Last night I had the pleasure of seeing a preview performance of Lombardi, a new play by Oscar winner Eric Simonson, that's based on the best-selling biography When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss.
Lombardi's story is dynamic whether you are a football fan or not. Just look at this quote:
The word 'play' is relative and can be used to refer to any aspect of your life. So I suggest going to see Lombardi on Broadway for anyone that strives to bull better than what they are. I'm hoping that's everyone in the world but at least those that read this blog. The play was witty, hilarious, and drama filled. The best part for me was the stadium seating. I've been to several Broadway plays and they all are set up the typical way with orchestra seating and balcony seating but the stadium seating for this play everyone feel as if they were apart of the story. Check out a montage of the play:
A few years ago I heard about an interesting documentary about devout Mets fans like myself. My first thought was INTERVIEW MEEEEEEEEE! But my second thought was WHERE CAN I SEE THIS FILM?
Luckily for me I knew someone who knew the filmmaker and VOILA- I now own the DVD.
The interviews in Mathematically Alive - A Story of Fandom were conducted by filmmakers Joseph Coburn and Katherine Foronjy during the 2005-2006 seasons when it seemed like the Mets were going to take it all the way. And boy oh boy what an emotional time that was for myself and all Mets fans around the world! Throughout the award-winning film (it won Best Documentary at the 2007 New Jersey Film Festival), Coburn and Foronjy encounter die-hard collectors, fans who travel to away games, fans that wait by the players' entrance to speak to their favorite player and a shrink to help explain the insanity of it all.
"We are very social creatures," explains Dr. Daniel Wann, sports psychologist at Murray State University, "and it's very important to us to identify with something larger than the self." Dr. Wann also added that with social aspects of life like family and attending religious institutions on the decline, it only makes sense that sports has crept in to fill that void for many. And trust that no fans are as tightly knit as Mets fans... we're each others' support systems in the bad times and each others' cheerleaders in the good.
Not only did I find this documentary hella-informative, I must recommend it to one and all if for no other reason than to experience the CRAZINESS that is a real, true-orange-and-blue New York Mets fan. For example:
The collectors who devote entire rooms in their homes to Mets memorabilia
The guy in Port St. Lucie that painted his house blue and orange
The chick who dumped her sister's ashes in left field at Shea Stadium
The ladies that followed Mike Piazza EVERYWHERE he went (in their defense they weren't technically stalkers; most times it was Piazza inviting them!)
The dude who has the Mets logo ON HIS TOOTH and named his son SEAVER... #iCan't
The film also includes such gems like the guy who exclaimed, "We'd rather be Republicans than Yankee fans," and the other who, after the Mets tanked in the playoffs versus the Cardinals in 2006, said he'd need counseling in the off-season. I cannot make this stuff up!
Dr. Wann makes it a point to say that many of these fans are addicted to their teams similar to how a junkie is addicted to crack. I mean, he didn't use those terms but that's what he was getting at. I think he's right, especially with regards to Mets fan. What else can explain our allegiance to a team that lets us down more often than not? Hell- I'm not afraid to admit it: I'm Jaded and I'm addicted to the New York Mets! But I'm not going to rehab so don't even bother...
Back to the documentary... one thing I noticed that was rather troubling, was how even the super devout fanatics began to doubt and poo-poo the team as soon as they performed poorly. After Game 3 against the Cardinals the interviewees were already walking away defeated. IT WAS ONLY GAME THREE- why the long face???
See, this is why we lose! All these "fans" sending their bad juju to the team at the first sign of disappointment. Someone even said, "Even when we're winning I'm always waiting for someone to knock us down." FOR REAL, THO? Girl, BYE! We don't need your kind fucking it up for the team... can you believe this mess?
*deep cleansing breaths*
All in all I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary (even though the players' faces had to be scrambled out of the shots!) and would recommend it to anyone who loves the Mets, loves sports and enjoys watching crazy fans act, well, crazy!
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Mathematically Alive - A Story of Fandom (2007). Directed and produced by Joseph Coburn & Katherine Foronjy. Now available on DVD. Photos courtesy of the filmmakers.
Last year, after being stood up for a date (I know- it's hard to believe that any man would be foolish enough to leave me hanging but YES, it's true) I decided not to waste the night and took myself to the Angelika on Mercer to see a movie. And good thing, too, because I got there right in time for the next showing of a film I'd heard about online, Sugar, about a Dominican baseball player (what else? lol) recruited to play in the minors in the US.
First of all, make sure you see this documentary film. Second, check out this joint. Thirdly, don't miss it!!!
Have I made myself clear?
The documentary film on the life and tragic death of Len Bias made by Kirk Fraser is outstanding. I had the opportunity to see a screening of it this past Friday night at the Lincoln Theatre. The film won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 13th Annual American Black Film Festival
It's scheduled to air on Nov. 3 at 8pm as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary film series. It will continue to air on ESPN2 and ESPN Classic over the following month after at various times.
Now, if you're a regular on my blog at ChocolateCityWeb, then you know how the death of Len Bias truly affected me. If you're not, feel free to check out an entry I penned entitled, Death of Len Bias: 20 Years Later on the anniversary of his death before continuing to read this one.
There's are a variety of reasons why I looked forward to this film. First off, Len Bias was an incredible athlete. Being truthful, using the word 'incredible' is a gross understatement to the talent that this man possessed. That's like saying that Michael Jackson was a decent entertainer. Since the untimely passing of Len Bias, I've read tons of articles, watched specials on athletes and substance abuse and talked to youth about the dangers of drug use at various mentoring programs. Quite often someone much younger will ask me to give more details about Len Bias and what occurred. I always pause for a second, almost like I did when the news of his death was first received. There's almost no way to explain the events that took his life. I mean, even 23 years later it still stings. Seeing Without Bias really answered some questions that I had. It gave me some clarity on things I had wondered for many years. I'm sure it will answer questions that folks have.
I'm not saying that there's earth shattering testimony given during the film. We hear from the James & Lonise Bias, former Georgetown coach John Thompson, former UMD coach Lefty Driesell, former UNC coach Dean Smith, a number of Bias' Terrapin teammates including Keith Gatlin, David Gregg & Jeff Baxter and various sports writers including Michael Wilbon, Kevin Blackistone, James Brown & Jackie MacMullan. Now a documentary would not be complete without having Marion Barry in the mix. He said a few words also.
However that biggest impact on the film was the appearance of Brian Tribble. After all these years, we finally to hear from him during the film. I'm not talking about a quick 10 second sound byte either. You get to hear the story in his own words regarding what occurred. You get to truly see how Len's death affected him. You can feel it. The segments where Tribble talked were very profound.
As an added bonus to the evening, director Kirk Fraser was available for Q&A after the screening. It was clear that many folks either didn't care about the Q&A session or just didn't know because as the credits rolled, people were piling out into the lobby. I'd guess that maybe 75% of the folks had left, but best believe I remained. Fraser answered a handful of questions from the audience. A good number of folks also stepped to the mic to commend and thank him for making the film. There was a brief point where one of the audience members asked if there were any of participants of the film in house. At that time it was announced that Brian Tribble was present and he was given a mic and stepped to the stage to sit next to Kirk Fraser. The brother at the mic in the aisle began to ask a variety of questions to Tribble all in one breath. To his credit, Tribble maintained his composure amidst a flurry of random thoughts that seemed to pop in the gentleman's head and said something to the effect of "That's a lot of questions, what's your primary point?", which garnered a laugh from the remaining crowd.
The man proceeded to ask Tribble what he had learned from the incident, but also asked him whether the drugs were supplied by him or Bias that night and how such pure cocaine found it's way into the dorm room that night. Without transcript of the Q&A, it's impossible for me to summarize that complete dialogue. However, Tribble acknowledged being 'hard headed' and making young mistakes in life as everyone does. He also said that folks should listen to those who love them. In response to the question about the cocaine, he basically said "Only two people know where it came from... me and Len. He's passed on, so I could easily say it was him. But he's not here to defend himself, so what's the purpose in discussing this aspect?". That's not a direct quote, but his response was similar to that. The way it is quoted might sound abrasive or snappy, but it was far from that. It was said more in a somber tone that I think everyone in the audience understood.
What does it matter 23 yrs later where the drugs came from? Why disparage the man's name now or ever? Regardless of where it came from, the circumstances won't change. It won't bring Len Bias back. At some point he made a conscious decision to use cocaine that night and it took his life. I gained respect for Brian Tribble. First, just his appearance in the film and secondly for walking up to that stage and answering questions. That definitely was not anticipated. I for one, laid a great amount of blame upon him in my conscience for Lenny's death. I don't feel that way any longer.
Getting back to Kirk Fraser, there was one answer that really stuck with me. When asked by one attendee whether he was connected to the Bias family or what was the reason he decided to make the film he answered "My connection is I'm one of the individuals that he saved... because of his story I didn't go down that path".
Props to Kirk Fraser on making the story come to life and told the way it needed to be told. Look out for Frosty (Len's nickname), the biographical motion picture sometime in 2011
But first, make sure you see the documentary film. Yeah I said it again.
I had the opportunity to see a screening last night of the "Black Magic" documentary and it was truly amazing. Being an alumni of an HBCU made it all the more special for me to get apart of the history of the soil where I spent 4 years of my life.
If you haven't heard about it, its a 4 hour documentary that ESPN will be airing March 16th and 17th in 2 parts. The documentary tackles the injustices during the civil rights movement while using an angled that I don't feel has ever been presented before, from the mouth of the basketball player.
Street ball legends that shaped the way kids play basketball today, coaches that took chances and played African Americans knowing they might lost their jobs, the late night secret matches that HBCU's held against all-white schools in order to prove that they were better than them, but secret because at that time it was forbidden that the teams play each other. It was an absolute privilege to have been able to see the film last night. We actually saw a shorter version, not the entire 4 hours so I will still be tuning in, in March.
The most rewarding part about the screening was that the man they called Black Magic (pictured here) was in attendance. Earl "The Pearl" Monroe as well as Cleo Hill both sat on a panel following the screening with the Producer of the documentary, Dan Klores, along with ESPN's Jemelle Hill, and NBA player Jalen Rose. One thing they discussed was an incident that happened in Orangeburg where some students were gunned down by police. One of the students was a basketball player. It showed just how corrupted the justice system was in relation to African Americans, and because of the documentary, the case if being re-opened and investigated. Maybe justice will finally be served in that case, even if it is some 40-50 years later.
One point that stuck out with me about the panel discussion was there comparison to the HBCU school now, and how it was when they were playing. They talked about how they feel its a bad idea for all the HBCU's to try to move up into Division I schools when they don't have the recruiting dollars or the school records and successes to get top high school players to attend their school over say a Duke, Georgetown, etc. That HBCU basketball has always been and will forever be about the fellowship. It took me back to my days at North Carolina A&T State University, where no matter how bad our team was, we still went to every game and showed our AGGIE PRIDE.
I'm getting off tangent but seeing the old clips they showed of the Greensboro 4 sit-in just made me so proud to have decided to go to an HBCU, and gave me a different aspect on the history of those schools. This is definitely a film that you are not going to want to miss. I suggest you all check it out when it airs.
