Back in October, Eleven Warriors gave us the details on the new ESPN 30 for 30 film “Youngstown Boys”. It would be featuring two former Ohio State National Champions and Youngstown natives, running back Maurice Clarett and head coach Jim Tressel.
Obviously, with Thunder Treats headquartered in the Yo, we were all pumped to hear that there would be a story on ESPN about our community. It will air after the Heisman ceremony on December 14th at 9pm. Below is a press release from the World Wide Leader that gives us a little more detail and what we can expect.
Following a successful fall slate of documentaries, ESPN Films will debut a new 30 for 30 on Saturday, December 14, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN after the Heisman Trophy Presentation.Youngstown Boys is directed by Jeff and Michael Zimbalist, known for their 2010 30 for 30documentary The Two Escobars, which was an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival, Cannes International Film Festival and Los Angeles Film Festival.
Youngstown Boys explores class and power dynamics in college sports through the parallel, interconnected journeys of one-time dynamic running back Maurice Clarett and former elite head coach Jim Tressel. Both emerged from the working-class city of Youngstown, Ohio—Tressel as the head coach who turned around the football program at Youngstown State—before they joined for a magical season at Ohio State University in 2002 that produced the first national football championship for the school in over 30 years.
Shortly thereafter though, Clarett was suspended from college football and began a downward spiral that ended with a prison term. Tressel continued at Ohio State for another eight years before his career there also ended in scandal.
“Consistently referenced as one of the best documentaries of the last several years in or out of sports, The Two Escobars is the gold standard of what we do,” said Connor Schell, vice president of ESPN Films. “Jeff and Michael Zimbalist have delivered that level of excellence again with Youngstown Boys. In this film, their distinct style and storytelling are matched with two of college football’s most complicated figures of the last decade. We are honored to be showcasing this film in college football’s premiere timeslot.”
Youngstown Boys features interviews from Clarett and Tressel, as well as Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown and former Ohio State QB Craig Krenzel.
“At its core, the story of Maurice Clarett and Jim Tressel is about fathers and sons, said co-director Jeff Zimbalist. “In addition to their record-breaking exploits on the playing field and involvement in two of college football’s biggest backroom scandals, we were drawn to the layered saga of ‘The Senator’ and ‘The Beast’ because it transcends sport. In examining the interconnected rise and downfall of these two men from opposite sides of the Youngstown tracks, we discovered the deep role that family plays in any quest for greatness.”
Clearly everyone who roots for the Buckeyes is pumped to see this video and we can only hope it lives up to the hype. So on December 14th at 9pm, sit back and enjoy that steel mill/rust/ghetto video montage ESPN loves to show of Youngstown.
