CHAPTER SUMMARY AND NOTES

CHAPTER SIXTEEN - Field of Dreams

I.

Summary

As a child, Mike had dreamed of the day he would play in the semifinals. His brother had once taken him to Memorial Stadium at Texas A & M and allowed him to walk on the field and enter the locker room. They had gone there many times after that, and Mike couldn’t get the university out of his mind. Now he is in the field house again, not as some starry-eyed kid, but as a real player. Recruiters are interested in Ivory Christian and Gaines believes that Mike Winchell also has potential, because colleges will never see a player who is more dedicated or disciplined. Most of the time, Mike isn’t at all sure that he is what colleges are looking for, and his fears are probably right: he isn’t fast enough or tall enough. He doesn’t really possess a good arm and no amount of work is going to make up for that. However, now he is in the place of his dreams, where Goliath is whipped by David, where every feeling he has seems like the most important in the world.

Then, on the morning of the game he is filled with a nagging feeling that he can’t get rid of - it is too wet and he will never be able to throw the ball, he will never be able to get a grip on it. This is not going to be a field of dreams. It’s going to be a field of nightmares.

II.

Summary

Jerrod McDougal enters the locker room that night where he sees everything laid out just right and he says in a whisper, “Damn! It’s here.” Everything then follows in the same sequence as always: the same music, the same conversations, the same sounds of Ivory throwing up. It makes the players feel more at home. Outside, the Carter team is warming up, and it is obvious from the look of them, that Permian is facing a team like no other they have faced that year. The Permian Pepettes arrive and begin chanting, “MOJO! MOJO!” With that, the Carter players edge over to the Permian sidelines and start making low guttural sounds that are reminiscent of dogs and the they begin clapping in unison. It is an apparent effort to intimidate the crowd. They chant, “Oreo!” at black teacher from Permian, and they also use vulgarities to further intimidate everyone from Permian. Usually, the Permian band would march all around the field when they first entered. But this time, the decision is made to keep them on their own side to avoid violence.

In the locker room, on the other hand, the feeling is like no other. Anyone who has ever played high school football remembers that moment with..........

Notes

The juxtaposition by the author of actual play on the field with the reactions of fans, family members, and former players is an effective way to show greatly winning is valued by the entire town. To the last second, none of them can imagine a loss. And when it happens, the events that..........

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