Shady Side Academy alumnus Roland Criswell '95, president of the Samuel E. Coston Funeral Home in Pittsburgh, is featured in ESPN's latest commercial on sports' fans last wishes. The spot, which is part of ESPN's It's Not Crazy, It's Sports campaign, explores the trend of sports-themed funerals and expressions of fandom post-mortem.
In the 60-second commerical as well as in a longer eight-minute documentary, Criswell shares the story of a Pittsburgh Steelers fan whose family had an unusual request. Instead of laying the deceased fan out in a casket, they laid his body in a recliner, covered in his favorite Steelers blanket, with a TV in front of him playing a Steelers game - appearing as if he had fallen asleep watching a game.
The commerical began airing on ESPN on Aug. 1. Both the commerical and documentary were directed by Academy Award-winner Errol Morris.
Watch the 60-second commercial on YouTube.
Watch the eight-minute documentary on YouTube (Criswell's segment begins at 1:05).
