American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez

I was pleasantly surprised I didn't think that this would be as good as it was. My heart bleeds for Aaron after watching this he was a terribly tortured soul. Prior to this I thought that he was just an arrogant jerk. Being molested as a kid really set his tragic life on the path that it went down. Not to say that he was totally innocent and as a man he had choices but choose the wrong paths. It is so sad that such a talented guy ended up like he did. Family was definitely dysfunctional and his dad was crazy. His poor brother was full of envy I just hope that he found his self obviously it was not a football career.

This show just makes me question the league more than anything...the drug use especially...so everyone is high now? OK cool but the league is also aware of the signs of brain injury they didn't stop to assess this dude a little more? He was showing signs when Murphy was pressing him. Seems the league doesn't even care about the players they profit off of

The story is bland for all the issues it has, and could have been more elaborate with the actual situations he was facing. It was too much about irrelevant issues...but the actor portrayals are believable so I'll give it that

It's quite a downward spiral for him and in a way I feel so bad for his struggles and the mess he left behind but he could have gotten help too so ....

Everyone knows that producer Ryan Murphy always does the best work and keeps it real with his series with real life things. And this is another winner for "FX", as the first season of his "American Sports Story" which focuses on the rise and fall of New England Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez. The episodes follow his life as a teen and upbringing in Bristol, CT to the University of Florida as a gator to his drafting into the NFL as a Patriot. The time frame focused on is mid 2000's to 2010's as the series feels real as it relies on interviews, transcripts, and documents, with calls and reporting by the Boston Globe even as Murphy makes it real showing Aaron's drug use, possible bi sexual life, and painful CTE. And actor Josh Rivera really gets into the mind of the character as it was interesting seeing a sports figure challenged battling personal and private demons.

After having seen the entire season, Josh's performance was, to say the very least, both remarkable and outstanding. No amount of training or acting classes makes this happen. This is raw talent. Gene Hackman's portrayal as Sam Cayhall in The Chamber was always my number one most favorite performance. Josh's performance is on par which is a tough call as Josh was unknown to me prior to his performance in American Sports Story. To say that I would recommend this series to anyone goes without saying. His extraordinary ability to "become" Aaron is truly brilliant. Josh portrays the torture, the pain and the ecstasy exquisitely. A true artist in every sense of the word. I have a feeling we are going to see a great deal more of Josh and that he will be an inspiration to others.

Do yourself a favor, watch this series. You'll be glad you did. I think Aaron would be too.

Hats off to you Josh. It's very rare we are lucky enough to be exposed to your level of genius.

American Sports Story is another scripted anthology series from Ryan Murphy that focuses on sports figures this time. This first season is about the tragic life of Aaron Hernandez and his rise and fall from being an NFL star. It does a good job making you feel empathy for Hernandez for all that he had to go through growing up but it doesn't make you feel any sympathy because he still made his choices. It doesn't take any of the guilt away from Hernandez but shows how the people in his life influenced the man he became. The show also does a good job showing the story from different perspectives of the man Hernandez was. The best part of the show is Josh Rivera portrayal of Aaron Hernandez. He does such a great job. He even looks like him except for being a few inches shorter. I'm looking forward to future seasons from this show.