What is 24/7 and why should you watch it (even though you don’t give a shit about hockey)?
What is 24/7 and why should you watch it (even though you don’t give a shit about hockey)?
24/7 is an HBO mini-series (by which I mean there have been two seasons, four episodes one -hour long) that follows two rival teams leading up to one of the most watched games in regulation--the Winter Classic.
In it’s inaugural season, 2010, HBO follows around the Penguins and the Capitals for one month, with one episode a week, ending shortly after the Winter Classic. This year it was the Rangers and the Flyers.
This is a reality show on the fly.
They have a week, at most, to edit their episodes, and they must change based on events that happen. In the first episode, Claude Giroux is pronounced out with a concussion. The episode aired Wednesday. The proclamation of Giroux’s concussion came the Tuesday night before it aired.
24/7 is an unprecedented look inside of two pro-sports hockey teams. It showcases everything from superstitions, to what coaches say during intermission during a game, to chirping on the ice. And more.
If all you’ve ever done is gone, huh, hockey, that seems weird you should give this show a try. It doesn’t hide a thing. It gives you the wins and the losses and the fucking pain that lingers after a hard fought game. And the victory song that plays in the other team’s locker room.
This is a show that’s won awards. A show that goes where cameras haven’t before. A show that shows you a different side of a game. The opening line from the Pens/Caps season goes, “Would you recognize a game from the inside out?”. The narrator’s lines are so poignant that you feel everything these guys do. At some point you’re going to sympathize with the team you don’t even root for. Just wait for it.
This is a show that you wish everyone would have done. If Stargate had done anything like this I would be over the moon.
There are brutal truths that come out on this show and there are moments of pure laughter. It’s one hundred percent entertaining and one hundred percent informative.
If you’ve read this far and are still going, but I don’t like hockey why the hell should I watch this show, here’s why:
It’s interesting. It’s so fucking interesting that you can’t look away. These guys have foul moths, are rude on the ice, make fun of other players, but they’re real, honest to god people.
If that’s not enough, well, okay, there is a lot of, did that really just happen moments. For example, just tonight a Ranger told a fellow Ranger that he had pretty eyes. They also help each other pick out clothes. Because they do amazing things like that.
But seriously. If you don’t want to watch a game--don’t. They’re long and they might be boring sometimes, but this is a show that everyone should watch. It’s top notch, no joke. The music is right on. The narrating is right on. The camera angles, the lighting, the confessionals are all right on. And, hey, maybe you’ll learn a thing or two about hockey. Or at least you’ll learn that Sidney Crosby always sits next to Marc-Andre Fleury on the Penguins charter flights.
I can’t say enough about this show other than you should watch it if you aren’t. Seriously, if you have some time to spare and have even just a smidgen of interest in a behind-the-scenes look at a professional athlete’s life, watch this show.
If you're interested, the show is on youtube. If you don't youtube, let me know, I can probably dig up some dl links for you.
Here's a clip of what you've been missing:
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