Blue Chips Movie Review

"The business always gets in the way of basketball" 

~ Jason Kidd, Dalls Mavericks ~

The above quote from NBA champion Jason Kidd could in no way better describe the core theme of the film "Blue Chips".   It is also the best way to summarize the current situation regarding the 2011 NBA lockout.  The reason I decided to to take on the task of watching NBA related movies during the lockout was to ignore the insignificant financial based meeting updates and instead watch movies that were all about the love of the game.  However, almost as if a sign from the NBA gods, I chose to watch a much talked about film that I had never seen and was quickly reminded that you can only stick your head in the sand for so long.  The thing that makes "Blue Chips" such a great movie is that it takes you away from the court and into the offices that put together the teams, and the sometimes ugly steps taken to reach success.

Nick Nolte (Hulk, Tropic Thunder) plays coach Pete Bell, a once successful coach now on the brink of his first losing season in years with his team, the Western University Dolphins.  Coach Bell is introduced to the audience while in a fit of rage at half-time during a game in which his team is being blown out.  There seems to be no intention to motivate the players throughout his rant as his team is clearly lacking any type of confidence that could lead to a come back victory.  This was a powerful scene that left me feeling uncomfortable at moments, knowing young men go through this several times throughout an already stressful college athletic career.  The director did a great job of showing the arena patrons, cheerleaders and bands enjoying themselves during the half-time show, oblivious to what the players were going through in the locker room.

During a post game interview a reporter asks Bell if he believes the lack luster performance is due to the fact the school has been unsuccessful in recruiting players because of an alleged scandal.  The scandal in question being that of "point shaving".  A term used when a player is paid to deliberately affect the point deficit  Las Vegas, Nevada gambling houses have created based on inside information, predictions or corruption.  

As the film progresses we learn that besides the scandal, Western University is losing out on recruiting great players to East Coast schools, which have better TV coverage and booster systems, a forbidden practice of paying players or providing gifts to their families to have them enroll in a particular schools program.  

The thing I love about this theme is that it divides the viewers into 2 groups, forcing them to ask themselves what if anything is acceptable when it comes to paying college athletes.

In 2010 it was estimated that the NCAA made $750 million dollars through ticket sales, TV deals and sponsorships.  The school with the best players get the best of all the deals previously mentioned and this is why it has become practice for some schools to have boosters sway a potential player's mind when it comes to picking which schools to join.  It is against school regulations for any player to profit from their participation in athletics, and penalties range from fines, staff firings and even bans from tournament play. 

The argument that many have is that if the NCAA can make $750 million dollars from their athletes performances and images, why can't the players be compensated.  However, in most cases the argument ends there.  Simply put, schools are for education, not sports entertainment, and there is no doubt that athletics is a great way for many students to earn an great education.  However, if schools were allowed to begin paying players, the schools with the biggest bank accounts would have the best players and competition would suffer, which is exactly what has happened in the NBA, and is a major piece of the lockout negotiations.  Just as it costs money to run an NBA franchise, it costs money to run a college basketball program, and it is also important to mention that everyone involved in NCAA athletics is paid except for the players.

I stand on both sides of the fence with the belief that if millions are made off of someone's hard work, they should be compensated.  I also believe that allowing this to happen opens up a type of Pandora's Box where other students in other sports and under varying scholarships could demand a form of compensation for their works, efforts and contributions to the school.

In many cases I sympathized with the underprivileged athletes in the film when accepting gifts, and at the same time disgusted by some of their parents greed, some of which often seemed like they were selling their children.

"Blue Chips" concludes with a what I must admit is one of the most bitter sweet sport speeches I have ever heard, but to go into further detail would spoil the film.  The movie has no concrete or cliche ending most are accustomed to seeing in sports films, which I found was very refreshing, especially considering the film was made in 1994. 

In the end, "Blue Chips" is a must see film for any sports fan who wants to see the dark side of sports that most fans turn a blind eye to, and forces them to face it.