Rating: 
Summary: Must see.
Review: "Go Tigers" is a fantastic, beautifully filmed and edited documentary about the most intense high school football program in the nation. A must see for any high school football fan and those interested in the underlying social commentary about American youth sports programs.
Rating:
Summary: Kenneth Carlson's, Go Tigers.
Review: "Go Tigers." A film that follows the lives of three high school football players through an eventful season. Although there is an exciting football story line, the main focus is on the people in the town of Massillon. Director Kenneth Carlson does an excellent job of showing us the true meaning of "small town" America. Massillon is a town that is consumed by football, and it is made obvious to the film-goer with the shots of the town covered in "Tiger" signs and banners. There are many memorable scenes including the Tiger Lady and the soon-to-be-classic Bulldog Scene. The cinematography in "Go Tigers" was great. The soundtrack of "Go Tigers" included a subtle underscore and the gripping music of Moby. During the final credits, the song "Friday Nights" by Katrina Carlson was a fitting end to a great documentation of Friday night football. "Go Tigers" is a perfect blend of hard hitting sports documentation and gripping human interest. Whether you've heard of the Massillon Tigers or not, you'll enjoy this film. The players will grow on you and you will root for them to succeed. I highly recommend this film and the people in the town of Massillon should be proud of this film. After seeing Go Tigers, I am looking forward to Director Kenneth Carlson's next film. DG
Rating:
Summary: Passion of the Game
Review: An amazing story which shows how much excitement there is to football. It portrays the game as a lifestyle and not a game. It made me and others that have seen it come aware at what is at stake for high school football. Eventhough i have player college football it makes me want to go back and relive my high school days.
Rating:
Summary: Passion of the Game
Review: An amazing story which shows how much excitement there is to football. It portrays the game as a lifestyle and not a game. It made me and others that have seen it come aware at what is at stake for high school football. Eventhough i have player college football it makes me want to go back and relive my high school days.
Rating:
Summary: MASSILLON HERE I COME.
Review: Fantastic!
As probably the only English person to see this but also someone
who goes to Columbus to watch OSU every few years this has made me make plans for a trip to the town/school when next in Ohio in
2005.
Rating: 
Summary: Go Tigers
Review: Go Tigers was an interesting documentary, following the Massillon High School football team through a season. Overall it was a well made film, blending the sports, social and economic aspects of a small Ohio city. Although I haven't seen any other football documentaries, I have seen other sport documentaries and Go Tigers is very similar in quality. I recommend that any football fan, especially one of high school see this movie.
The reality of the actors in the movie was superb. The team was a very typical type of football team from a small town. The people of the town were portrayed as football crazy and sometimes that took precedent over other issues, or those issues were affected by the outcome of the football team. When the kids got left back in eighth grade to be bigger and stronger for playing football, I found is unethical and immoral from both a social aspect and a sports aspect. When the town had to vote on proposition twenty-two, it was rather ridiculous that the citizens of the town would let the outcome of a football rivalry affect a decision regarding academics. The foremost priority of the town should be on academics and not on a high school sports team.
Coming from a high school without a football team it was hard to identify with the characters in the film. However the basketball team at my school had many of the same pressures as the football players. The players focused too much time on participating in sports, rather then on their academics, which is what should be foremost and primary while attending high school. The athletes in this movie are the typical high school athlete, which one will encounter in any high school.
The main message that is discussed by the director in this film, is the culture of a small town and the effect that high school sports, in particular football, has on the town. Since the film was a documentary, the depiction of teenage life and culture was definitely accurate. The players on the team went through the same problems and quandaries that teenagers go through everyday. Some of the problems were more extreme then others, such as Elery Moore and his time spent in jail. In general, the portrayal of the problems faced by the football players was accurate and the representation of teenage life and culture was precise.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent analysis of sports and society
Review: Go Tigers! features the town of Massillon, Ohio, its citizens and the near cult-like obsession with high school football. What really makes this documentary come to life is how in-depth the producers go to portray local events as critical to the well-being of the town itself. What is also telling is how the camera crews follow the players and other citizens around to official (and not so official) functions, giving the film more creditability in its research pursuits. On a different level, the story itself has great entertainment value, emulating the common "David vs. Goliath" or in a different sense, the theme of "Rudy." Regardless of the reason for viewing the film, Go Tigers! is a story that is not to be missed; if not for its extrinsic value, then just for its feel-good value and triumph of the community spirit.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent analysis of sports and society
Review: Go Tigers! features the town of Massillon, Ohio, its citizens and the near cult-like obsession with high school football. What really makes this documentary come to life is how in-depth the producers go to portray local events as critical to the well-being of the town itself. What is also telling is how the camera crews follow the players and other citizens around to official (and not so official) functions, giving the film more creditability in its research pursuits. On a different level, the story itself has great entertainment value, emulating the common "David vs. Goliath" or in a different sense, the theme of "Rudy." Regardless of the reason for viewing the film, Go Tigers! is a story that is not to be missed; if not for its extrinsic value, then just for its feel-good value and triumph of the community spirit.
Rating: 
Summary: Football towns are bizarre
Review: Go Tigers! is not an exceptional documentary, but it is very interesting and entertaining. The tone of the film seems to be all over the map blending the happy and spirited along with the sad and sometimes embarrasingly hilarious.
I can say, without hyperbole, that football is a religion in Massillon, Ohio. People walk through life in search of answers to their cosmic questions, which brings about unsubstantiated faith. It may not be tangible, but it gives them meaning. Football in Massillon is no different. Every year they look forward to the fall season. Everyweek of the fall season they look forward to Friday night. Elderly people who have not had children in the school system for many years still keep track of the football team. The field is their temple, their sanctuary, whatever. It gives them purpose.
Ojectively, it seems very hard to be individualistic in such a town. I myself would have preferred more interviews with the nay-sayers who do not care for football and its respective social "clicks." (the teenager with the long hair and black t-shirt is especially funny) But that would probably give a very inaccurate representation of the town.
So if it appears that Go Tigers! gives too much glory to the football team, then you are looking at the town in a nutshell. The film comes across that way because that's the way everybody feels.
When I was growing up, I thought my father's childhood stories of Massillon were exaggerated. After seeing this movie, I'm starting to believe the truth in his tall-tales. And when this movie hit the theaters, I offered to take him to go see it. He said: "no way."
Rating:
Summary: Terrific documentary on high school football
Review: I bought this DVD in part because it was recommended to me by a fellow fan of H.G. Bissinger's magnificent book, "Friday Night Lights" who described this documentary as "FNL in movie form." While I still found it inferior to FNL, "Go Tigers" is a suberb documentary in the vein of "Hoop Dreams." Go Tigers follows the Massillon High School Tigers football team through the 1999 season. The Tigers are a legendary team in the state of Ohio. In fact, in 1951, a newsreel was put together chronicling the enormous success of the program - "11 state championships in the last 15 seasons, more college players and captains than any other school in the nation, etc." However, in 1998, the Tigers were a lackluster 4-6, a losing record almost unheard of in the program's long and storied history. The 1999 Tigers are not only playing to recapture the respect due their inheritance, but to convince the citizens of Massillon to approve a school levy that will bring in much needed funds to their deteriorating school. The players, coaches, boosters, parents, and everyone else associated with the team understands that the riding on the success of their team is not only community pride and bragging rights, but perhaps the fate of their school and thus, their football program as well. The documentary mostly focuses on the Tigers' tri-captains: Their star quarterback, middle linebacker, and defensive tackle. These three are the core of the team, and on their young shoulders ride the hopes and dreams of an entire community.
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