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Micah Bryant

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The Underdogs

by Mike Lupica

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in May 2018

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Micah Bryant said: " I read the book “The Underdogs” by Mike Lupica, I picked this book because Mike Lupica is for sure one of my favorite sports authors of all time. The book is about a kid named Will Tyler, which is the main character throughout the story. He had a hu I read the book “The Underdogs” by Mike Lupica, I picked this book because Mike Lupica is for sure one of my favorite sports authors of all time. The book is about a kid named Will Tyler, which is the main character throughout the story. He had a huge passion for football. But Will’s hometown Forbes, PA has lost money. Which prevented Will from playing football 7th grade. This reminds of when my 5th grade football team in my hometown Norristown had lost plenty of money. Will didn’t want his upcoming football season to end. He was having bad flashbacks from the final play of the previous state championship game. When Will running and about to score a touchdown, fumbled causing his team to lose to their biggest rivals Castle Rock. The team had no money for equipment, not enough people to play, and also no coach. Will’s Dad is a big character in this book. It’s possible that Will’s Dad loves football as much as Will. He played football since he was kid. He was a big time player, but he injured his knee during his final game in High school. The injury was so bad that he never played football again. Will talked a lot about wanting to make his father proud in this book, I believe Will got a lot of his passion for football from his Dad. I love how Will’s Dad was so involved in his son’s life when it came to football, because it reminded me of my Dad and how he teaches me lessons and also played football. Hannah, Toby, and Ben were other characters that were involved in this book. Hannah was the only girl on the football team, but she was fast and could catch. The other teams the previous season didn’t take her serious because she was a girl. She definitely fit the title “The Underdogs” cause she was an underdog and underrated. She also reminded me of a girl named Katie Baber who played football on my 8th grade team. She was a good player, but players from other teams and even on my own team didn’t take her serious. Which made her an “Underdog”, and I love when I read a book and can refer to something that happened to me in my life.

Will’s team needed 10,000 dollars for equipment, which was obviously a big problem because their team had no money at all. Will didn’t give up. He came up with an idea to write to companies and ask them if they could donate money and sponsor there football team. He wrote to multiple sports companies Nike, Under armour, and Adidas none of them responded. Will did not give up hope. It would take a miracle for them to get a sponsor. But suddenly, Will came up with a company. Will liked New Balance and he always wore there cleats in football games. So Will wrote to New Balance hoping they would donate money to get there football team back. After 2 days Will began to finally lose some hope. He was very upset about how things were going it looked like Will wasn’t going to play football that year. Whenever Will got upset in the story he said he would to his backyard with a football in his hand and just run, imagining that he was running away from defenders. What I liked a lot about the book was that it was in first person, which made me feel like I was actually Will himself. Later Will checked his email and it was from New Balance. He was so surprised and happy when he read it. New Balance in the email said that they would sponsor their team and buy them new cleats, helmets, and uniforms. Now that Will had a team all he needed was 11 players and a coach. Will knew exactly the kids to go to for the team. He went to his best friends who were on his team last year, Hannah, Toby, Ben, Tom, Peyton, Allen, James, Antonio. Now he needed 3 more players and an Coach in just one week. Later on in the chapter Will asked 3 athletic kids at his school Randy, Tyler, and Michael. They all knew how good Will was at football so they wanted to join the team. I liked this part of the book because it showed how bad Will wanted to play football, and his love for the game. He reminded me of how much I love football, and if I was Will I would have done the same thing. Will’s Dad became the coach. When I was reading this book I predicted that Will’s Dad would become the coach knowing how much he loved football. Later in the book the season had finally begun, Will’s team the “Forbes Flyers” had lost the first 3 games. Will was upset they had faced the 3 hardest teams in the league. The fans started to give up hope, but Will didn’t. There are 12 games in the season and the Forbes Flyers won 9 games in a row. With an record of 9-3 the Forbes Flyers had the second best record in the county. Which meant they were going to the State Championship for the second straight year. And they were facing their state rivals Castle Rock. The same team they almost beat last year but Will’s fumble prevented them from winning. They lost 28-24. Will still remembered that game like it was yesterday. He redeemed himself but it wasn’t easy. Castle Rock were beating them 14-0, but Will scored 3 touchdowns in the second half helping them win 28- 21. After reading this book it has to be one of the best sports books I have ever read. It defines the definition of a “Underdog” it shows that with hard work and determination you can do anything. I feel this book is for anyone who ever had to overcome adversity when no one believed in you. ...more "

May 11, 2018 09:01AM · see review