Mathematically Alive

Mathematically Alive: A Story of Fandom is an award-winning 2007 documentary film about fans of the New York Mets. Directed, produced and edited by Katherine Foronjy and Joseph Coburn, the film follows a wide variety of fans over the course of the 2005 and 2006 baseball seasons, culminating in an exciting 7 game series against the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS. Mathematically Alive shows the emotional attachment that fans develop for their team and how it can be the source of great joy or tremendous sadness. In addition to the hundreds of fans interviewed for the film, Coburn and Foronjy also caught up with former Mets players Bud Harrelson, Ron Swoboda, Ed Charles, Tim Teuffel and legendary broadcaster Ralph Kiner. The filmmakers also interviewed Dr. Daniel Wann, a sports psychology professor at Murray State University, who explains many of the psychological characteristics sports fans share. Of particular focus in the film are a group of female Mets fans whose favorite player is former catcher Mike Piazza. They wait for his arrival outside the Shea stadium parking lot on game days, and travelled around the country to see him play even when he was no longer a player on the Mets.

Contents

• Awards
• About the filmmakers
• References