One of the more intriguing stories associated with the Kansas City Royals’ run to the 2014 World Series was South Korean fan SungWoo Lee, who became something of a cult hero when he traveled to Kansas City that season to see his favorite baseball team.
During Lee’s 10-day visit, he received a personal tour of Kauffman Stadium and a customized jersey from the team. Hethrew out the first pitch before a ballgame, met the mayor, was interviewed by local radio and TV stations, and had a hot dog named after him. Most importantly, the Royals won seven consecutive games and finally took first place in the AL Central, giving fans hope that Kansas City’s 29-year postseason drought would finally end.
Lee became even more of a national sensation when the Royals made it to the World Series and he wanted to return to Kansas City, hoping to see the team he rooted for since the 1990s win a championship. Unfortunately, the 38-year-old couldn’t get time off from his job. That led Royals fans who wanted their team’s good-luck charm around to create the hashtag #BringBackSungWoo, along with a 30 for 30 short documentary, and pressure Lee’s bosses to let him travel back to America for the World Series.
The story is such a good one that it’s being developed into a movie. As reported by Variety‘s Dave McNary, Ivanhoe Pictures and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment are financing and producing a project titled Superfan. Under their SK Global umbrella, the two companies also recently made news for bankrolling a biopic about former NBA star Stephon Marbury and the success he’s had as a professional basketball player in China. SK Global will co-finance the film with Korean production company CJ E&M.
Much like the Marbury project, SK Global views the Lee movie as an opportunity to tell a story about two countries and cultures finding a commonality through sports.
“We are very excited about this terrific, heart-warming story, a tale of two cultures linked by a shared passion, and social media. We couldn’t have a better partner for this project than CJ,” Ivanhoe/SK Global President John Penotti said in a statement. “In terms of both content and execution, the project uniquely lends itself to an organic U.S.-Korea collaboration, and we look forward to critical and box office success in both Korea and throughout the globe.”
[Variety]
