Go Tigers: The Rich Tradition of High School Football in Massillon, Ohio

When some men become fathers, they give all their friends a cigar to celebrate. When some women become pregnant, or sometimes after the new mothers have given birth, their friends give a baby shower, with lots of presents for the new arrival. They do things a little different in Massillon, Ohio, however. All baby boys born at the local hospital are given a miniature rubber football. It is placed in their cradle. You think the town loves football and its local high school team?

In a city of a little more than 30,000 people, the local high school football stadium holds 18,000 people—a stadium named after former NFL coach Paul Brown. It probably doesn't hurt that the school has won 22 state football championships. More than eight million fans have watched the team since its inception.

It is no exaggeration to say the people of Massillon eat, breathe, and live the Massillon Tigers, the local high school team. Many people choose Massillon Tiger caskets to be used when they die. Generations of families play for the team.

A documentary, Go Tigers, by Kenneth Carlson, shows the love of the city for the Massillon Tigers. The lives of the local citizens are shown in the movie, which shows how the team touches the life of everybody in town.

The movie focuses on the 1999-2000 season for the Massillon Tigers. The team had just come off a 4-6 season, and hopes were high the new season would be different. The three captains for the team hope to turn the team around. In the movie, if any person says something to the effect that the people in town put too much emphasis on football, that person is ostracized. One athletic booster says that football has done more for the town than books.

Unlike many sports movies, Go Tigers is a documentary, not fiction, although it was made from the viewpoint of one man.