New York, NY (June 20th, 2015) – For Jeffrey Bell, Philadelphia sports are a natural attraction. As a Delaware Valley native, he was raised on it. Even after he moved to California to persue a music and production career, Philadelphia sports stayed with him. “If Philadelphia had a checkers team, Philly sports fans would follow them,” Bell quipped.
Bell wasn’t a serious soccer fan growing up, but he always had a respect for the sport. After moving to Los Angeles, he heard that MLS would be launching a club in Philadelphia. He clicked the link and there was his childhood friend Bryan James, founding member, and former president of the Sons of Ben supporters group, standing next to commissioner Don Garber. “We fought the same neighborhood bully, grew up together, high school, college, and then we lost touch. (Seeing James) planted the seed for the documentary.”
James founded Sons of Ben in 2007 with Andrew Dillon and David Flagler, more than a year before MLS announced the Union as the league’s 16th club, and a full three years before the Union ever saw the field. In 2010, James was interviewed by ussoccerplayers.com and stated that he was still in awe that there was a team in Philly. Much like Bell, James was not seriously exposed to soccer until was an adult. But, James helped build a supporters group out of thin air, one that reached 6000 members before the Union ever saw the field. It was that fact that drew Jeff Bell the director to do a film about bringing MLS to Philadelphia. Sons of Ben simply supported an idea, but had no actual team to support. “That just blew my mind. I did research far and wide, and this had never happened once in professional sports. We’ve never seen something like this before,” Webb told Last Word SC.
Bell reconnected with James at a high school reunion and first pitched the idea of doing a documentary on Sons of Ben and their campaign to bring a Major League Soccer club to the already robust Philly sporting culture, and although James didn’t really think about the idea seriously, Bell made good on his promise. Three weeks after that initial pitch, Bell and his crew began shooting the film.
Even though Bell was not a serious MLS fan, as he continued production on the film, he delved deeper into supporters culture in the soccer world. He learned that it was completely different than other sports. “With MLS, these supporters groups are part of the organization. (These groups) interact with the front offices all the time. Where else do you see that? Learning about that culture and how they interact with the clubs even on game day… I found that fascinating.”
One of the things that struck Bell specifically with the Sons of Ben was there willingness to help the community of Chester. Sons of Ben has been known for it’s philanthropic work, founding the Help Kick Hunger event that is still held annually to help the Bernardine Center in Chester, PA, where the Union’s home stadium, PPL Park, resides. “The thing that’s so special to me is that something changed in them – They said, you know, we’re a supporters club and we can make a difference in a community that really needs us,” Bell stated.
“Sons of Ben: The Movie” will be shown as part of Kicking + Screening Film Festival in New York City on June 25th at Tribeca Cinemas. For more information on the festival, please visit http://www.kickingandscreening.com/ksny2015/
For more information on the film, please visit http://sonsofbenmovie.com/
For more information on Sons of Ben supporters group, please visit http://www.sonsofben.com/
Photo Courtesy of Jeff Bell
