If you were to drive west of Charolette for about 45 minuets to an hour, you would come across the little town known as Boiling Springs, North Carolina. And in that little one stop light town is private and Christian University that goes by the name of Gardner-Webb University. First founded as Boiling Springs High School in 1905, Gardner-Webb is a small University that may have the size of an average high school campus, but its community is what makes it a special place for anyone who was a student at that school. Just like almost every other college or University, sports is, arguably, the most popular social event that they have to offer. The energy, the home games, the smell of someone cooking burgers and hot dogs, tailgating and cornhole are all factors of almost any sporting event at college. When Gardner-Webb was putting on a home game, they truly delivered in spades. Whether it was a football or basketball game, Gardner-Webb students would always come out and support their fellow bulldogs, even if the team ended up loosing. The Gardner-Webb’s Men’s Basketball team, new coached by Tim Craft, saw a truly inspiring and monumental occasion not only for the team, but for the entirety of the school, just a few short years ago. In the 2018-2019 season, Gardner-Webb made history by making a spot in the NCAA tournament. It was a moment that shook the entire community because it never happened in the history of the school. The Dancing’ Bulldogs documents the road that led up to that moment, through a series of never before seen game footage, interviews from the players, coaches, staff and Gardner-Webb students. And with all that said, The Dancin‘ Bulldogs is a powerful and gripping experience, that will make you cheer for your sports team, but what it also does that it’ll make you happy to be part of the Gardner Webb community.
The best kinds of documentaries are the ones that make a strong impact on you and leave you with something that you will forever withhold deep your thought process. A great documentary is all about a person (or in this case a group of people) capturing a perspective that feels honest, sincere and one you can get behind with. Although, some documentaries are simply there to entertain or delight the audience in some way. The Dancin’ Bulldogs is definitely entertaining, whether it’s watching footage of basketball games, but what makes this documentary special is the spirit and the confidence that coach Tim Craft and the entire basketball team had during that season. Sports are fun to watch and play, but sometimes it can be a struggle, especially if your team keeps facing loss after loss. In the case for The Dancin‘ Bulldogs, it definitely showcases their downs as a team during that season, but what it beautifully displays is that with the right amount of self-confidence and determination, you can accomplish just about anything. And what The Dancin’ Bulldogs does so brilliantly is that showcases the losses that the basketball team had to endure, but just like any great underdog story, the team held their heads up high and pushed through and fought hard to get the NCAA. Even knowing that they lost their first game, they still gave the opposing team a run for their money, and that was a wonderful thing to witness.
Something that The Dancin‘ Bulldogs does exquisitely, and this might the best aspect of the documentary, and it’s the fact that it’ll make you reminisce your college life in ways you won’t you can’t even imagine. There was so much passion and emotion for making this documentary, that it will indeed give Gardner-Webb graduates chills, and yes people who didn’t go to Gardner-Webb may not have as strong of an attachment documentary as say others who went to school would have to say. However, just solely judging off of The Dancin‘ Bulldogs, the level of energy that Gardner-Webb students had for their basketball team was a beautiful and quite literally poetic representation about how amazing and exciting sports life can be, even if you aren’t the biggest sports fan in the world.
At the end of the day, The Dancin‘ Bulldogs is a magnificent and touching tale about a basketball team making history but it’s also offers a story about reminiscing the fun and excitement that comes within a sporting event. Congratulations to everyone involved with the making of this documentary.
Also, that music is pretty incredible.
My grade for The Dancin‘ Bulldogs: A+
Zane's take at the Cinema's 