Halftime Hype

After captivating fans with his chronicle of the United States' men's national team in the past three World Cups, "Dying Bravely" filmmaker Nick Butler has produced another great piece, "Clint Dempsey - The Fighter." In my review of Butler's previous work, I praised his excellent ability to tell a story and reveal things that a casual fan may not have known - qualities he continued to exemplify in his latest montage.

The video revolves much around the early death of Clint's sister, Jennifer, a nationally-ranked tennis star in the works as well as emphasizing Clint's resilience. There's no doubt that soccer is a physical sport, but few players, nay athletes, have taken as many hard knocks as Dempsey. Among the most intriguing parts of the video was a shot of Clint in his high school yearbook. Asked where he'd hope to be in five years, Clint answered, "Playing professional soccer in Europe." Well, let's just say the Fulham starter went on to accomplish his goal.

Interestingly enough, the production was commissioned at the request of Dempsey's brother, Ryan, who was impressed with "Dying Bravely." Since it was uploaded on October 11, it has attracted over 7,200 views and struck a chord amongst soccer fans everywhere. The video was surely well-received by Ryan, who shipped an autographed cleat and sports bag signed by Clint himself.

"I meant it to be a gift to Clint, my sister, my family, and to people out there who have run into obstacles or tragedy on their journey to achieve their own goals," said Ryan Dempsey. "I wanted something that showed how close my brother and sister were so people could better understand the motivation behind Clint's success. But I also wanted it to show moments in the games where things weren't going Clint's way in order to demonstrate what it takes to keep fighting on. It's been said that soccer mirrors life in so many ways. In my opinion that's the main theme between the two."

"Over 90 minutes, mistakes will happen. Your body will get tired or hurt. That never automatically means that the game is over. Those that want it bad enough, will shut out the pain and will forget the mistakes and will continue towards their goal. Even if you don't win or acheive your goal, you want to be able to look back and say that you didn't quit. The pain that's caused by looking back and saying 'I didn't give it all I had when i had the chance' is worse than any physical or emotional pain you'll ever feel in a game."

Overall, the video cast a unique light on Dempsey, casting him as the hard worker that he is while touching on his emotional past. Butler actually included sound bites from Clint, as well as motivational recordings from the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Billy Bob Thornton. He continued to do a brilliant job of synchronizing the music and the clips, another element which interested Dempsey.

In the end, Ryan Dempsey and this blogger left with the same thought: What an amazing video made by an equally amazing filmmaker. "I'm hopin' Nick continues with his soccer career," advised Dempsey, "but also keeps the idea in the back of his head that maybe a career in film wouldn't be a bad idea."

Pride. Bad luck. Hope. Disappointment. Those are all descriptions of the past decade in U.S. Soccer. All those emotions are best captured in "Dying Bravely," an awesome chronicle of the United States' in the past three World Cups dating back to 2002.

For recent followers of the national team, the montage provides a brilliant prologue to South Africa. For long-time supporters, the video does an excellent job of recapturing the peaks and the valleys of the United States' journey.

The video also portrays recurring themes, notably the poor officiating the U.S. has suffered, in a truly fascinating way. It is lengthy in the sense that surpasses 11 minutes, but how else could one do justice to U.S. Soccer's pursuit? As Brian Strauss of AOL Fanhouse said, "It's well worth your time, and pays appropriate homage to a team well worth remembering."

The video has been posted on numerous soccer sites and even garnered a reaction from the national team's very own Stuart Holden, who commented on a soccer forum saying, "Cool video!! Thanks!"

I was so impressed with the video, I decided that to get in touch with the filmmaker. It turns out that the montage was produced by Nick Butler, a senior at Satusma High School - which is all the more impressive. Although he took breaks in between, Butler shared that he spent a month of his summer working on the montage. Personally, I wondered what motivated him to do so.

"One reason I was making videos was because I’m actually on a forum right now," Butler said. Every six or so months they do a video competition. I did one a previous year and I decided to do another one. I figured I’d do one about the USA getting in the World Cup."

After about two days, the video started attracting a plethora of views and promotion through Facebook and Twitter. Butler admits that he didn't expect his video to attract so much attention so rapidly, but he's quite pleased. Among those who noticed his video was the brother of a national team player, who has asked Butler to make a montage of his sibling. At this time, I can't disclose the specific player, but the video should be up in the next week.

Overall, the video is an amazing recollection of the United States successes and pitfalls, with a particular emphasis on the emotional aspect. Take the time to watch the montage - it's worth it.