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Movie Info & Details
Release Year2009
Runtime0h 53m
LanguageEnglish
CertificationNR
GenresDocumentary
Votes20
DirectorMichael Tollin
WritersMichael Tollin
TypeFeature Film
Rating7.0 out of 10
Cast4 credited
Also Known AsSmall Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?
About Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?
In 1983 the upstart United States Football League (USFL) had the audacity to challenge the almighty NFL. The new league did the unthinkable by playing in the spring and plucked three straight Heisman Trophy winners away from the NFL. The 12-team USFL played before crowds that averaged 25,000, and started off with respectable TV ratings. But with success came expansion and new owners, including a certain high profile and impatient real estate baron whose vision was at odds with the league’s founders. Soon, the USFL was reduced to waging a desperate anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL, which yielded an ironic verdict that effectively forced the league out of business. Now, almost a quarter of a century later, Academy Award-nominated and Peabody Award-winning director Mike Tollin, himself once a chronicler of the league, will showcase the remarkable influence of those three years on football history and attempt to answer the question, “Who Killed the USFL?”
Directed by Michael Tollin, Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? leans on a strong ensemble — Donald Trump, Burt Reynolds, Herschel Walker — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 2009.
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