Foosball, the game that most people know from their parents’ basements and bars around the country, is coming right into your home. Foosballers, a new award-winning documentary by first time filmmaker Joe Heslinga (F is For Family), will have its television premiere on ESPN this Friday June 12th at 7pm EST as part of a double feature alongside the Academy Award winning documentary Free Solo.
For some die-hard fans, foosball isn't just a game... it's a way of life. Enter the underground world of professional foosball, a sport that's been around for over 40 years, but no one knows exists. Not only will audiences learn how to play the game (and finally put the ‘can you spin the rods?’ question to rest), they will get to meet 6 of the quirky, passionate, and best, table soccer players in the world as they prepare for the sport’s biggest event: The Tornado World Championships. Some of the competitors include a retired cop from Alabama, a former backup dancer for Marky Mark, and a botanist from Colorado! Foosballers not only uncovers a forgotten piece of sports history, it will finally put a human face to those tiny pieces of plastic.
As its popularity soared after World War II, the game blossomed into a professional sport in the United States. By the mid-70s, players could win sports cars and big purses as they traveled around the country as part of Tournament Soccer’s Million Dollar Pro Tour. But in the early 80s, the foosball market crashed, and the professional foosball scene has never been the same; though the game is still played recreationally by millions of people every day around the globe.
Foosballers, directed by Joe Heslinga (F is For Family), written by Heslinga and Mike Wagstaffe (Scary Movie 5), produced by Heslinga, Wagstaffe and multi-Emmy award winner Logan Cascia (E:60), features such Foosball luminaries as Todd Loffredo, Tony Spredeman, Cindy Head, Robert Mares, Terry Rue, and Ryan Moore. Produced by Pull Shot Productions in association with Cascia Films. Foosballers won numerous awards on the film festival circuit, including the Golden Whistle Award at the recent Kicking + Screening Soccer Film Festival in New York City. The film runs 96 minutes.
