For the last several years the NFL Network and NFL Films have built “A Football Life” as their signature anthology series. From former players to coaches, owners and even teams, “A Football Life” tells the stories of some of the greatest, and most unique and sometimes tragic, personalities in the history of the NFL, all with great attention to detail and personality that make the series so compelling not just for NFL fans, but for casual observers as well.
Later this week the series will take another stride in storytelling, leaving the realm of the NFL to tell the story of the people and personalities behind the 2006 Rose Bowl between top-ranked USC and second-ranked Texas. The game took on legendary status not just because of the future stars that would go on to the NFL, but also because of the personalities large and small that were part of the hype for the de-facto national championship.
We caught up with senior producer at NFL Films Greg Frith to talk about the franchise, and this latest step for the NFL Network. (Here is a look at the trailer)
When looking at all the potential non-NFL platforms for “A Football Life,” why was this first? Are there others in the pipeline?
The 2006 Rose Bowl was attractive to us because it had strong NFL ties with those who were involved, is widely considered the greatest college football game ever played, and provided us the opportunity to feature personalities new to A Football Life audience.
We were happy with the outcome of The 2006 Rose Bowl, which may push us to pursue similar topics in the future.
What were some of our favorite moments from this Rose Bowl special?
The moments of the game were huge: Reggie Bush’s failed lateral attempt, Vince Young’s dominance, LenDale White’s failed 4th down, and of course the winning touchdown by Young. The audience should also enjoy moments like Young’s NFL victory over Leinart, the drama of the 2006 draft, and Ryan Kalil refusing to watch Matthew McConaughey movies after his USC team lost the game.
Are there any moments that didn’t make it into the show you would have liked seen in?
We had initially included a section about Matt and Vince growing up as victims of bullying that did not make the final cut. Leinart was cross-eyed and overweight, and picked on as a young child. Young grew up extremely poor, and was often teased and called “crack baby” because his mother was “strung out on drugs”.
Vince’s decision to leave Texas following the Rose Bowl also got cut due to time constraints. He had told his team he would come back, and head coach Mack Brown said he “thought Vince would come back, and (I) thought (we) would win it again”. Ultimately, Young chose to leave for the NFL because he wanted to be selected by his hometown Texans, who owned the top pick.
The stories of the NFL careers of Leinart and Young could have been a show in itself. The players and their coaches and teammates were open and honest about the things that went awry. We touch on some of these things, but weren’t able to go as deep as we might have liked due to the focus of the film being the 2006 Rose Bowl.
Of all the celebrities in the show, who stood out the most?
Matthew McConaughey and Will Ferrell were featured in the ABC open for the 2006 Rose Bowl, and they were our original targets for this film. But after interviewing some of the USC players, it became evident that Snoop Dogg was the USC fan we wanted to get. He and McConaughey both bring the charm and story-telling abilities that have made them globally popular to this film.
Where does this rank on all the specials you have worked on?
In previous seasons of A Football Life, I have produced Cleveland ’95 and Houston ’93. This was in a similar vein in that the film focused on a broad topic, and not just one individual. In a lot of ways, this was as much fun to produce as any of the others because it was fresh and new and tapped into a market previously untouched by the series.
What is the one thing you want people to take away from this show?
I hope when people finish watching this film, they think ‘that was a fun hour of television’. The stars are big, the anecdotes are big, and the game was huge. And while we did not set out with the motive of proving anything in particular about the leading men of that game – Vince Young and Matt Leinart – I’m hopeful that after watching A Football Life: The 2006 Rose Bowl, people might take away a feeling different than the common perceptions that are out there about those two based solely on their NFL difficulties.
