Parental guidance is suggested for IronPigs documentary debut tonight

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FROM KEITH GROLLER

The PBS 39 documentary "IronPigs: Fan-tastic" debuts tonight at Coca-Cola Park at about 7 after the team conducts a workout session in preparation for tomorrow night's season-opener against the Empire State Yankees.

I am one of the few people who have seen the hour-long documentary in its entirety and I think it's great as it captures the spirit of the fans and how much this team and that ballpark have meant to our community since they both arrived in 2008.

You'll see a lot of a familar, friendly faces.

And, you'll see a few that might scare the livin' daylights out of you. Like mine.

Yes, I believe three or four of my sound bytes are used during the documentary. You just may want to have your kids, especially those who are easily frightened, to turn away from the big screen when you hear my voice.

If my one-inch column shot in the paper isn't scary enough, you can imagine how a scoreboard video screen full of me might having everyone, including stray animals, running for cover.

I am not the only media person in the documentary.

Morning Call colleagues Bill White and Jeff Schuler get their cameos as does Michael LoRe of the Express-Times and Troy Hein of WFMZ-TV. Service Electric's Mike Zambelli is the narrator.

But the true stars of the video, as I wrote last week, are the fans who love being at the ballpark; some night after night.

You'll see several heart-warming stories and some silly ones.

Producer/writer Laura McHugh had a daunting task putting the whole thing together after spending virually the entire season at the ballpark. I thought she did a great job.

i am sure there will be nit-pickers -- why didn't she include this, why did she include that? -- but overall I thought she hit all the right notes.

The bottom line is that you get a real sense of how this team has enchanced the qualify of life in the Lehigh Valley.

if you can't make it to Coca-Cola Park tonight, the documentary premieres on PBS 39 at 9 p.m. Monday.