LEWISTON, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Lewiston High School has been getting some national media attention this week.
Its soccer team will be kicking up the fame in an HBO special for the show "Real Sports." Amazing goals scored in a decades-old rivalry — more than just on the field.
“I think it's a great opportunity for our community and the Auburn community to show what we are all about, our school spirit, and kind of showcase this rivalry that has been going on for so many years,” said Lewiston Athletic Director Jason Fuller.
Lewiston High School, and especially its soccer team, has had a very special guest following them around this week: national television journalist Soledad O'Brien.
“It's been really fun to chat with the coach and the coaches and people in town who really love their team and love their community,” she said.
O'Brien is no stranger to Maine. “I grew up spending my summers in Bath and Machias," she said. "There was a restaurant in Machias called Helen's, and they had a blueberry pie to die for.”
She is in Lewiston filming the HBO Series special, and the high school's soccer team will be the star.
“I think that show is all about using sports as a prism to look at something in the culture, in America,” she said.
The team has gotten a lot of attention for its positive approach to integrating immigrant kids into the school system. It's one of the most racially diverse sports teams in the state.
“Certainly as a reporter, I've always been interested in diversity,” O’Brien said. “But not just diversity for diversity's sake, but how it's working in a community.”
Though some may find the team unique and inspiring, the athletic director said this is just how things are done in Lewiston.
“We're Lewiston,” he said. “This is who we are. I think it's fun when you look around the crowd and see all these different backgrounds. And I think it makes us special, it makes us unique. It's been great for our community.”
O'Brien will be heading out of town Wednesday. Her piece on HBO will be airing in about two weeks.