Football players, coaches, parents and alumni gathered in the Murray Kahn Theatre on Thursday, October 4 for the premiere of the documentary, “The Peglegs of Stuyvesant High,” which focuses on the 2006 season of the boys’ varsity football team.
Paulette Douglas, head of Red Paw Productions and mother of Stuyvesant alumna Hannah Freiman (’07), directed and produced the film.
Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey and College Sports Television (CSTV), the network that will air the documentary on Sunday, October 7, hosted the free screening. Both junior varsity and varsity football teams attended, as well as numerous parents, CSTV and Time Warner representatives, including CSTV Executive Vice President Pernett.
A question-and-answer period followed the screening.
The hour-long film documents the Peglegs as a team that tries to bounce back from a winless season in 2005 and also focuses on the members’ struggles to win, gain support from fans and maintain both high grades and a social life.
“Peglegs of Stuyvesant High” highlights the roles of Max Niddam (’07), Romeo Alexander (’07) and Aaron Landman (’07), whose stories branched off from the main feature. Douglas portrays Alexander as the star player who applies to Harvard, Niddam as a rookie athlete who uses football as an escape from his problems off the field, including his brother’s drug addiction and his mother’s battle with cancer, and Landman as an outgoing character who uses football to cope with Stuyvesant’s rigorous academic standard.
“They were hardworking, funny and lively,” said senior and varsity captain James Morrissey who was a teammate of all three players. “The film correctly portrayed that.”
Of the three, only Niddam was in attendance at the screening.
Douglas conceived the film’s concept several years ago, when she decided she wanted to depict how Stuyvesant football lacked many of the things a regular high school football team has. “I got the idea 12, 13 years ago about Stuyvesant football, about how they had to take a bus [to play their games]. There was a skinny guy who didn’t look like a football player and I thought, ‘That’s a great story.’” said Douglas. “It’s a slice of life.”
Douglas, a five-time Emmy award winner for her work as a producer of multiple projects, including the multi-award-winning documentary, “Vietnam Long Time Coming,” presented the concept to CSTV and Time Warner Cable representatives in the summer of 2006. While the idea was being considered, the Peglegs’ 2006 season had already begun.
“Until the approvals came in, I had to go out and shoot it myself,” said Douglas. “That was the most difficult thing, doing it all by myself in the beginning.” CSTV eventually approved the film idea and provided Douglas with a crew.
“Peglegs of Stuyvesant High” exposes viewers to urban football and how sports fit into an academic lifestyle. “This film has given [viewers] a newfound respect for city football, and really how great the Peglegs are, and how hard they work,” said Sacks.
The Peglegs are also portrayed as a diverse and unified team. Each football player is shown telling the audience about their parents’ immigrant background towards the beginning of the film while in the end, memorable scenes of the team taking the subway to their last home game provide the humorous reality of urban football.
A laid-back atmosphere is also well depicted, through the various scenes of senior football players celebrating senior and school rituals such as Pajama Day and Halloween. Not only do these scenes offer a different perspective about the team, but they also provide a sense of normalcy to a group of kids who play football at a prestigious high school.
The documentary, however, leaves several unanswered questions. Though Douglas touches upon the parents’ feelings towards academics, the film fails to go in-depth in expressing the players’ thoughts regarding their struggle to balance academics and sports. There was a lack of examples of how the players try to maintain their academic standard, deal with personal issues and apply to college, all while playing the game of football.
Also missing are the actual scenes of football. This documentary about a ‘football’ team doesn’t quite deliver in giving the audience the actual struggle the Peglegs had in winning their games. Many of the game highlights are too short and are often accompanied by cheesy music that interferes in giving the audience the real sense of the game and what potential fans have been missing while also over-dramatizing the game’s atmosphere.
“Peglegs of Stuyvesant High” touches upon many aspects that one would not see in a regular high school football team. Douglas prevails in depicting the difficulties Stuyvesant football players have to overcome to win while providing the audience with scenes that cause laughter and at times tears. Most importantly, viewers are more likely to have a newfound respect for Stuyvesant football.
Many audience members commended Douglas’ work, including coach Brian Sacks. “[The film] represented the season as it was, [including] the ups and the downs,” said Sacks. “I definitely, definitely feel that Stuyvesant deserved it. It’s a unique school, and we’re in a unique situation.”
“It was better than anything I expected. I enjoyed the film more than I thought I would,” said David Goldin, parent of junior and current varsity player Nick Goldin. “It was the real deal. It showed who the kids were.”
Robert Lind, parent of sophomore and current junior varsity player Eric Lind, said he looks forward to having his son make the varsity team because of the film. “It gave an in-depth look into the lives of the average football player at Stuyvesant,” Lind said.
Morrissey said the film has inspired him to work harder on the team, currently 3-2 this season. “[The film] made me proud to be a Pegleg. I feel very determined to win now,” said Morrissey.
The film is currently available on-demand through Time Warner Cable on channel 1111.
