America's Greatest Fan

I remember this guy coming to Morgantown for the Louisville game last year. He stopped by the tailgate for a few, waiting for the Big Cat.

Anyway, the film should be out some time next year, I believe. Below is Tony's mission statement. If you go over to his site, check out the gallery. There's so many great pictures!


(Editor's note: Sorry for the huge copy+paste)

My name is Tony Milano. Completing my project "America's Greatest Fan" has been my life's dream. It is a project dedicated to the incredible spirit of the American people. I've traveled much of the world looking for the beauty of life. Each time I've returned home, I feel a peace in my heart. I also realize how much I love being American. Seeing the far corners of our earth you return to this land thanking God you were born here. In comparison to our world neighbors, we are privileged beyond belief with unrivaled freedom if we chose to seek it. This is a place where dreams do come true. And I'm here to prove it with this trip.

I love that being American means going for your dreams. It's what this country was founded on. My dream is to travel across America and meet the great sports fans of our country. I want to hear their stories. I want to know what makes them tick. Why? Because there wouldn't be a game without the fans. My dream is to share the love of sports with other fans. I'm looking for America's Greatest fans.

I've always loved sports, but my first love was college football. My Dad Marko took me to my 1st game in 1978, The Rose Bowl, and I've been hooked ever since. I love when fall turns the corner and you smell the wet earth permeating the air. Foliage changes colors and drops. We have less time with the sun and more time in sweaters, snuggling up with the women we love and drinking beers with buddies. This is football season ….RAH!……and I love talking to fans from coast to coast. I love every minute of it. If I had a million dollars and a house on the beach, I'd be doing the same thing every college football season: loving life. And this season, I'm hitting the road to share the season with other fans…sharing fan stories.

What makes college football so exciting? So real? There's certainly pageantry and tradition: the brick buildings, the marching bands, the homecomings, the waving penants. But there's also the down home experiences we share with other fans: eating bbq, drinking beer, talking loudly, sharing stories. It's the sharing of the passion with other fans that transcends the fan's personal experience. It's this shared experience that connects and bonds fans, even if they are for opposite teams. Then this passion has a greater purpose and you really feel alive. Fans understand that when you watch teams playing their hearts out, it's all a metaphor for the human struggle; and can't help but feel a part of a team: a team of players, a team of fans, a team of Americans.

I believe in fans, because without us there wouldn't be a game. That's why I'm on a mission to find America's Greatest fans. I want to find these fans and thank them.