I know absolutely nothing about soccer, but you made me want to understand every word of this. Great writing, Clancy. I especially loved these lines:
"... his face crunched up into a look of rage and determination that left me convinced he had simply willed the ball toward the goal as much as headed it..."
"... screaming like an animal: “MY FUCKING KING!”
"...Whatever the circumstances, the Big T train had left the station..."
Sadly now, the turning point, a foreboding future looms:
"His father’s prescience in the matter clouded Tommy’s judgment forever afterward, made him doubt his own instincts."
Great story telling as always, Clancy. Though I never played soccer (title nine was a germ that sprouted the year after I graduated high school), your descriptions put me right on that field with the Indians. I watch in awe as my young granddaughters compete in county youth leagues, their competitive spirits being honed and bodies learning field ballet. Thumbs up!
Clancy, I played soccer all through high school (and ran cross country, too) and your game descriptions brought me right back to the excitement of the game. I loved this chapter but am heartbroken by what happened to Tommy, both his leg and his loss of confidence in his own opinions.
thanks jenn! glad I could bring you back. that seems like a theme of the novel to a lot of people--nostalgia for a time and place they didn't know they could feel. you're right to be sad by what happened to Tommy, it was a key moment for him, the significance of it only becomes clearer as the novel goes on. thanks for reading!!!
Phew. That was a very intense chapter and so well-written. I'm sick as a parrot for Big T. But he was never going through he a jock, anyway, athletics scholarship notwithstanding? He's headed to be a writer, right?
So true about Mr. Goodspeed. i forget how major of a character he is but he really represents a foil to the boys in terms of a skeptical older generation!
one of the longest chapters and a fun one to write. it's really a tipping point of sorts.
I know absolutely nothing about soccer, but you made me want to understand every word of this. Great writing, Clancy. I especially loved these lines:
"... his face crunched up into a look of rage and determination that left me convinced he had simply willed the ball toward the goal as much as headed it..."
"... screaming like an animal: “MY FUCKING KING!”
"...Whatever the circumstances, the Big T train had left the station..."
Sadly now, the turning point, a foreboding future looms:
"His father’s prescience in the matter clouded Tommy’s judgment forever afterward, made him doubt his own instincts."
thanks Sharron! and thanks for restacking.
this is definitely a turning point, like so many turning points along the way. they just keep going in the wrong direction.
Great story telling as always, Clancy. Though I never played soccer (title nine was a germ that sprouted the year after I graduated high school), your descriptions put me right on that field with the Indians. I watch in awe as my young granddaughters compete in county youth leagues, their competitive spirits being honed and bodies learning field ballet. Thumbs up!
thank you Rebecca! glad you liked it.
Clancy, I played soccer all through high school (and ran cross country, too) and your game descriptions brought me right back to the excitement of the game. I loved this chapter but am heartbroken by what happened to Tommy, both his leg and his loss of confidence in his own opinions.
thanks jenn! glad I could bring you back. that seems like a theme of the novel to a lot of people--nostalgia for a time and place they didn't know they could feel. you're right to be sad by what happened to Tommy, it was a key moment for him, the significance of it only becomes clearer as the novel goes on. thanks for reading!!!
Phew. That was a very intense chapter and so well-written. I'm sick as a parrot for Big T. But he was never going through he a jock, anyway, athletics scholarship notwithstanding? He's headed to be a writer, right?
I think that is absolutely correct. he was a poet, not an athlete, despite his body!
So true about Mr. Goodspeed. i forget how major of a character he is but he really represents a foil to the boys in terms of a skeptical older generation!
one of the longest chapters and a fun one to write. it's really a tipping point of sorts.