Still Undefeated: School Spirit and the Allure of a Football Team
Channel: Zach Drescher
Date: 16/12/2011

This mini documentary focuses on how school spirit at American University leaves much to be desired. The question is - would having a football team help at all? I'll talk to transfer students who went to bigger state schools, and they say having a football team fostered a campus community that American doesn't really have. 

I was surprised by the different responses I got when I brought up school spirit with people. Most people agreed it would be nice if AU school spirit improved, they had vastly different responses to how or why. That's one of the things I love about sports - every person has a different take on it. 

The biggest challenge coming into this project was how to illustrate it. It's pretty boring to show a university NOT having a football team. I knew that I could get enough shots of cheerleaders cheering and the pep band playing, but I didn't have time or resources to go to the other schools I mention and shoot tailgate parties. Plus, these old football pictures had more to do with the heart of my story than some Gator fans getting drunk in a parking lot. The photos covered up some a lot of interview for me, and also added a nice touch of nostalgia.