Review: 30 for 30: The Price of Gold

I love sports, I love sports movies, and I love documentaries, so it's not a stretch that I'm a big fan of sports documentaries. The drive and focus that it takes to becomes a professional athlete, as well as the often myopic view of the world necessary to stay a professional athlete is intriguing to me. I also find the differences between team and individual sports, and how that translates to the individual fascinating. There is a part of me that considered Sports Psychology as a master, looking into exactly that.

Anyway, I digress. So tonight I watched 30 for 30's episode The Price of Gold. For those who aren't aware, 30 for 30 is an ESPN show that highlights people and events in the sports world that might not get as much attention. The Price of Gold, however, is about one of the most well known events in recent sports history - the attack on Nancy Kerrigan and Tony Harding's involvement.

The attack happened in 1994. I was 12. I have very distinct memories of this happening and I admit that it spiked my interest in figure skating, which has never died. It's one of my favorite sports to watch and the reason I bemoaned not having TV during the Winter Olympics (that and I come from a family that cheers on the US Team, so I missed not being able to do so). 

Watching information about the attack as an adult was interesting. The commentary on the expectations of the sport, the image the sport actively tries to convey for female skaters (the Ice Princess, as they called it) and where it came from (Sonja Henie is cited as the major influence on that expectation) lays out why it was so easy for Tonya Harding, who defied all of those expectations by being a power skater who didn't care about the princess image, to be reviled by the sport. She came from a rough background and a rough family. Skating was her life.

Unfortunately, it's hard to develop any sympathy for Harding, who appears in the documentary extensively (Kerrigan declined to comment, her husband and coaches appear on her behalf). She's abrasive and remorseless. She sees herself as a victim and tries to paint herself that way. One of the individuals being interviewed made the comment that skating judges on the whole package - jumps, spins, grace, appearance, music selection, costume choice - and while Harding was an incredibly powerful skater, she refused to acknowledge the importance of those other things, which she believed to be inferior to skill on the ice. Paul Wylie, who was a prominent male skater in the same era and one of my favorite on the ice, stated that the judges made it known what kind of music and costumes they liked. Harding's response to this was rebellious...which is fantastic if you don't care about winning and you just want to skate. It's not great if your goal is a gold medal.

Skating is a sport full of favorites, partiality, and non-standardized judging. No one understands why some people win (Oksana Baiul winning gold over Nancy Kerrigan at the 1994 Winter Olympics was huge drama) and others are openly shunned, but that's skating. It's not a fair sport. Harding was a phenomenal skater, incredibly powerful and driven. What she did to bring herself up to the level of a National champion is amazing. But her attitude towards what happened to her, towards the barring of her from skating and the stripping of her gold medal, seems to have left her a bitter, angry person. Watching the documentary, I feel I understand her better and the situation better, in a way I couldn't have at 12, but it doesn't make me like her more. But I suppose that's the point of a documentary - to present a situation and let the viewer decide how they feel about it. If you remember the controversy at all, it might be worth the hour and half of watching this to allow yourself to reexamine your views from an adult perspective.

30 for 30: The Price of Gold is available for streaming on Netflix.