Volume 6, No.11

SHOW STOPPERS Aggies prove to be worthy subjects for ESPN's Sidlines docu-drama By Homer Jacobs

ESPN’s Sidelines – the much-anticipated docu-drama that will chronicle the 2001 Texas A&M football season through the eyes of players, coaches and fans – was filming along as usual. Taking in the requisite yell practices, march-ins and Aggie football Saturdays, the Sidelines production crew had gathered plenty of tape to begin editing for its 13-show run that begins Oct. 4.

A Sidelines camera person tapes some footage at the Oklahoma State game.

Then a Sunday afternoon meeting of A&M students really caught their attention. It was supposed to be the first real organizational meeting and volunteer turnout for a proposed show of Aggie spirit – Red, White and Blue Out.

Sidelines even sent two camera people and a producer to document this start to a patriotic week that only Aggieland supposedly could pull off.

But few students showed, and what started out as a great idea seemed to be headed nowhere. Sidelines thought it had just taped a big-time bust.

But things changed quickly. Word spread about the event, and the Aggie network reached out. By Saturday, 70,000 T-shirts had been sold, and Kyle Field was transformed into the country’s largest American flag.

Suddenly, Sidelines was in the midst of a story it could have never predicted. By Wednesday, a camera operator was on the endeavor full-time, and a new appreciation for the spirit of Aggieland from a few outsiders hired by ESPN’s Original Entertainment division was born.

Indeed, ESPN’s recent promotional jingle for the show rang true:

To the rest of us, it’s just college football. To Texas A&M, it’s a way of life.

"It was unbelievable," said Sidelines coordinating producer Francis Lyons of the Red, White and Blue Out undertaking. "I was thrilled to have gotten to that first meeting. That was actually the first thing we had ever done with two cameras. I thought there would be tons of people there. But then I thought, ‘Oh, this Aggie spirit isn’t what I thought it was.’ Within five days, I was completely reinforced.

The red, white and blue spirit shown by the Aggie students and former students made for some quality filming.

"When the kids started having trouble getting enough shirts printed, they all came together. There were kids driving all over picking up shirts from Dallas and Houston. Former students were offering to print the shirts, so it was amazing. By about Wednesday, I just told one of our camera women, ‘You stay on this story until it ends.’"

Sarah Cawley, one of the two camera people who has been designated to follow the Aggies and their fans to and fro this fall, had barely been on the A&M campus a week, when she was caught up in an amazing outpouring of students and former students to pull of one of the most memorable days in Kyle Field history.

"By that Tuesday, the demand was really rocking, and the word was getting out," Cawley said. "Then the big trauma happened where C.C. Creations had been so helpful in producing all the T-shirts, but their workers were literally exhausted.

"So I followed the students around, and they went to a couple of T-shirt places, and five or so students just walked in as said, ‘Can you help us make however many thousands of T-shirts you can by Saturday morning at 7 a.m.? We’re going to come help you box them, dry them and help in any way we can.’ And they did it."

On game day Sept. 22, there was so much good tape from what was going on, an entire show likely will be devoted to Red, White and Blue Out. One incident of creative financing stood out for Lyons, as he oversaw the production of the event.

"There’s some great shots of these backpacks full of money," said Lyons, who actually was born in Bryan in 1971, before moving to the East Coast as a toddler. "On Saturday, they had one kid going around to each of the three locations where they were selling shirts just to pick up the cash. He had like two bodyguard kids with him. I looked in the backpack, and it was just filled with hundreds.

"What was happening, too, was former students were coming up and… well, you’ll just have to see the show. It was amazing."

Cawley said she’ll never forget her first major assignment for Sidelines.

The A&M traditions, like when the football team lines up for the singing of the "Spirit of Aggieland" were attractive to ESPN.

"It’s actually been really great, and it’s been really exciting," said Cawley, just before she taped another Tuesday press conference at Cain Hall. "(The Oklahoma State) game was my first Aggie game, and it was a great one to be at with the Red, White and Blue Out. It was hectic. We had three camera crews following people, and that is an absolutely huge stadium. At one point, I lost track of one of the people I was supposed to be shooting. I just looked around at the 80,000 people and thought how am I ever going to find them.

"It’s been great. I’ve just kind of absorbed the whole Aggie experience. I’ve only been here a couple of weeks, but you’ve got to catch the spirit if you’re here."

HOW DID SIDELINES PICK TEXAS A&M?

In June, Texas A&M officials were notified that ESPN and its Original Entertainment division were interested in following a major college football program from two-a-day practices through the final bowl game.

But the show was to be more than a behind-the-scenes look at a college football program. Instead, the show’s producers wanted to film the lives of the people and the events of a community that are so shaped by an autumn ritual like college football.

ESPN wanted to feature a big-time program in a small-town setting. Schools that made the pick list included Ohio State, Oklahoma, Florida State and Texas. But Texas A&M, thanks to its unique setting, traditions and spirit, turned out to be the easy choice.

"We didn’t want to pull a college like Stanford or some place that was in a big urban or metropolitan area," said Rick DiGregorio, the show’s supervising producer headquartered in New York. "We wanted to find some place where everything was part of the school. We were looking for that small-town flavor, but we were looking for a big school in a small town. And obviously we were looking for a big program. Certainly A&M has a big program, and its in a big conference and its a well-known school. It pretty much fit the bill on all counts.

"We went down and talked to a couple of different schools, and it just seemed as though, No. 1, A&M was going to make it a lot easier for us; and No. 2, it just seemed like we were going to get more interesting stories there. So that’s where we went."

A&M officials, including athletic director Wally Groff and head coach R.C. Slocum, were ecstatic to have such a rare opportunity for unmatched exposure. Even though the entire A&M football program would have to open its doors for an all-access situation, there was no hesitation to allow ESPN to chronicle an Aggie football season.

DiGregorio was unsure of what Aggieland would be like, but on his first visit to College Station, he was taken aback at what he saw. Perceptions died quickly, and his creative side went into overdrive.

"The very interesting thing is that when we first decided to feature Texas A&M in the show, my perception of A&M was always as a kind of all-men, military school," DiGregorio said. "I guess I’ve gotten that perception over the years from watching football games on TV.

"I was very surprised the first time I went down there and met Wally Groff. It was a very diverse, big, huge place without that flavor at all. From the very first moment we got there, we’ve been kind of embraced with open arms and pretty much been given the keys to the campus. Everything that can possible be done to expedite and enhance our experience there has been done."

Lyons has some Texas ties, as his parents are from the Houston/Galveston area. He lives in New York City now, but has taken up residence in Bryan/College Station in a rented house. He even works out of John David Crow’s old office in Rudder Tower.

So far, his experience of seeing the A&M football program up close has been a pleasant and educational one.

"A lot of people probably came down here thinking it was going to be racist or back woods, and it’s not at all," Lyons added. "It’s just in the South. Everybody is just so nice. I’ve been nothing but impressed. I’ve been impressed with the players, too. And it seems like R.C. is running a pretty clean program."

TONS AND TONS OF TAPE

Behind the scenes of the behind-the-scenes Sidelines show, 18-hour days and logistical headaches are the norm.

While Lyons – who oversees the College Station production crew – could be described as the "air traffic controller" based in Aggieland, DiGregorio is the traffic cop in New York City, where he directs a 24-hour editing operation.

There are three producers/camera people in College Station, with Adam Singer and Cawley doing most of the film work with the characters and players in the A&M community.

Casting calls for the show were conducted in the summer, with about 12 characters being chosen as subjects of the docu-drama. The show also has followed four A&M players (Michael de la Torre is the subject of the premiere) to class, practice, home, social settings, etc.

In a given day, Lyons may talk to every character of the show to find out where they are and what they’re doing.

Each camera operator may shoot as much as four or five tapes a day, and those are overnighted every night to New York for editing. In two editing rooms, 12 staff members under DiGregorio will edit, digitize and log in tape into computers.

So 40 or 50 tapes a week, not to mention game footage supplied by A&M and the networks, are pared down to a 22-minute show each week.

"When you’re following people around and they’re not actors and not scripted, you never know what’s going to happen," DiGregorio said. "So you end up shooting an awful lot. A lot of gems hit the floor around here and never see the screen. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the nature of this type of show.

"We originally started with four football players, and were aiming for seven good storylines, so we have about 12 characters. A lot of characters are really nice people, but there’s not a whole going on in their lives. And there’s a few of our characters where there’s something constantly going on in their lives. We’re trying to put a mix together where we don’t feature the same character every week."

About three different stories are supposed to fill up the show each week (broadcast each Thursday night after the late SportsCenter on ESPN). Of course, the show’s producers weren’t counting on the tragic events of Sept. 11 in this country or the subsequent patriotic outpouring in Aggieland a few weeks later.

In any case, the Oklahoma State game made for outstanding television.

"Sometimes it’s event-driven, like when A&M had the Red, White and Blue Out," DiGregorio said. "Jeez, we fell into that. All of a sudden, we had a storyline we never planned on. We’ve had a couple of other incidents that have happened over the course of the year that we didn’t plan on. You kind of hope those happen along the way to kind of help you out a little bit in case you’re people aren’t doing much more than going to class and going to bed or going out to the Salty Dog or the Dixie Chicken.

"If you remember back in college, it seems like, boy, it was great. But if you really look at your day-to-day life it was: Get up, go to class, figure out where you’re going that night, have a few drinks, go home and go to bed. You have to sit around and wait for things to actually happen."

WHAT WILL AGGIE FANS SEE ON SIDELINES?

Taping for Sidelines began on Aug. 13, and snippets from the entire first two months of the season will be seen all fall long. It will be an on-going series that could show clips from the Wyoming game in late November.

"You’ll see pieces of everything in every show," DiGregorio said. "It’s not a linear show. Just because it’s October, you’re not just going to see the Notre Dame game. Show 2, for example, will be featuring Mark Farris and you’ll see practice, the McNeese game and you’ll end up with Wyoming. Show 1, you’ll see de la Torre, and you’ll see practice and end up with the Oklahoma State game.

"If it’s a show about somebody getting injured, we’ll pick a game where people get injured. It never really has to do with what the team is doing or how the team is doing, it’s how our people are doing and what our people are doing."

Many A&M fans were a little bit leery of a show that could expose so many aspects of a football program. What if some players were involved with the law? Or what if the Aggies were to hit the skids on the field, stumbling through a bowl-less season?

It doesn’t matter, says the show’s producers. The stories will evolve – good and bad – to give the viewer the intended result: A rare look into a university, its football team and its football-loving community.

"Good characters are critical," DiGregorio said. "It would be nice to have a good season. But it would be even nicer to have good strong characters who remain strong whether the season is good or not."

But with each passing day, each passing game, it’s evident the Sidelines crew has tapped into the essence of all that is Aggieland. Hopefully, the rest of the nation will tune in and leave with a better appreciation of A&M and what goes on in a major college football program.

"You really do get behind the scenes of a college football program, and I think a lot of people will be interested in that," DiGregorio added. "The depth and intensity of a college football program… in many cases, it surpasses the excitement of the pros. We were even surprised by that.

"I think after the first show, many Aggies are going to very happy. If no other show does it, the first show in particular is really going to show the embodiment of the Aggie spirit. And we’re very excited about it."

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL Rodriguez, Farris family enjoy their involvement with ESPN Sidelines By Rusty Burson

From the moment she first heard about Sidelines, ESPN’s 13-episode docu-drama that focuses on Texas A&M football, Neocia Farris was all for it. She immediately concluded that the exposure would be good for the school, good for the football program and good for her husband, A&M quarterback Mark Farris.

Then she discovered that the cameras would follow the A&M players past the playing fields and into their personal lives. Into the dorms, into the apartments and into her home.

Instantly, her internal barometer regarding the reality-TV series went from approving to apprehensive.

"To tell you the truth, in the beginning, I was really nervous about it all," Neocia Farris said. "When Mark told me that he had been one of the players interviewed (by ESPN), I was excited for him, but I’m not the kind of person who likes that kind of (media) exposure. So, whenever we found out that he had been picked, he really had to talk to me and convince me it was going to be OK. He was honored to be picked, and I was happy for him and Texas A&M. But I was also thinking, ‘Don’t follow me.’"

Since then, Neocia has warmed to the idea, befriended the camera people and crew and watched in amusement as Kameryn Farris, the couple’s 6-year-old daughter, has taken on a starring role.

She’s comfortable with everything now… except the idea of seeing herself on TV.

"I’m not looking forward to seeing myself, not at all," Neocia said. "Plus, we’re expecting. I’m two months along, so now I even have to watch myself get fat on national television. So, I guess that should be pretty interesting."

Interesting, indeed. The Farris family is just one of the featured elements of the series, which debuts Oct. 4 on ESPN.

Mark Farris' family is a major part of the series.

No one really knows how it will all turn out – or how Texas A&M will be portrayed to the nation – but the players and people who are being followed by the cameras have a good feeling about how the operation is unfolding.

And for the most part, the initial trepidation has turned into trust.

"The Sidelines experience has definitely been fun," said A&M linebacker Christian Rodriguez, also one of the stars of the series. "My generation is used to seeing the Real World, Survivor and those types of reality TV. I’ve always kind of wondered what it would be like to have somebody follow me around, and for me, it’s been cool.

"The people who have been following me around have been real down to earth. They’ve explained the situation to me. They don’t want to just hone in on me as a football player. They also want to see other sides of me, playing Playstation with my friends or talking to people on the phone or just hanging out with my roommates or going out after the game. I think it’s going to show people that the stereotype they have of college football players – being guys that don’t go to class and get in trouble, etc. – it’s going to be broken by this show being seen across the nation."

The show should also help break down many of the false stereotypes of Texas A&M, such as the national perception that A&M is still all-male and all-military. Rodriguez says he hopes that people across the nation who watch the show will start purchasing A&M merchandise and that it will serve as a nationwide recruiting video for the university.

"This is just a great chance for A&M to be noticed," Rodriguez said.

"You don’t know what they’re going to put in there, if it’s going to be bad stuff or good stuff, but I think anything they show about Texas A&M is going to be good because I don’t think there’s much bad stuff around here," Mark Farris said. "It’s a special place, and I think the show is going to bring national (publicity), which being in central Texas, it isn’t always easy to get that. I think it’s going to be a good deal for Texas A&M and everybody involved in it."

It could also be a good deal for the people and players who are taking on a starring role in the program. Neocia Farris said crew members have been so impressed with their daughter that they have suggested that she may have a future in the spotlight.

Kameryn certainly hasn’t been shy in front of the camera.

"They don’t have to make her talk," Mark Farris said of his daughter. "It was funny the first time they came over to the house, they put a clip-on microphone on her, and at first, she didn’t know what to think. She wasn’t really talking like herself, but after about five minutes, they couldn’t get her to shut up. When they’re putting the show together, the majority of their editing time is probably going to be devoted to cutting out stuff she says. They can’t stop talking about how much of a character she is."

Rodriguez has also been struck by the reality of what this could possibly lead to him for him. He’s not banking on anything, but stars of Survivor and other reality TV shows have parlayed their experiences into other gigs, why not him?

"I was talking to (to my high school coach)," Rodriguez said, "and he’s like, ‘Christian, you don’t even realize this is national TV, this could open doors to all kinds of things.’ He gave the example of (former Texas quarterback Marty) Cherry who ended up being seen and becoming a model. I’m not saying I’m going to be a model, but it just shows that situation. You never know. Hopefully, this will open some doors for me and others here."

No matter what comes afterward, most everyone at A&M believes the series will paint A&M in a positive light. A sincere trust has been developed between those being followed and those doing the following, which should translate into a positive series from A&M’s standpoint.

"The guys who are doing it are really nice," Neocia Farris said. "Like Francis (Lyons), the producer, he began calling me in advance and preparing me. Once we met, it was like I felt like I already knew him. They were also very good about telling us that if we didn’t want to do something to just let them know. One thing I really admire about how they are doing this is that they will always run things by us before they start shooting. They are very respectful in that way. I can’t imagine them doing anything that might put us in a negative light."

Nor can Rodriguez, who says he has been very impressed with how comfortable the crew has made him feel.

"Sometimes I have to bite my tongue, but they have told me that I can tell them to edit anything I want," Rodriguez said. "The only time I can honestly say that I’ve felt uncomfortable is one time we were talking about our first girlfriend and they were recording, when I finished talking about that, the guy was like, ‘Talk about your first time.’

"I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m not going to talk about that.’ That’s a little personal right there. But I said I didn’t want to get that personal, and they moved on. The big thing is that I trust them now. I know they are not going to try to create a controversy or anything like that. And I just can’t wait to see how it all comes together."

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