Even if you are not au-fait with the sport of baseball, predominantly an American sport, you will certainly find something of interest watching the new documentary FACING NOLAN, which chronicles the legendary, phenomenal and beyond-boundary 27-year career of hard speedy pitcher Nolan Ryan, a native of Alvin, Texas.
Over the course of his professional life, Ryan played for the likes of The New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers and passed into legend with 5,714 strike-outs, seven no-hitters and a pitch that had the speed of a Lamborghini at 108.1 mph. He also set 51 Major League Baseball records, but never won the prestigious Cy Young Award, a surprise to those who actually played or lived in fear of his devastating pitch.
Archive footage and contemporary interviews with associates and friends, including former President George W. Bush, also shine a light on a life celebrated both on and off the field, with Ryan’s own life on the diamond mound reflected in his successful marriage to sweetheart Ruth, which yielded children and grandchildren, all of whom are an extension of this baseball enigma.
Now, as mentioned earlier, the appeal of this documentary will depend on how passionate and clued-in you are with the sport of baseball, but even if you are unsure about what the terms mean. In terms of the reach of this documentary outside of America. It is still a niche sport, so this documentary will certainly be more rewarding to domestic audiences there.
In England, for example, we didn’t get coverage of American Football until the Autumn of 1982 when Channel 4 UK launched in November of that year with an hour-long digest of the week’s games, followed by overnight live coverage of the Super Bowl in January 1983) but that has grown in stature with regular games on an annual basis. Whether or not this documentary will heighten interest in bringing MLB to the UK and European masses remains to be seen.
However, don’t be put off it you aren’t passionate, as some of the key moments of Nolan Ryan’s career are played out with context and reflection.
FACING NOLAN is now in theatrical release and will be available through Utopia on digital from July 19th, 2022.
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