Patrick Rosenbaum, Rob Czyzewicz, and Rudy Mezzy are the brains behind 20/20 Visual Media.
With Valentine’s Day half a week behind us, most upcoming mentions of “passion” will likely center on supporters’ ardent connection to their athletic heroes. A word with the wherewithal to convey relentless conviction, passion comes from “passio,” Latin for “suffering.” With nearly 27 years as a follower of Philly sports, Rudy Mezzy has often had to hang his head in disappointment, but no loss can nix his niche as a fan, and each success breeds even more reverence for athletes’ endeavors. Enthused about addressing how other zealots process their teams’ progress, the Passyunk Square inhabitant and two peers are trying to secure funds to foster “SportsTown,” an analytical series by 20/20 Visual Media, 813 S. Fourth St., that tackles locations’ affinities for sporting pursuits.
“We’re really enamored with knowing what draws people to particular teams and with understanding how they define themselves as backers,” Mezzy said Monday from his Queen Village-situated place of employment. “Certain places, it seems, carve out their identity based mainly on their pull toward their teams, and studying that attraction to the players and their efforts really interests me.”
The resident of the 700 block of Reed Street and executive producers Rob Czyzewicz and Patrick Rosenbaum have 18 days remaining in their IndieGoGo campaign to generate $25,000 for the filming of the second episode of their “SportsTown” brainchild. Having headed to Tuscaloosa three years ago to chronicle the University of Alabama football squad’s devotees, they want to continue to understand the boosts and the bumps that come with adoring the feats of strangers.
“When I went to college, I wanted to have a relationship with the fans, especially since I was one, too,” Mezzy said of his matriculation at Temple University and coverage of the North Philly school’s student-athletes. “I’m not too far removed from those days, and it’s still amazing to me to wonder how sports can unite so many people. So few athletes end up being responsible for the joy of millions.”
He and his contemporaries ventured to the Yellowhammer State based on the Crimson Tide’s standing as the most decorated program in college football, with 16 claimed national titles, and his stint as a sports anchor in Nebraska, another territory where collegiate pigskinners win favor. Eager to show that one should not consider Tuscaloosa solely a football haven, Mezzy and his mates succeeded in detailing residents’ regard for other facets of life and look forward to duplicating their task in an undetermined city.
“If you look at college towns, for example, you’ll find that people think only about the young men and women who put on cleats, pads, or whatever, and that perception pretty much blankets the university,” the multimedia producer said. “We know that while sports might be the center of attention for designated areas, getting at what drives that is where we’ll find compelling stories and make connections. It’s going to be fun to see what our next spot will be.”
The Montgomery County native comes from a family with an intense affinity for local athletes. His draw toward their drive began in earnest in 1993, with the Phillies’ run to the World Series standing as a perennially rewarding introduction into the psyches and the sorrows of Philadelphia fans.
“I am saying this definitely not out of disrespect because I’ve gone through it, too, over the years, but we just haven’t had many winners here,” Mezzy lamented. “There’s something about being a supporter of these teams that requires a hefty supply of patience. We’re pretty good at it, though. I just wish we could have a few breakthroughs.”
Through his adolescence and Temple tenure, the 26-year-old acquired even more of an appreciation for fans’ fervor and noted that even when the Phillies triumphed in 2008, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in five games for the crown, the city’s championship swagger declined immediately and has yet to enjoy any sort of rejuvenation.
“There’s promise, for sure,” Mezzy said. “If we wait long enough, who knows? A redeeming part of the delay, though, is that we’ve been able to experience the talent and dedication of people such as [former Phillies second baseman] Chase Utley and [ex-Eagle] Brian Dawkins. You’d be hard-pressed, in any city, to find guys who could rival their characters and contributions to team unity.”
Originally a theater major, Mezzy graduated with broadcasting, telecommunications, and mass media as his trio of means to ponder how to mesh his curiosity as a connoisseur of dynamic presentations of information and the ever-growing desire among people of all ages for constant stimulation and satisfaction of their need-to-know identities. Through his aforementioned stay in the Cornhusker State, he found himself enticed by the frenzy surrounding the Big 10 Conference constituent’s football unit and has grown in his own admiration for depictions of comparable passion through his two-year journey with 20/20 Visual Media.
“I love what we’re doing,” Mezzy said of the four-year-old entity, whose Facebook page says its overseers root their passion “in telling the tales of triumph, perseverance, and dedication, whether on the basketball court or football field, or in a high-profile business or educational environment.” “We hope it’s all building toward continuing to tell great stories and meeting great people.”
In striving to secure a second place to profile, the local noted pledgers can help to decide where they will head and confirmed that if a distributor one day orchestrates a deal with them, he and his colleagues have as many as 100 sites on their minds, including the City of Brotherly Love.
“However we go forth, it’s going to be our goal to focus on people and how these teams have become such a part of who they are,” Mezzy said. “As someone who loves latching on to teams, I expect for this to have a great effect on me, too.” SPR
Visit igg.me/at/SportsTown.
Contact Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
Patrick Rosenbaum, Rob Czyzewicz, and Rudy Mezzy are the brains behind 20/20 Visual Media.
Photo by Tina Garceau
