Mathematically Alive Interview Part 2

NYSG) What was your motivation in filming this?

JC: Each year players come and go. Managers are hired or ownership changes hands. A new stadium is built or the team picks up and leaves all together. There are only two constants in baseball; the game and the fans. In our opinion their stories are the most interesting of all and, as yet, untold. So we took on the job.

KF: This was also an attempt to show my brother how sorry I was for going to a Yankees game with a friend when I was 19. He didn’t think it was punishment enough to kick me out the house for 3 days

NYSG) 3 days thats it? You got off easy...We all know that a good portion of Mets fans are borderline insane about this team (me included), was there anything that was completely shocking to you?

KF: I don’t think we were ever more shocked in life other than the time when Robin Brass told us that her sister was permanently in left field. She’s talking about human remains… and that’s why Mets fans are awesome.

JC: That people weren’t in worse shape after game 7 in 06’. I expected a crime spree.

NYSG) a lot of the film is based on the 2006 season. What moment during that season best encompasses the theme of the film?

JC: Game 7 in 06’. Losing is how you know you’re a fan. Every fan’s team, minus the Harlem Globetrotters, has tales of woe about the worst loss in franchise history.

KF: Game 7 in 06 without a doubt. It represents any story of fandom.

NYSG) Are there any specific experiences that you would like to share?

KF: We wanted to find an expert on sports fandom, but wanted to make sure that this person really understood what it meant to be a sports fan. I usually question the credibility of a person who has never lived what it is they are an expert on so the hunt was on. I did some research and finally found Dr. Daniel Wann of Murray State University in Kentucky. I asked him why he became a sports psychologist and he said that he was a huge sports fan and needed to understand what his psychological connection to the team was. It was awesome to know that Dan was one of us so we trusted him to educate our audience on sport fandom.

NYSG) Any random experiences you would like to share?

KF: James Pinna is Mike Piazza look-a-like living on long island. Very random…

JC: We had a great time with Joe Benigno, a radio personality from WFAN in New York, and a great sports fan. I couldn’t resist not talking to him about the Jets’ failures. It was therapeutic. By the way, if anyone has Doug Brien’s contact information please forward it to me. I’d like to have a conversation with him…

NYSG) Yes I have his email. It is DBrien@douche-bagkickers.com...What are the some of the reasons why sports fans, specifically Mets fans, are so passionate and involved? What do you think it says about American culture or society in general?

JC: Our shrink, Dr. Wann, gives a number of answers. The one that we all seem to agree on is that fans of a team become a community. He calls it an extended family. People you automatically trust because they happen to root for the same team. The reasons are far too many to list, and, in most cases, quite personal.

KF: I think it’s the combination of blue & orange blood that runs through the veins of Mets fans that makes them so passionate. In regard to American culture I think it simply shows that sport is something that is deeply ingrained in our lives. It helps some to deal with the stress or boredom of everyday life, but really allows us to connect and identify with one another on various levels.

See the film trailer here