Two-a-Days - TV-PG

Winning is everything in football doc series.

TV Rating: TV-PG Network: ESPN, MTV Cast: Rush Propst Genre: Reality TV
Available on: DVDDownload

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this series focuses on a high school football team's extreme efforts to win the state championship and on the intense pressure to win that's placed on them by their coach, their parents, and their community. Little importance is placed on the benefits of participating in team sports (improved health and self-esteem, etc.), beyond the advantages that winning will bring. Some practice scenes are intense, but they're shown within the context of football training. Parents should also know that this show has storylines about teen girl-boy relationships.

Families can talk about participating in sports. What are some of the positive things about playing team sports? Negative things? Families can also talk about how to balance an interest in sports with other activities. When does the love of a sport go too far? Why is it necessary to stop playing when you're sick or injured?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Melissa Camacho

MTV's documentary series TWO-A-DAYS revolves around the members of the Hoover High Buccaneers football team. As the Hoover Bucs go after their fourth Alabama state championship, viewers watch members of the team struggle to meet the relentless, all-consuming demands of a top-tier high school football program while simultaneously managing school and their personal lives.

On a team where "losing is not an option" and doing your best isn't enough, the priority is to win big. Perfection-seeking coach Rush Propst pushes his players to the limit during grueling, twice-daily practices, in which they're expected to leave their personal troubles -- including overbearing parents, legal woes, and demanding girlfriends -- on the sidelines.

Expected to endure illness, injury, and extreme weather, the players fight for the touchdown, college scholarships, and a chance at local and national glory. For some, this fight also represents a ticket to a better life.

While the series includes positive values like school spirit and team cooperation, they're overshadowed by the pitfalls of committing your entire life to a sport. The idea that these kids must "win at any cost" leads to a distorted sense of balance that's evidenced by their struggle to separate their performance in a game from their sense of identity -- and, to a larger extent, their self-worth.

Many of the players' parents and members of the Hoover community reinforce this skewed sense of self, further perpetuating the idea that there's only one thing or activity in the world that defines who we are.

Football fans will undoubtedly find Two-a-Days entertaining, and teens will very likely enjoy the romantic tensions between players and their girlfriends. But in the end, what this documentary really shows viewers is that for players who are serious about turning football into a college or pro career, it stops being a game and, as a consequence, very often stops being fun.

Fans may also like True Life, Cheerleader Nation, and Friday Night Lights.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content Some teen boy-girl kissing. The players' relationships are an ongoing part of the series.
Violence The games are rough and the injuries real, but it's all within the context of the sport of football. Some players throw up as a result of the grueling practices.
Language Mild: "Damn," etc. Most are usually said by Coach Propst as part of his motivating strategy. Occasional stronger curse words are bleeped out.
Message
	Social Behavior The focus is on winning, not on how well you play the game. The positive values of sports -- including team cooperation, hard work, and commitment -- are overshadowed by the players', parents', and community's desire to win. Includes some African-American players and residents.
	Commercialism Restaurant logos, such as Johnny Rockets, are fully visible. Sports drink labels, like Gatorade, are also visible. References to ESPN and to "After Show" segments on MTV's online Overdrive channel.
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco