Roland Mesa began as a trailer editor, then became a studio marketing executive, followed by years of directing commercials, television, and documentary. His credits include an HBO “mockumentary” on Tim Burton’s childhood and the TV movie, Revenge of the Nerds III, along with spots and promos for brands like Disney Parks, Sony Electronics, and Tubi. Roland is the recipient of Gold Clio Awards for his investigative look at Ciudad Juarez for the series, The Bridge, and a scientific “debunking” of Ice Age: Collision Course by Neal deGrasse Tyson.

Personal Statement:

I've wanted to make “Play the Game” ever since I found out what became of Walt. We both attended Northwestern, only we never saw each other. He played football. I stayed away from the games. They were just going to lose anyway so why bother? I knew one player - a fraternity brother - but he never talked about it and I never asked what it must be like - week after week, playing to empty stands, hoping today was the day they would turn things around, and it never happening. It turns out Walt and five of his teammates got to go on an adventure guarding rock superstars. No one ever associated rock n’ roll with football, so they thought they had nothing in common with the band. Until they found out they did.

The band was Queen. And to this day, you hear marching bands blaring out “We Will Rock You / We Are the Champions” at games. I like to think Queen made it for those of us who aren’t looked at as champions, who have no business being there, but keep on playing the game. “Keep on fighting till the end!” It’s no wonder the song works so well at the end of Revenge of the Nerds. It’s why we love Ted Lasso. It’s why I can’t wait for you to witness the story of these six lovable losers -  heroes.

Walt Versen considered a career in law before finding himself in the big-time rock n’ roll world, touring with Queen, Heart, and Supertramp while barely into his 20s. A long music and sports management career followed working with artists such as Genesis, REO Speedwagon, Ratt, Cheap Trick, dada, Right Said Fred, Ice Cube, Tower of Power, Poison, and Don Felder (formerly of the Eagles) among many others. Now running a community theater (along with his wife), Walt remains an active entertainment business entrepreneur.

Personal Statement:

In the fall of 1976 as I stepped onto the Northwestern University campus as an incoming freshman, I was angry. A full-scholarship athlete, I was to study law and play football for my ride. The problem was I didn’t want to play football or study law. And I wanted to go away to college – not seven miles from home, being from Skokie, Illinois.  But who turns down a scholarship from an elite university? So off I went - a 6’5”, 240 lb. angry baby. I didn’t want to be there and I showed “them” by underperforming athletically and academically.

But something amazing happened during my time at NU that fuels my passion to tell this story. I fell in love with my teammates. First with the other members of the incoming Freshman Football Class of 1976, then with our upperclassmen teammates and the young players  that came later. That love lives on. Our love transcended friendship into a brotherhood forged in blood, sweat, tears, injury, scant triumph, and enormous failure. We were far from tragic – for there was lot of fun and adventure too. But we gave, to an under-appreciative administration and student body, far more than we got in return. My troubles then were deep so I left early and have deeply regretted it.  I owe teammates a debt.

For the six of us, an already extraordinary journey took an unbelievable veer into the world of biggest-time rock n’ roll. And gives me a way to pay that debt. My football position was Offensive Tackle – but I have always been a Storyteller. Now I get to tell our story.

Alex Garcia started telling documentary stories as a photojournalist, working on staff at the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. Called "one of the world's leading photojournalists" by HarperCollins, Alex was a recipient of the World Press Photo Golden Eye and a team Pulitzer Prize for an examination of the gridlock at O'Hare Airport. Shortly after founding his company Three Story Media (https://www.threestorymedia.com) he re-focused his work on motion, creating docs and video content for brands such as Samsung, Facebook and Boost Mobile, leading to a Titanium Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Personal Statement:

When I was applying to colleges, a recruiter at a competitor to Northwestern dismissed my interest in NU by calling it a school "where the football team acts as one big magnet for anti-intellectuals." I thought to myself, "that actually sounds great." The idea of lovable losers, however, was so steeped in my consciousness as a Cubs fan, that expectations of going to the Rose Bowl were not part of the plan. Of course, NU did not disappoint. But even then, it was hard to see our uniformed guys trying their best and getting mercilessly beaten. Halftime was pretty much when the crowds of students dispersed, and being naturally optimistic, I was rooting for one day in Pasadena.  To be able to tell a positive story from those times is a delight. To exchange dispirited young people at a football stadium with crazy, cheering throngs of young people at a concert?  Magical.