If the Cubs[1] accomplish their goal of winning the World Series[2], they might make a movie of this remarkable season.
Actually, they already did, only you won't get to see it.
Well before the 2016 season began, the Cubs commissioned a 14-minute video that culminates in that long-awaited happy ending. They sent copies to prospective free agents Ben Zobrist[3] and Jason Heyward[4], who each saw himself depicted as a hero in Game 7 of the World Series.
It was just ano ther recruiting tool for the Cubs, who began sending out videos the previous year during their successful pursuit of free-agent pitcher Jon Lester.
President Theo Epstein said the idea was Cubs-centric but agreed it might catch on if the Cubs win.
"In Boston you didn't have to do it," Epstein said, referring to his former job as Red Sox[5] general manager in which money was never an issue in offseason spending.
"We felt like we had an attractive story, and this is a great place to play at this moment in time, so why not be aggressive with our story? We felt like not everyone will read a letter or flip through a brochure. But if you get a DVD, it's going to be watched because of the curiosity factor."
Epstein already had a little Hollywood in his blood. His great-uncle and grandfather, Julius and Philip Epstein, co-wrote "Casablanca," and his sister, Anya, was a screenwriter for the TV series "Homicide: Life on the Street."
In the fall of 2014, Epstein commissioned Banner Collective, a Wirtz Corp. company that makes videos for the Cubs and Blackhawks — including the Hawks' championship season DVDs, "Seventeen Seconds" and "Hat Trick" — to make a recruitment video for Lester.
Dave Knickerbocker, the vice president of business operations and founder of Banner, put the video together using Epstein's storyboard.
"We told the whole story of why it's great to play for the Cubs at this moment in time and what the next five to 10 years could bring," Epstei n said. "It bounces from person to person, telling the story of what we're doing. A lot of good visuals. We talk about the Cubs Way, how we see our lineup in a few years.
"We started that here because we felt we had to tell our story. If free agents just judged us by the standings, we wouldn't be that appealing. We felt like the organization was turning around in ways that weren't that patently obvious yet."
Epstein served as executive producer of sorts, having final say on what went into the video.
The Cubs were still in rebuilding mode then, so the original video for Lester was a best-case scenario, discussing young prospects such as Kris Bryant[6], Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell and Jorge Soler. It focused on ownership's vision and the "family atmosphere" the Cubs were trying to create. It informed Lester that the Cubs were pursuing "the most meaningful championship in sports," and he would be a major part of it.
"The one we did this year was an update of that," Knickerbocker said. "It followed a lot of the same storylines, but we included Jon and David Ross in this year's video, (saying) 'Everything they told us last year came true.'"
Several other teams pursued Heyward and Zobrist in the offseason, and most general managers went the conventional route, letting the monetary offer do most of the talking. The Cubs' video was something Heyward and Zobrist did not expect.
"They showed the celebration and the stadium and the fans and the atmosphere in Chicago," Zobrist said. "And former players were on there talking about their experiences in Chicago ... Kerry Wood[7] and (Ryan) Dempster talking about playing for the Cubs and how that was different from playing with any other team."
The star of the video was the city itself, Chicago in its best summer pose.
"It was just letting you know what the city could do for you overall, what the team could help you with," Heyward said. "You know what the city is like, but (the video showed) for every walk of life, this is what it's like."
In addition to players and management, the video included interviews with Chairman Tom Ricketts and others. Wood's wife, Sarah, talked up Chicago's charms and why they returned after Wood left as a free agent following the 2008 season.
"We wanted to hit on everything a player would be looking at," Knickerbocker said. "Not only the team and the city, but Sarah spoke pretty well about how your family would assimilate and how Chicago is great to raise a family and what her network is and why that's not the only reason they chose to come back here (in 2011)."
The Cubs were not naive enough to think the video would sway any free agent who was on the fence. Money and comfort level are the deciding factors in almost every free-agen t signing, usually in that order.
Heyward, who signed an eight-year, $184 million deal, said he came to Chicago because he liked the team, the city and the future of the organization.
Did the video help him at all in his decision?
"Not really," he said. "After I signed, it did something for me because you got to see that's what it really was like. But you just never know until you get somewhere to see it."
Zobrist, who signed a four-year, $56 million deal, said the video gave him an accurate glimpse of what he was in for if he signed with the Cubs.
"Basically it was, 'Here is why this is the best place to play,'" Zobrist said. "And after it was over, I couldn't disagree. I'm wa tching it and going, 'Wow, it would be really cool to play there.'"
Several weeks after Zobrist signed, Knickerbocker said he spoke to Zobrist's dad at the Cubs Convention and found out Ben had watched the video three times in a row.
"For a 14-minute video, that's pretty cool," Knickerbocker said. "That was the best reception we'd heard about it. Ross was complimentary too. It was a good feeling. We're biased, of course, but I think it's a pretty awesome way to put a whole organization's synopsis together."
At the end of the video, the prospective free agent was informed he would be part of baseball history. Epstein's Hollywood-style vision was at work.
"We went with the climactic finish, (saying) 'When you're one of the 25 guys that ends the drought, you'll be an icon in town,'" Epstein said.
Using animation in Lester's video, Knickerbocker inserted the pitcher's name on the Wrigley Field[8] marquee as if he was starting Game 7 of the World Series.
"That marquee is a powerful vision," Knickerbocker said.
For the hitters' videos, the lineup for Game 7 of the World Series at Wrigley was displayed on the left-field video board during player introductions, including the free agent wearing his preferred number.
The scenario depicted is familiar to anyone who grew up pretending to be a Cubs player: The Cubs are tied in the bottom of the ninth, and you are at the plate.
The filmmakers used real celebratory s cenes from last year's playoffs at Wrigley, mostly from the NLDS victory over the Cardinals, and included some street scenes outside Wrigley depicting what Knickerbocker called "the explosion" — what it would look like when the Cubs finally win a World Series.
Knickerbocker even spliced in some scenes from Waveland Avenue during the 2003 NLCS, when fans were lined up 30 deep behind police barricades during home games against the Marlins. Dempster talks over the scenes, explaining how the city shuts down whenever the Cubs are in the playoffs.
"Obviously you could never re-create the actual moment," Knickerbocker said. "But you can certainly let people get a feel of what it could be like."
Knickerbocker said they "personalized the end of every single video" so the individual free agent would wind up as the hero.
Spoiler alert: The Cubs do win, and the city goes wild.
Envisioning a Cubs championship was the easy part. Many have spent years picturing what it would be like in Chicago if the Cubs pulled it off. A Sony PlayStation[9] commercial a few years ago depicted the celebration as well as anyone.
"Well, ours is real," Knickerbocker said. "We have actual fans celebrating."
Epstein said he enjoyed the Sony ad but insisted the celebration on the Cubs' video is no cheesy remake.
"Ours is be tter," he said.
psullivan@chicagotribune.com[10]
Twitter @PWSullivan
References
- ^ Chicago Cubs (www.chicagotribune.com)
- ^ World Series (www.chicagotribune.com)
- ^ Ben Zob rist (www.chicagotribune.com)
- ^ Jason Heyward (www.chicagotribune.com)
- ^ Boston Red Sox (www.chicagotribune.com)
- ^ K ris Bryant (www.chicagotribune.com)
- ^ Kerry Wood (www.chicagotribune.com)
- ^ Wrigley Field (www.chicagotribune.com)
- ^ Pla yStation (www.chicagotribune.com)
- ^ psullivan@chicagotribune.com (www.chicagotribune.com)
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar