The Band That Wouldn't Die

A 30 for 30 documentary about the Baltimore Colts Marching Band who stayed in town doing their jobs even after the owners of the Baltimore Colts loaded the team up on a truck one night and snuck them off to Indianapolis. The value of game day presentation is clearly shown in this documentary. The documentary, from Baltimore native Levinson, does a terrific job telling this story, which is clearly one of the biggest "David vs. Goliath" stories in sports history. We get to hear many wonderful personal stories that go from the fun of being in the band to the heartbreak of knowing that your beloved team is no longer yours. The decision of these men and women to keep on playing even though the team wasn't there is a terrific underdog story and the eventual turning point of the city getting another team is extremely entertaining. I loved the way Levinson made this a very personal film as he perfectly mixed in the stories of the band members but also told the story of the owners, the Mayor and various other folks involved in the story. When I first heard about this being an entry in the series, I really scratched my head wondering what type of story a marching band could tell but in the end, it turned out to be a real gem and certainly one of the best gems out there right now.