Mathematically Alive Interview Part 1

Joe Coburn: Mathematically Alive is a fan’s life support. It means that the games you are watching, listening to, or reading about still have meaning

Kathy Foronjy: It means you’re probably a Mets fan if you’re doing the math.

NYSG) Can you give the readers your quick synopsis of the film?

JC: Mathematically Alive – A Story of Fandom is the full title. The film really story is told in 2 parts. The 1^st introduces us to a wide range of fans, and shows how they incorporate the Mets into their daily lives. We learn more about the individual behaviors that certain fans show. The 2^nd part takes us through the 06’ NLCS, game by game, and shows how fans react to games that really “mean something.” The whole time we have insight from Dr. Daniel Wann, a professional sports psychologist.

NYSG) Was there a reason why you chose the Mets over another team?

KF: Yes, because I hate the Yankees. Just kidding... maybe... I come from a family of Mets fans and I don’t think I could have committed to a labor of love project about another team’s fans.

JC: There is a really interesting dynamic that exists when a city has 2 teams that essentially divides the population. The personality of Mets fans has always entertained me. Combine that with eras of championship success and complete failure, and you get some good insight into sports fandom.

NYSG) How was this idea conceptualized? Who else was involved in this project?

KF: Joe is the idea guy and I am the executioner. He’s a die hard sports fan who obviously doesn't get enough sport by watching it so he's trying to work it into his day job. He talked a lot about wanting to tell the story of fans and I was immediately interested because I am fascinated by fandom in general. We first shot a TV pilot about Jets fans (Joe is a seriously insane Jets fan) with some other friends. It was a lot of fun and we learned a lot, but it didn’t work out. Everyone was excited about the 2005 Mets so it was just natural for us to start shooting our other favorite team's fans. And it may have been Joe’s idea again… We started in 2005 on a cold February evening when we set out to interview the Mets fans who were sleeping outside of Shea for tickets. We met so many interesting fans and the story really evolved from there. Joe & I directed the film together. It’s our first documentary and our stepping stone for establishing our production company Vitamin Enriched Films. There was really no one else involved in this project. It was just two crazy kids who haven’t stopped working on this project since that February night. My hair has turned gray and I’m not sure what happened to his, but we’re really proud of the film so it was worth it.

NYSG) You interviewed over 450 Mets fans. Is there one fan or group of fans that you remember to be particularly interesting?

KF: A lot of fans have tried to combine their passion for sports with work. One interesting example of that is Andrea Mallis who is a Mets fan living in California and is a sports astrologer. We had no idea that sports astrology even existed so we had to meet her. Andrea analyzes data from an athlete's birth chart and compares planets at birth to current alignments, known as forecasting, which predicts how well a player will perform. She has an 80% accuracy rate when supplied with correct data. We weren’t able to include her story in the documentary, but she does make an appearance on the DVD. She was very interesting…www.VirgoInService.com– if anyone is interested.

NYSG) You traveled all over the US on your journey, was there a section of the country where you were surprised to see so many passionate Mets fans?

JC: New Yorkers relocate everywhere, but the most surprising concentration of Mets fans is in cyber space. Countless blogs + hot stove baseball = unproductive winter businesses.

NYSG) What are some of the ways that Mets fans include the team in their daily lives?

KF: Most of them are using company time to surf the Web and read sites like yours everyday. Jim Fertitta lives in a blue & orange house, has a Mets memorabilia room and drives a car with Mets pinstripes on it. He’s also the president of the Port St. Lucie Mets booster club and a volunteer photographer for the PSL Mets. Howard Glassman walks around with a Mets logo on his tooth and named his son Seaver. He also owns Kranepool Records and Valentine’s bar, which is a Mets bar in Albany, NY. Joel Roberts hands out pretty cool business card. It’s a picture of him in uniform fantasy camp with his contact info on the other side.

NYSG) Where can someone watch this documentary?

KF: Aside from our living rooms, you'll be able to buy it in December 2007 from our website www.MathematicallyAlive.com. We're still planning a bunch of screenings so join our mailing list or check out the screening section of our website to stay in the loop

Read the rest of the interview here

See the film trailer here