REVIEW: ‘Born to Play’ follows Boston Renegades as they search for glory
Photo: Born to Play details a full season of the Boston Renegades. Image courtesy of ESPN / Provided by K2 Publicity with permission.
Born to Play, the new ESPN film about the Boston Renegades, a women’s tackle football team, is a tremendous piece of documentary filmmaking. The movie, which recently premiered on ABC after its ESPN run, allows audience members to appreciate the sacrifice and uncompromising drive of these athletes as they search for gridiron glory, acceptance and sustainability. These football players may not receive the same endorsements and resources as their male counterparts, but they are every bit as dedicated and talented.
The Renegades compete in the Women’s Football Alliance, a league that tries its best to provide opportunities for adult women looking to compete and win championships. The Boston Renegades are one of the more established teams, thanks in no small part to an impressive roster of players, a hard-driving coaching staff and an owner who used to play for the team.
They practice under the lights of nearby high school fields, hitting hard and strategizing about offensive plays until the lights literally are turned out, and they need to call it a night. When they compete on the weekends, there are no excuses for less-than-stellar performances, and win, win, win is constantly in their crosshairs.
The women who make up the Boston Renegades represent an age range from the teen years to almost 50 years old. They definitely have a family feel, with several athletes dedicating themselves for two decades or more to their professional football career.
Director Viridiana Lieberman smartly follows the football players both on the field and off. She is invited to family barbecues and into the homes of the athletes, all of whom have full-time jobs in addition to their roles on the gridiron. One immediately realizes that these players are competing because of their shared love of the game; they certainly aren’t spending this many hours for the money and prestige because one thing Born to Play makes clear is that this women’s football league struggles with some of the basics: money, fans, fielding teams, paying for travel, sustainability. The league stands in stark contrast to the NFL, one of the most profitable organizations in American history, and that should give audiences pause. It’s an age-old question, but why does there seem to be no equity when it comes to female athletes and women’s sports?
Throughout the documentary, there are several characters who come to the forefront of the narrative. One is Allison Cahill, a veteran quarterback on the Renegades, who played basketball at Princeton University and then switched to tackle football upon graduation. She has been playing professionally since 2003, and she has been with the Renegades since 2015. Cahill is a natural-born leader who rallies the troops and delivers on the field.
Other players live nowhere near New England and need to foot expensive flights to meet up with the team on weekends. However, when they all get together, under the rallying cry of their impactful head coach, they are all one team. They support one another, and they leave it all out on the field.
Born to Play is inspiring and eye-opening, and hopefully it will lead to greater coverage and sustainability for women’s tackle football. Let’s go Renegades!
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Born the Play (2020). Directed Viridiana Lieberman. Running time: 92 minutes. Rating: 
