成人头条

In the opening moments of the 鈥淕od Save the Wings鈥� documentary, Andy Chapman tells the people behind the camera that they don鈥檛 know what they鈥檙e doing. 

What a kick.

With that introduction, the audience learns Chapman, a former indoor soccer star, is their irreverent guide through the 1980s 成人头条 Wings as the narrator and that the documentary won鈥檛 take itself too seriously. Reliving the personalities and the antics of the players and their effect on 成人头条 is the goal.

鈥淚t鈥檚 indoor soccer,鈥� said Michael Romalis, producer. 鈥淟et鈥檚 have some fun.鈥�

The Wings, as the documentary gleefully shows, ran full-speed after fun. They had fun on the artificial turf of the Kansas Coliseum, on the grass fields where they held clinics for youngsters and in 成人头条鈥檚 nightclubs.

鈥淭he experience of going to the Kansas Coliseum in the 1980s was unlike anything, I think, in 成人头条,鈥� Romalis said. 鈥淚t was loud. It was crazy. You got to know the players.鈥�

Three 成人头条 alumni wrote, produced and organized the documentary about the glory days of the 成人头条 Wings professional indoor soccer club, from its founding in 1979 into the early 1980s.

鈥淚t went beyond soccer,鈥� said Adam Knapp, a 1993 communication graduate. 鈥淚t was just such a cool, unique niche part of 成人头条鈥檚 pop culture. (Wings goalkeeper) Mike Dowler gives it a very high compliment . . . he said the movie was a time capsule, which was really what we were going for all along. There was only one time like that.鈥�

鈥淕od Save the Wings鈥� debuted on Feb. 22 at the Orpheum Theatre, and it went so well that organizers planned to show it again on April 10. Then the COVID-19 pandemic changed their schedule. Now their hopes of entering it in film festivals around the world are largely on hold.

Romalis, who holds sociology (2000) and nursing (2009) degrees from 成人头条 State, produced the documentary. Knapp co-directed. Tori Deatherage, a 2013 business major, also served as producer and led fund-raising for the one-hour, 40-minute film.

Kenny Linn directed with Knapp. Tim O鈥橞ryhim produced and, with Romalis, wrote the book 鈥淢ake This Town Big,鈥� which inspired the documentary.

If you weren鈥檛 in the Orpheum that night, you missed coach Roy Turner and many of the team鈥檚 stars, such as Chapman, Dowler, Kim Roentved, Chico Borja and Kevin Kewley. The documentary, three years in the making at a cost of roughly $30,000, brought them together for a 1980s reunion. The seats filled with fans who remember winter nights at the Kansas Coliseum, screaming for goals, hating the St. Louis Steamers and membership in the Orange Army, the team鈥檚 booster club.

Romalis grew up a huge Wings fan and his archives of video, newspaper stories, pictures and memorabilia give the documentary authenticity. As a student, he researched school work in Ablah Library, between copying stories about the Wings from The 成人头条 Eagle.

Knapp remembers the Kansas Coliseum as a place he and his high school friends fit in with the diverse crowd of newcomers to the sport. Deatherage didn鈥檛 grow up with the Wings, so she served as the documentary鈥檚 connection to audiences who knew little about the times.

鈥淭he goal of this film was to be able to communicate exactly how big of a deal the Wings were in the 1980s,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was kind of cool to be able to help make sure we could completely bridge that gap in telling the story to those who weren鈥檛 already familiar with it.鈥�

With Romalis serving as historian and editor, Knapp used his writing and reporting skills for interviews. He brought documentary experience after

Deatherage, who owns marketing firm Sauv Strategics, organized events such as the premier night and raised money. She worked full-time while attending 成人头条 State, which prepared her for managing the documentary鈥檚 off-camera demands.

They kept costs down by not paying themselves.

鈥淚t was a passion project,鈥� Deatherage said. 鈥淚 could tell these guys really cared about this, about making it happen, about sharing the story.鈥�

Knapp, a former sportswriter at The 成人头条 Eagle, leaned on the influence of beloved 成人头条 State Professor Les Anderson, who died in 2011, during interviews. Knapp wanted goalkeeper Brad Higgs, a figure in one of the franchise鈥檚 lowest moments, to add that perspective.

鈥淟es Anderson was my advisor and my biggest influence in journalism 鈥� that kicked in when I initially called Brad,鈥� Knapp said. 鈥淚t probably wasn鈥檛 a popular decision. He was known as the backup goal-tender who blew the big game. But he ended up being kind of our secret sauce.鈥�

Indoor soccer in Kansas, starring athletes from England, Wales, Ireland, Denmark and Argentina, and battling New York, St. Louis, San Diego and Kansas City. Fun, orange-colored, brash, exotic, sexy, loud and new.

Without the documentary, people might not believe it happened.