Review: 'Bye Bye Barry' a fond but unfulfilling look back at a Detroit legend

Amazon Prime Video, 2023.

For a film that promises to answer "the greatest mystery in sports history," "Bye Bye Barry" falls shockingly short.

But as a fond reminiscence of the greatest NFL running back of all-time, it's a wonderful, if bittersweet journey to take.

Grade: B

If you were a Detroit Lions fan in the late 90s, you will remember exactly where you were and your exact circumstances the very moment that you heard that Barry Sanders was retiring. The greatest Detroit Lions player - and inarguably - the most unique running back in NFL history, announced his retirement via a faxed letter in 1999, just before the training camp that was to begin his 11th season in the league.

He was on pace to shatter all rushing records...he already had done so in college when he won The Heisman Trophy with Oklahoma State University. There was simply no other running back like him, on or off the field. As we learn in "Bye Bye Barry," he isn't necessarily a shy guy, he's just always been uniquely himself...which, as frustrating as it may be, is the best answer that this documentary has to offer as to "why" Barry retired when he did.

The film does act as some kind of closure on the "mystery," although for any fan of the Detroit Lions, it's no mystery at all as to why Barry - or anyone for that matter - would want to call it quits. The Lions (until this year...Go Lions!!) have been historically pathetic, the worst franchise to ever grace the NFL. To watch them (again, before 2023), is to have your soul-sucked out of our body via your eyeballs, slowly, painfully and annually, over the course of 17 weeks each year.

We were blessed with Barry only to squander him and his once-in-a-generation talents. We collectively cringed as we had to watch Barry's contemporary rival, Dallas Cowboys Hall-of-Famer Emmitt Smith (who also appears in this film) surpass all of the long-standing rushing records that were supposed to have gone to Barry Sanders. Had Barry been given the surrounding talent and the offensive line of Emmitt Smith...the thought would result in career numbers reaching territory too high to calculate.

"Bye Bye Barry" shows us that even in his college days, Barry was a strange cat. ESPN's Dan Patrick explains that Barry dodged a scheduled interview for hours simply because...well, that's Barry. We all know that Barry Sanders had a "controlling" father, a man whom Barry always tried to please and a man who unlike Barry, loved being in the public spotlight. In a league of egos running wild, Barry Sanders would almost never show emotion on the field, and his trademark "just hand the ball to the referee" after scoring his TDs, sort of summed up his humble nature.

We also know that Barry had a very unique relationship to Wayne Fontes, the man who still ranks as the winningest Lions Head Coach in history. When Fontes was replaced mid-season with the hard-nosed Bobby Ross, the writing was on the wall for Barry.

The biggest revelation for me in "Bye Bye Barry" has nothing to do with Barry Sanders at all, but was actually that we had a chance to sign Joe Montana!! Upper-management wasn't interested. Wow, the utter futility of this organization! Lions fans deserved better, and so did Barry Sanders. 

Time has softened our relationship to Sanders, and he to Detroit. We don't really remember the black hole that his departure left us in...there were bigger problems inherent in the Lions organization that would have perhaps made the next several decades go exactly as they did. We only remember the good times, and he provided us with many. Barry has matured and grown comfortable enough to sit down for the interviews of this film, and tries to give candid answers and reasons as to why he ultimately chose to do what he did. Hey, it's better than a fax.

But for a documentary that looks to answer these big questions about Barry Sanders, it spends the first 90% of the film instead serving as a joyous trip down a Honolulu Blue-bricked road. The answer ends up being: "Well, that's just Barry." What I've realized after watching this film - and letting 24 years pass by - is that this is actually the most accurate answer that can be given. It may not be the most fulfilling, but it is the most accurate.

Despite what his own father says, Barry Sanders is the best running back the game has ever seen, even if he doesn't sit atop the major rushing categories. Jim Brown, Emmitt Smith, or anyone else you can name could simply not do what Barry could. It's just a shame that we didn't get to watch more of him, with a career cut short.

​"Bye Bye Barry" is a loving tribute to what he gave us all, what he left out on the field, and what he left to our imagination.

Grade: B

Genre: Documentary, Sports.
Run Time: 1 hour 32 minutes.
Not Rated.

Directed by Paul Monusky, Micaela Powers, Angela Torma.

"Bye Bye Barry" is available on Amazon Prime Video on Tuesday, November 21st, 2023.