Sons of Ben: The Movie

As much a depiction of citizen action, goal-setting, and grassroots/viral marketing as an uplifting sports documentary, filmmaker Jeffrey Bell's Sons of Ben chronicles the underdog saga of a group of Philadelphia soccer fans who were aggravated by their city's conspicuous absence of a Major League Soccer franchise. They had the brilliance—and Internet savvy—to simply invent a fan base for an imaginary team called the Sons of Ben (as in Franklin), taking their DIY logos, scarves, and noisy fans to games throughout the established U.S. soccer network. A rising sports executive, Nick Sakiewicz, was so impressed by the “virtual” club following that he spurned an opportunity to run the Los Angeles Dodgers in order to try to make Sons of Ben a reality. Moreover, organizers chose a rundown and largely black suburb as the site for the team stadium in an ambitious urban-renewal bid. Still, the battle here is uphill, with obstacles including the 2008 economic crisis, competition from St. Louis, a cancer scare, and the “Negadelphia” syndrome (i.e., a longstanding fatalism carried by hard-luck Philly sports fans). A fascinating contemporary soccer story about following a dream using modern technology, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)