American Sports Story

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.

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 isn't as bad as some reviews state. As a football fan it's fun enough to see a lot of familiar characters and programs reenacted the way this show does. Each episode does just enough to entertain the typical murder mystery fans. Character dialogue is pretty grounded and realistic. The actors all do a good job.

Some of the bads would be the unimaginative camera work that comes off cheap and soapy. The pace of the show is a little slow. It's also possible that people familiar with the events that took place in real life will find that this Aaron Hernandez story isn't all that interesting.

Watch it with your wife, watch it with your girlfriend, they'll probably like the show and you can tell them a little about how college and professional teams work this way, and when you shout out the cameos they finally be interested in your knowledge of football.

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.