to never win the big game.

Another fine entry in the ESPN 30 for 30 series, but that is becoming a redundant statement.

This time, the focus is on the 1991-1994 version of the Buffalo Bills.  Perhaps some of these names ring a bell:

Marv Levy
Jim Kelly
Thurman Thomas
Bruce Smith
Andre Reed
Don Beebe
Steve Tasker
Scott Norwood
Frank Reich

They're all here, and they all reflect on what it took to get them to 4 straight Super Bowls.
This team was good.
Really good.

I wasn't even that big of a fan of the team back in the day, and I was amazed by how many names and faces I instantly recognized. It was an amazing group that looked like it could beat anyone on paper.

But in the NFL, on any given Sunday, well, that's why they play the game.

All of that said, if you like the NFL, you'll love this documentary.

Even if you don't (cue the thumbs up from my wife) you'll still be captivated by what this team went through and how the team and the fans responded to the situation.

For those that lived through those times, the Bills became the butt of the joke, but 25 years later, what they did was an amazing accomplishment.

When teams can't even get back to repeat Super Bowls (win or lose) and some can't even make it to the playoffs the following season, the Bills are one of the greatest underdog stories of all times.

The biggest problem, the American public (and Buffalo players and fans especially) never got the Hollywood happy ending of seeing the underdog win.

Time heals all wounds and a lot of time has passed and hopefully the wounds in Buffalo are mostly healed.

The interviews with Scott Norwood are especially painful. He still takes that first loss so hard, bearing it all on his shoulders alone, and you can't help but feel for him.

The wonderful thing though, is his teammates and city don't blame him. As they say in the interviews, the game never should have been decided by that kick. There were plenty of other plays that failed that cost Buffalo that win.

The following year, Harry Connick Jr.'s band was the culprit behind Thurman Thomas' missing helmet which when you watch the replays may very well have cost them that entire game.

So many things to relive and to get a new appreciation for in this one.

Highly recommended and well worth your time.

Streaming on Netflix as of this writing, and still airing on ESPN, check your local listings.

Final Grade: A