ESPN has a long history of working with talent that hasn’t necessarily set foot on a sports field, but never perhaps a filmmaker as renowned as Academy Award-winning “The Fog of War” and “Tabloid” documentarian Errol Morris. In typical Morris fashion, his ESPN short documentary “Team Spirit” explores the obsessive nature of sports fans that carry their team spirit until they are quite literally a plot and a grave stone.
From fans who are dying to be remembered for the love they hold for their favorite sports teams, to a funeral home owner who has caskets fitted with logos and symbols officially licensed from the MLB, Morris explores the overtly obsessed sports fan in a morbid but tender way – aka the only way Errol Morris can. The clip is a brief but incredibly enjoyable watch that epitomizes the saying “When you’re a fan, you’re a fan for life” – but according to the funeral home owner, even that’s “a little shortsighted” for these fans. You can check it out below. And when you're done, if you missed his short last year "The Umbrella Man" about the JFK assassination, click over here — it's a must watch. And for even more, ESPN launches their second batch of "30 For 30" sports docs which will start airing in October.
