Film review: Brandon wrestling documentary

They're driven, obsessive, mildy mischievous and occasionally profane.

But in the end, the 2007-08 Brandon High wrestlers, subject of a documentary airing Tuesday night at 9 on ESPN2, likely will elicity your sympathy and cheers.

The Streak (92 minutes, 54 seconds) follows the team's season, marked by the historic loss to Miami South Dade that snapped the program's national-record dual match win streak at 459. ESPN's cameras had unabridged access to the program as well as the Brandon Kids' Wrestling Club, home of Coach Russ Cozart, and even the homes of several wrestlers.

What results are mini-character sketches of several wrestlers, most of whom seem driven by the desire to not only preserve the streak but live up to legacies forged by dads or older siblings.

That pursuit, at times, borders on the disturbing.

The opening credits appear over shots of the Eagles going through a nausea-inducing sequence of preseason workouts, and footage taken in the school cafeteria shows some wrestlers bypassing lunch to ensure they'll "make weight" for the upcoming matches. At a dinnertime scene in state champion Eric Grajales' home, the family partakes of what appears to be a meal of steak or pork chops while Grajales picks at a plain baked potato.

"Halfway through the season," state champ Joey Cozart (the coach's son) says at one point, "it's not even fun anymore. It's like hell."

Naturally, great attention is given to the Eagles' historic loss, in the finals of the Jim Graves "Beat the Streak" Invitational, and the emotions spawned by it. Director John Hock, however, does a delicate balancing act, conveying the significance of the defeat without exploiting anyone.

And it doesn't end there. After struggling to regain focus and, in some cases, questioning their desire to continue, the Eagles find a degree of redemption at the state tournament.

Ironically, that poignant finish makes The Streak, filmed in the very year in which the streak ended, a tale of triumph.

 

Comments

[K-man]

They win by OUT-WORKING everyone else! They don't get enough accolades in their home area or from this paper. Brandon Wrestling is the most successful program in Tampa Bay in any sport period!

Congrats to them!

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