American Sports Story

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 ....

American Sports Story is a solid spin-off of the incredible series American Crime Story. It's basically the same show. I'm not even sure why they didn't just add this to another season of American Crime Story instead of renaming it. Unlike that show this stars mostly unknown actors who all do a great job portraying their real life counterparts. I see some people are upset because they think the shows goes easy on Aaron Hernandez and blames others for his mistakes. I don't see it that way at all. It shows every despicable thing he's done but there's a reason he ended up becoming the person he is. He had an abusive father, a mom who cared about herself above all others, how he was ashamed he was bisexual and that he had CTE. Those are all facts that led to him becoming who he is. He was not a good person and this shows that. American Sports Story is another compelling show in a long line of them from Ryan Murphy.

This is wonderfully done TV show about the Aaron Hernandez story. We've seen the plot written and discussed many times many ways, but not like this. This show goes deeper into the family, deeper into what made Aaron Aaron. Some of it may be embellished, but what fiction isn't? It's not considered a biography so there is room to be creative. The cast is great too. From seeing some of my All Rise folks, to the main stars, they execute in a way that even Bill Bellichick (spelling) could appreciate. So far episode 8 is the best of them all, but each one builds on each other. I can't wait to finish the season out .

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.