Vince Young: BET says it's all good
10/04/06 06:09 AM
By ED BARK
Humbled perhaps by Sunday's spotty showing against the Dallas Cowboys, Vince Young can snap right back by watching BET's on- and off-field highlight reel.
The network's six-episode Next Level: Vince Young, premiering Wednesday night (Oct. 4) at 7:30 central, 8:30 eastern, stops just a bit short of being an out-and-out infomercial. ESPN analysts who question whether he'll excel as a pro quarterback are seen, heard and dismissed in these half-hour testaments to Young's overall greatness as both an athlete and human being.
That said, you can learn a little something about where he came from, who he is and what he means to those who knew him when.
"I love my 'hood, love my fans," Young says while walking the streets of his Houston neighborhood with boyhood pals Austin Pitre and Brian Dudley. "I want to continue to get my blessings."
Young already has immortalized himself in many eyes by taking the University of Texas Longhorns to the national championship game and then almost singlehandedly winning it. Wednesday's first episode begins at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York, where he watched Reggie Bush win college football's most coveted award.
"I was a little upset," says Young, who then fueled himself to beat Bush's Southern California Trojans in the Rose Bowl. Footage of his exploits sets the stage for a trip back home, where viewers are introduced to Young's mother, sister, cousins, high school football coach and Uncle Keith Young, who became Vince's surrogate father in place of an absentee blood dad.
There's fleeting mention of a somewhat rebellious youth, in which Young and his running mates would break windows, get in fights and occasionally run afoul of the cops.
"We had times we did negative stuff," Pitre recalls.
"Some of that stuff, you just can't talk about," Dudley doesn't recall.
But Young kept doing great things on his Madison High School's football field while also getting "spiritual guidance" from Pastor Smith of the Mt. Horeb Baptist Church. Episode 1 ends with Young at Easter Sunday services and then at a big family dinner.
The star of the show also talks directly to BET's cameras. He's not the most articulate guy in the world, and sometimes seems a bit robotic -- or under-rehearsed. Next Level's better moments depict Young trying to blend in with his surroundings after becoming a superstar commodity. A visit to "Big Dude's" barber shop in next week's episode seems to put him at ease in comfortable surroundings. Then he motors in grand style to a March of Dimes benefit after telling viewers that "I blessed myself with a nice Cadillac." We don't see his speech, but we do see the chairwoman of the event gush all over him.
That's pretty much in keeping with the overall intent of Next Level. It's Vince Young up close and personal, but not really.
Grade: C+
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