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Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?

Name: Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?
Director: Michael Tollin
Released: 2009
Duration: 53 min

Representation Score

1.6/10

Minimal

2009

TV-G

Director

Michael Tollin

Runtime

53 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? is a specialized historical documentary that focuses on the mechanics of sports business and athletic history. Its narrative structure is traditional, emphasizing male-dominated hierarchies and capitalist competition. While the film provides significant visibility to Black athletes who were key to the league's success, it lacks the complexity needed to explore multiple aspects of identity. The work serves as an autopsy of a failed institution rather than a platform for social commentary.

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Category Breakdown

Does Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The documentary focuses solely on the professional world of 1980s football and does not include any characters or stories related to LGBTQ+ themes.

How does Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? portray gender?

Minimal

The film centers its narrative around male-dominated areas such as sports management and athletic performance. It emphasizes traditional hierarchies by highlighting male owners, executives, and players.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL??

Fair

The film offers meaningful representation through its portrayal of Black athletes, including several Heisman Trophy winners. This inclusion is natural to the subject matter and highlights diverse talent within the league.

How does Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? represent religion and culture?

Fair

The documentary serves as an examination of the capitalist system and institutional instability. It looks at the failure of a business model through the lens of poor management and legal disputes.

Does Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? include disability representation?

Minimal

The film does not focus on neurodivergence, physical disabilities, or mental health issues. Instead, subjects are evaluated based on their professional competence and athletic abilities.

Present on Screen

Provides meaningful visibility to Black athletes and Heisman Trophy winners who were central to the league's identity.
Documents diverse talent within the professional sports ecosystem of the 1980s.

Limited or Absent

Focuses almost entirely on male owners, executives, and players, lacking female perspectives.
Does not include any representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-assuming gender matches what was assigned at birth narratives.
Does not address neurodivergence, physical disabilities, or mental health conditions.

Official Synopsis

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?”

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