This has been quite the crazy year, with all kinds of projects and live events being put on hold. Believe it or not though, some form of a college football season is just around the corner. How are teams preparing? That’s exactly what Our Time: Oklahoma State Football, a new series on ESPN+, is focused on.
The new series gives football fans a behind-the-scenes look at how one of the most prominent football teams in the country is getting ready for the upcoming season in these uncertain times. Between COVID-19 and social injustice, the new series looks at so much more than just football.
As far as sports docuseries go, it’s very difficult not to compare things to HBO’s long-running series Hard Knocks, especially when dealing with a series based on football. Normally, other series get completely overshadowed by the HBO series and are rarely worth investing your time. As we’ve established though, these are not normal times.
While there is still a lot of overlap in content, seeing how different organizations are handling these situations is certainly something there for which there is a demand at this time. Our Time provide unprecedented access for viewers who get to see Oklahoma State Football staff and players being tested for the virus, as well as quarantine protocols for a player who tested positive.
In fact, I would argue that there is actually more intrigue for this topic in the world of college sports, because the players are not on million dollar contract and have a much smaller window with their team. Some of these players are seniors who could easily lose out on their final year of football because of the virus, which makes it feel as though there is so much more on the line.
Then of course, there is the topic of social injustice. Hearing from some of these players, who are already dealing with so much, creates some very powerful and moving moments in the series’ first episode. However, it does stick out that the series overlooks a recent controversy between the team’s head coach and star running back involving the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s understandable that it would be excluded from the series, but still it feels like an elephant in the room is being ignored and it’s hard to shake that feeling and enjoy the series.
While the series doesn’t focus much on football (at least in the first episode), that is likely why viewers will be coming to watch the show, so it’s worth mentioning that Oklahoma State does have legitimate National Championship aspirations for 2020. That adds an extra layer of intrigue to the series, especially with Heisman Trophy candidate and aforementioned star running back Chuba Hubbard as its center. While no team wants to lose a full season, it would be even harder for a team with such lofty goals.
There are some minor production issues with this series, which is probably to be expected given its nature. Still, hearing an echo during a Zoom call feels like something that could have been corrected. It’s understandable that complication would arise due to the virus, but issues like that could likely have been avoided.
Overall, Our Time: Oklahoma State Football is far from the best sports docuseries out there, but it’s still worth a watch. It’s definitely interesting to see how a major college football program is dealing with these unprecedented times and the series provides some pretty rare behind-the-scenes access. It will certainly be interesting to see how the series progresses as the season gets closer as well, though I suppose the biggest factor on that front will be exactly what happens with this potential upcoming season.
You can watch Our Time: Oklahoma State Football on ESPN+ now.