In 1852, intercollegiate competition began between two novice rowing teams at New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee. This race, corporately sponsored by a railroad company, brought together Harvard and Yale for spirited, if quite slow, competition. These rowers would find themselves caught in a fiercer struggle in the Civil War, where over a half of the young men served as officers, and two men died wearing opposing Union and Confederate uniforms. The Calling cross-cuts these historical revelations with the modern sport of crew. Rowing, which began the modern sports industrial complex, is shunned by television, ignored by corporate sponsors and virtually unknown to modern sport fans. Rowing is now the ultimate amateur sport - without recognition, an individual participates because he or she loves the challenge, not the reward. The Calling is a highly visual exploration into our sports, our culture and our history.