In the 1870s, Scottish immigrants brought soccer to Kearny, New Jersey. A few years later, they brought it to Brazil. While the game was spreading across Europe and South America, it was being played in the streets, parks, and playgrounds of a small town just across the meadows from New York City… but a world away. And in the 1980s, when the flame of American soccer was flickering, it was three kids from Kearny who helped save it.
SOCCERTOWN, USA is the story of Tab Ramos, John Harkes, and Tony Meola, who grew up with a passion for the game in a country that didn’t share it. It’s the story of the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, when these childhood friends formed the backbone of the United States team that willed its way to famous victories and inspired the generations that would come after.
But it’s also the story of a town – an American town – in which we can see the past, the present, and the future of the world’s game.
SOCCERTOWN, USA premiered last year at the Kicking + Screening Soccer Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. The plan this year was to go to some other festivals, then find distribution. World events have… overtaken that plan. Since we can’t travel and show our film – and since there are a lot of people (like us) looking for something to watch right now – we decided to make this “educational cut” available for free. We hope you enjoy it.
Written and Directed by Tom McCabe and Kirk Rudell
Edited and Filmed by Robert Penzel
Executive Produced by Kiko Doran, Tom McCabe, and Kirk Rudell