While watching a soccer game on television in the Morgan Center,
the UCLA men’s soccer team was about to learn of an
opportunity that would land it on the big screen as well.
The Bruins were told by their coaches that Lindsay Lohan had
asked for a soccer team to be in her new music video.
“We didn’t really know what we’d be doing, but
it seemed pretty cool,” junior midfielder Greg Folk said.
From there, the Bruins were taken to a studio where they found
out more about exactly what they would be doing, and that it
wasn’t actually a music video for Lindsay Lohan, but rather
for 15-year-old JoJo, who is releasing her sophomore album,
“The High Road.”
For junior defender Mike Zaher, that was just the beginning.
The Las Vegas native was asked to visit the studio and say some
lines as part of a process that could potentially land him the lead
male role in the video.
“They asked me to say some lines and thought that the
producer might like me,” Zaher said.
A short while later, he found himself competing against actors
for the role, with JoJo’s support.
“She told me she liked my video and that she wanted to get
me the part,” Zaher said.
And that’s just what happened.
Soon, the members of the spring team were all on the set at East
L.A. College, where they spent almost the entire day shooting for
the pop artist’s video “Too Little Too Late.”
“We all had a lot of fun and everyone was really nice to
us,” Folk said.
“When they found out that we couldn’t get paid for
it, they were even nicer to us,” Zaher added, noting that the
Bruins couldn’t accept any money for their time spent that
day due to strict NCAA regulations.
However, the players didn’t find it as uptight and intense
as they thought it might be at first, instead finding the task to
be exciting.
Zaher’s video shoots didn’t end at the soccer field,
as he found himself traveling to Universal Studios and a house
located just off Highway 10 with JoJo, whom the team found to be
mature beyond her years.
He played the role of a boyfriend who mistreated his girlfriend
and missed a goal in a soccer game, only to realize that she
hadn’t come to watch after he invited her. The shot was saved
by none other than former UCLA goalkeeper Eric Conner.
But it is his teammate who has gotten the chance to pursue
something that he never would have dreamt to be possible.
“It was the first time I had done anything like
that,” Zaher said. “Who knows what could come out of
this, but it has definitely sparked my interest.”
But before he got ahead of himself, he came to realize his
immediate goals and how he got to where he is.
“If I get a chance, who knows, maybe I’ll give it
another shot,” he said. “I could probably try it out
after college, but for now I’m just sticking with the whole
soccer gig.”