Movie premieres, red carpets and the accompanying swanky parties are commonplace in the entertainment world.
The cast, crew and lucky fans roam some ballroom or bar telling each other how awesome their movie is, they drink and they go home later and tell all their friends and family how awesome their movie is.
But it’s not every day that a movie is actually about and features the group attending the premiere. For the Sons of Ben, “Sons of Ben: The Movie” is quite literally their movie.
At Wednesday night’s premiere of the crowdfunded documentary at the Trocadero Theater, it didn’t matter whether the film was good or bad. It was an evening for the Union’s fans to celebrate how far the club has come alongside each other, director Jeffrey C. Bell, Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz and manager Jim Curtin and a slew of current players.
“This will now become mandatory watching for players who come to our team,” Curtin said to the crowd after the film. “They need to know that it’s so much more than just the 11 guys on the field.”
By now, you know the Sons of Ben’s story. Philadelphia was snubbed of a team in the inaugural MLS in 1996. Sons of Ben founder and president Bryan James started the grassroots effort to bring soccer to Philly, a slow a steady build. The group fought the “Negadelphia” sports attitude the entire time. And finally in 2008 their efforts paid off as the MLS announced Philadelphia as the next expansion city.
“What a better way to show the future Sons of Ben and future Union players how we started and the hardships we went through than this,” James said, pointing to the big screen and donning a Union-colored plaid sport coat.
The Sons of Ben brought the same intensity to the premiere as they bring to PPL Park as well. Lining up outside the Troc more than 90 minutes before the movie was set to begin, chanting as the lights in the theater lowered, cheering major moments as they unfolded on screen and booing the occasional appearance by MLS commissioner Don Garber.
Just as important, though, “Sons of Ben: The Movie” was legitimately a good documentary. It was able to chronologically depict the ups and downs of being part of a fandom and how fans can influence the world of sports. But it also captured the emotions of Philly sports fans – the intense love and hope that leaves each fan vulnerable to the ultimate letdowns they have seen so many times in the past.
It’s about the Sons of Ben, and it’s about every Philly sports fan.
“It’s surreal,” early Sons of Ben member Brad Youtz, who appears prominently in the film, said. “It captured everything. It’s really hard to put into words.
“I’m going to be a season ticket holder until I die, but now I know that we will have this that will live on after all of us are gone to show new members how it all started.”
Sons of Ben Trailer #2 from Rothbury Road Productions on Vimeo.