ESPN premiered The Band That Wouldn’t Die last night, the second of their 30 for 30 documentaries.  Barry Levinson, the director of Rain Man, told the story of the Baltimore Colts leaving for Indianapolis through the Baltimore Colts’ Marching Band, who stayed together during the 12-year interim before the Ravens arrived.  The film was compassionate, well-shot and brilliant.

Berg struggled with the one-hour length, but Levinson mastered it.  Bookended with NFL icon Johnny Unitas, the film was a complete thought.  It progressed logically.  It had a distinct beginning, middle and end.  It interwove the personal, collective and broader narratives naturally and effectively.

Levinson’s visual imagery made sense.  The urban landscapes were distinctly Baltimore.  Using moving video often over still shots, gave the Colts’ era life.  It wasn’t something black, white and dead but organic and active in memories.

The film was well balanced.  It was sentimental without being sappy.  It was sensitive where exploitation was easy.

One of the more touching scenes remembered “Loudy,” the #1 Colts fan.  He met the team at the airport after road games.  He brought in birthday cakes for every player.  When the Colts kicked off their first game in Indianapolis, he sat alone in his seat at Memorial Stadium.  At his funeral in 1989 Colts’ players, including Johnny Unitas, were the pallbearers.

Excessive revenue has made professional sports, and the NFL in particular, so corporate and unassailable that the connection and community expressed by the fans in the film seemed quaint and foreign.  It’s unfortunate.