Mick Johnson is the narrator. Seems like an average kid who was steered towards football by his father, who would have been a star NFL player if he never got injured. Mick grew to love football and knew that if he was going to make it in life through anything, it would be through football. There are a few times where conflict occurs in this part of the book. After Mick discovers why he loves football so much, he is discouraged by his new coach who doesn't seem to like him very much. It turns out that his new coach knew his father and he did not like his father either. The constant disagreements between Mick and the coach makes Mick want to either play for a different team or quit football all together. Eventually, the coach spoke badly about Mick's father which started up a new conflict. After Mick hears what he perceives as "lies" about his father, he decides to find out the truth behind why his father never played in the NFL. Later on his father catches him searching it all up on the internet and this makes his father really upset. After they eventually talk it out, their relationship is never the same because Mick feels like he has been lied to all his life. You can tell the Mick is deeply hurt by the lies he was told by his father.
Themes
Regret- Mick's father regret's messing up his NFL career and wishes that he could do it all over.
Lies/Deceit- Mick's father lied to him his whole life. Made Mick believe that his father was something he wasn't and this was the wrong thing to do. He should have been honest with Mick.
Determination- Mick is determined to be great at football because he feels like football is all that he has in life. Football is everything to him/
Strife/Tension- There is constant conflict between Mick and his new coach and it never ends well. The constant tension causes Mick to sit in the bleachers for some of the practices.
Quotes
- "And there it as-the reason I love the game. I love it because it is so hard. I love it because every single play is a challenge of every single part of me-body and mind. Being physically tough isn't enough. Lots of tough guys quit football. You have to be mentally tough to keep going when every muscle in your body is screaming: "Stop!". (Pg. 16)
- "But if you don't stop, if you make yourself stay out there, if you take on the challenge-the payoff is unreal". (Pg. 16)
- "The game was in my DNA; I needed it as much as I needed air to breathe" (Pg. 20)
These quotes are important because for the first time so far, it explains why Mich Johnson loves football. Up until now even he was unsure if he actually loved the game and why he loved it. At first it seemed like it was because he was forced to like it but with these quotes, it's proven that he truly does love football.
- "The change wasn't in what we did but in what we didn't say. He never again described the big plays he'd made on the football field, and I never again asked him about them. They were all in the past, buried. It was unspoken, but we both understood that the games that mattered were the games yet to be played-my games". (Pg. 35)
- "But things would never be the same. He'd never be as big in my eyes as he'd been, never take up so much of my world" (Pg. 35)
These quotes are important because after the conflict between Mick and his father, their relationship changed. Although none of them ever admitted to it, they never were the same again. Mick was deeply bothered by this.
Personal
So far I am enjoying this book but there are a few things I wish could have turned out differently. I am upset that Mick and his father's relationship has changed from how it was at the start of the book. I think Mick should have told his father that the reason why he felt the need to search up his fathers past was because the coach made fun of his dad. I also feel like the coach is in the wrong, because at first Mick did absolutely nothing and right off the back the new coach gave him a hard time. The coach mocking him made me mad and honestly if I was in Mick's position I would have confronted the coach early on. I really like Mick's mother because she seems very sensible and she sees a lot more in him than just being good at football. I highly dislike the coach and I feel like he will continue to make Mick's time on the team very difficult. My favourite part of the chapter is when Mick has to do the tug-of-war drill with another teammate and he is pulled face first into the ground twice. I liked this part because it was funny and I like how the author described how it happened. My least favourite part of the chapter is when Mick and his father get mad at each other because it was the first time they had a disagreement so far in the book. Other than that I really like this book so far an I'm curious about some of the future events.
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