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Across the River: Life, Death, and Football in an American City
On the west bank of the Mississippi lies the New Orleans neighborhood of Algiers. Short on hope but big on dreams, its mostly poor and marginalized residents find joy on Friday nights when the Cougars of Edna Karr High School take the field. For years, this football program has brought glory to Algiers, winning three consecutive state championships and sending dozens of young men to college on football scholarships. Although he is preparing for a fourth title, head coach Brice Brown is focused on something keeping his players alive. An epidemic of gun violence plagues New Orleans and its surrounding communities and has claimed many innocent lives, including Brown’s former star quarterback, Tollette “Tonka” George, shot near a local gas station. In Across the River , award-winning sports journalist Kent Babb follows the Karr football team through its 2019 season as Brown and his team—perhaps the scrappiest and most rebellious group in the program’s history—vie to again succeed on and off the field. What is sure to be a classic work of sports journalism, Across the River is a necessary investigation into the serious realities of young athletes in struggling gentrification, eviction, mental health issues, the drug trade, and gun violence. It offers a rich and unflinching portrait of a coach, his players, and the West Bank, a community where it’s difficult—but not impossible—to rise above the chaos, discover purpose, and find a way out.
384 pages, Hardcover
Published August 10, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
May 29, 2021
In the New Orleans neighborhood of Algiers, gun violence is a way of life. That is part of the a-too-familiar lifestyle of the mostly Black residents but for those young men who are football players on the Edna Karr Charter School football team, there is a welcome distraction. That is not just because of the football, but also because of their coach, Brice Brown and his staff. He spends as much time mentoring his players, talking to nearly every one of them daily to ensure they are safe - this takes more time than he spends on his football plays and strategy. Coach Brown’s story and that of his assistants and players is told in this terrific book by Kent Babb.
Babb first covers coach Brown for the Washington Post in 2018 and this book is a more complete story of the complex coach. Babb weaves stories about coach Brown, stories about his players and his own inner turmoil about whether to move on to become a college football coach. The stories can be uplifting, like those who graduate and earn football scholarships to college; heartbreaking, such as the story of one player’s trauma when his mother is sent to prison when he is being raised by her alone; or downright maddening, usually when accompanied by descriptions of the desperate situations of these players. It was compelling reading and often times, these were much better reads than the passages about the football team.
Don’t skip over those, however, as they are just as good. While not greatly detailed or heavy on the “X’s and O’s” these games nonetheless do highlight not only the success of the Karr program and their many years of playoff football, but also provided the reader a glimpse of the mindset of the coach and his sometime unorthodox means of not only playing the game, but also motivating his players.
Along with discussions on racial inequality so prevalent in New Orleans and other areas, this book is a fascinating look at a high school coach and his challenges to be the best he can be for his players on and off the field. A reader doesn’t have to enjoy football to be rewarded by reading this book.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
Babb first covers coach Brown for the Washington Post in 2018 and this book is a more complete story of the complex coach. Babb weaves stories about coach Brown, stories about his players and his own inner turmoil about whether to move on to become a college football coach. The stories can be uplifting, like those who graduate and earn football scholarships to college; heartbreaking, such as the story of one player’s trauma when his mother is sent to prison when he is being raised by her alone; or downright maddening, usually when accompanied by descriptions of the desperate situations of these players. It was compelling reading and often times, these were much better reads than the passages about the football team.
Don’t skip over those, however, as they are just as good. While not greatly detailed or heavy on the “X’s and O’s” these games nonetheless do highlight not only the success of the Karr program and their many years of playoff football, but also provided the reader a glimpse of the mindset of the coach and his sometime unorthodox means of not only playing the game, but also motivating his players.
Along with discussions on racial inequality so prevalent in New Orleans and other areas, this book is a fascinating look at a high school coach and his challenges to be the best he can be for his players on and off the field. A reader doesn’t have to enjoy football to be rewarded by reading this book.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
September 7, 2021
Justifiably compared to Friday Night Lights, which was published more than three decades ago, this masterful work of nonfiction is required reading for anyone trying to understand the challenges that many young Black males experience while living in an urban area such as New Orleans. The difference in the two books, of course, is in the time periods covered but also the fact that the former covers a small-town Texas phenomenon while this one focuses on a football team on the West Bank of the Crescent City, a place to which few tourists ever venture. Although plenty of violent crimes take place in the city proper, it's also clear that this area that is separated from the rest of New Orleans by the Mississippi River, has fallen on hard times. I lived and taught in New Orleans for many years prior to Hurricane Katrina, and can attest to the author's understanding of the place and the culture as well as the effects that natural disaster had on the city's landscape and citizens. Algiers, where the high school is situated, is nothing like it was before that hurricane; while violence and drug distribution existed before, they are much more prevalent now. The book focuses on the 2019 football season as Coach Brice Brown and his Edna Karr Cougars are riding high after three consecutive state championships. But Brown has plenty of demons that never allow him to rest on his laurels, and he seems haunted by the deaths that never seem to cease in this city plagued by violence and poverty. Brown has had the misfortune of having lost loved ones, including a beloved former quarterback, and he worries about his team's safety once they leave the football field. As so often happens, he seems to sacrifice his own health and well-being with his preoccupation over his young charges. Even as the book covers most of the games the team plays in pursuit of another trophy, the narrative shifts back and forth in time, allowing readers glimpses into the earlier experiences of Brown, his coaching staff, and some of the young men on the team. Plenty of mistakes are made, as happens in sport and in life, and some readers will question Brown's methods, if not his outcome. It's clear that while winning games and championships matter, that's not the coach's endgame. He's in it to save--and change--lives and offer hope that there's a better way to live. Sadly, it seems that in order to survive and avoid risky choices, his young men will need to live the city of their birth. And what does that mean for those left behind? As I closed the book's final pages and reflected on this powerful reading experience, I was struck again by the impact one individual, a teacher, a coach, a mentor--can have on others, and terribly sad for those youngsters who never find that caring adult who encourages them to dream but guides them realistically toward achievable goals. Yes, this is a book about football, but it's so much more than that. It's a peek into a world and a way of life that many of us would deny and the story of sacrifice, love, despair, pride, hope, and expectations, all placed on the shoulders of teens who often don't have a safe place to sleep and subsist on McDonald's meals rather than home-cooked suppers because no one's there to do the cooking. It's being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and dying for no reason, and then not having your murder solved. It's surviving to see another day. It's the story of dysfunctional families, well-meaning parents, and a city that seems bent and broken but somehow still manages to rise once again. Kent Babb's story is well worth the emotional investment. After reading it, it will be impossible for someone to ever look at high school football or the city of New Orleans in the same way again.
October 4, 2021
A really good, powerful read. Whether or not you're a football fan (I'm not anymore), the storytelling by Babb of the coaches' and players' lives is brilliant. This is a book about far more than a sport — it's about a coach and his staff's dedication to saving kids' lives.
July 23, 2023
Across the River is one of the most important books I’ve read. I only wish I had found it sooner when I first started teaching in New Orleans. Winning is the goal for these coaches and students, but their why for football and for winning is much bigger than winning. It’s surviving New Orleans for these young Black men.
February 15, 2024
I need 500 more books to read like this. And there needs to be 1000 more Coach Brown’s in the world. My favorite quote from the book is the perfect summation of the journey this team, this coach, and this book took us on.
“He worried that without the structure of football season, players he loved wouldn’t just drift, they could die. The program Brown has convinced himself can change the lives of those that exist within it. Ronnie, Joe, and even Nick. But once the season ends and everyone leaves that protective bubble, they become vulnerable. Brown doesn’t drive around the city at night because he truly thinks he can save a kids life. He does it to ease his restless mind and to remind players that big brother Brice is out there. It’s way for him to tell himself that he is doing something. Brown also tells himself that he’s too busy to be happy. That there are higher priorities. Brown lives though as if he doesn’t deserve happiness. His clothes are ratty and his truck a wreck. Self care and even personal hygiene are a distant priority. Before the 2019 season, Brown said his coaching salary is $77,000. He estimated that at least a third of that goes to clothing, feeding, and supporting people within his orbit. He hands out cash for staffers travel including parties and reunions he doesn’t attend. If someone’s family cannot afford medical care, Brown reaches into his wallet.”
“He worried that without the structure of football season, players he loved wouldn’t just drift, they could die. The program Brown has convinced himself can change the lives of those that exist within it. Ronnie, Joe, and even Nick. But once the season ends and everyone leaves that protective bubble, they become vulnerable. Brown doesn’t drive around the city at night because he truly thinks he can save a kids life. He does it to ease his restless mind and to remind players that big brother Brice is out there. It’s way for him to tell himself that he is doing something. Brown also tells himself that he’s too busy to be happy. That there are higher priorities. Brown lives though as if he doesn’t deserve happiness. His clothes are ratty and his truck a wreck. Self care and even personal hygiene are a distant priority. Before the 2019 season, Brown said his coaching salary is $77,000. He estimated that at least a third of that goes to clothing, feeding, and supporting people within his orbit. He hands out cash for staffers travel including parties and reunions he doesn’t attend. If someone’s family cannot afford medical care, Brown reaches into his wallet.”
October 9, 2024
Fantastic. Enjoyable and emotional, with flawed characters who are entirely relatable even though their experiences are so different from most readers.
That's just the incredible writing and storytelling of Babb at work. At times you find yourself feeling the draw of the narrative, wondering if things will pan out -- catching yourself between optimism saved for fiction with the understanding real life doesn't always go as we want it to. This is especially seen in the final chapter, where you can't help but turn page after page with wishful thinking.
That's just the incredible writing and storytelling of Babb at work. At times you find yourself feeling the draw of the narrative, wondering if things will pan out -- catching yourself between optimism saved for fiction with the understanding real life doesn't always go as we want it to. This is especially seen in the final chapter, where you can't help but turn page after page with wishful thinking.
March 28, 2023
Sometimes sports book are corny or shallow, but this was one of the deepest looks at humanity I’ve ever read. The beauty of football and coaching and teams amplified by the intensity of impoverished New Orleans. It follows a couple players and the head coach, but the main character, as always with football, is the team. I couldn’t put it down.
August 2, 2021
I have *never* cried so hard at a non fiction book. I became so invested in the coaches, the students, the area in which they live…everything. Brilliantly told. If you’re a fan of New Orleans, the history, the complexity of society as a whole, or just love football… this book is for you.
October 4, 2021
Phenomenal read, highly recommend!
January 6, 2022
Just an amazingly researched and inspiring story that both lovers of football and the human condition will appreciate.
May 22, 2022
The only reason I gave this book five stars is because I couldn’t give it six! If you’re a sports fan or football fan, read it. If you’re someone who likes to read about how sports and culture intersect, stop what you’re doing and buy it right now!
November 18, 2024
4.75 My only wish is that I hadn’t left it in another state when I first started reading it. Incredible journey led by an amazing human being coaching kids who deserve the support and accountability being modeled to them.
Coach Brown is a true legend.
Coach Brown is a true legend.
August 25, 2021
Huge fan of high school football and New Orleans so this was a perfect marriage for what I love to read. Can’t recommend this book enough, best one I’ve read in 2 years
September 26, 2021
Best book I've read all year.
September 8, 2021
This generations version of Friday Night Lights. You won't want to put this book down.
September 16, 2021
Incredible Story
A football book less about football than how a city, a man, his assistants and 100 kids fight every day to survive in a world that seemed to have no interest in them doing so.
A football book less about football than how a city, a man, his assistants and 100 kids fight every day to survive in a world that seemed to have no interest in them doing so.
May 15, 2022
I don’t know exactly what is so great about this book. The author captures so many incredible voices in a way that centers them and lets them speak for themselves. He is a good journalist and thoughtful writer. Everyone comes across as unique and human and complex. And it is not like trite or cliched writing about race and class as one might fear
September 1, 2021
Great read to get ready for football season. Uplifting and inspiring but also sad and depressing. Ultimately about way more than just football.
August 28, 2021
What a great book. What an amazing story. What wonderful people exist in this world.
August 3, 2024
This was a great book, and I'm really glad I didn't look up anything about how the people in this book are doing until after I finished it all.
November 14, 2021
I always trust Tommy Tomlinson with reading suggestions. Tommy is a former winning columnist with the Charlotte Observer who now steers "Southbound," a podcast on Charlotte's NPR station WFAE. So, when he mentioned "Across the River" in his weekly newsletter and had Kent Babb on his podcast, I knew this would be an enriching read. Plus, Kent calls himself a "proud graduate of the University of South Carolina." And well, I am that, too. So, I dove into "Across The River."
This is an exceptional book, and Kent is a talented storyteller. His day job is at the Washington Post where he writes stories about how popular culture intersects with sports. And "Across the River" definitely does that. The book sprang out of an assignment he had with WaPo. And from that experience, he turned his feature piece into a book that examines how a football coach named Brice Brown helps his teenage players learn about life in a place where poverty, murder and lost opportunities are ever-present as the sunrise. That place is "Algiers," the city that sits across the river from New Orleans.
What struck me about the book was how immersive Kent got into the lives of his characters. To make this book work, Kent had to do that. He flew back and forth to New Orleans and became a part of the locker room. In doing so, he showed in an incredibly unflinching way how players survive -- and how they don't. In the middle of it all is this enigma of a football coach, a giant of a man, a football savant.
Like the cult TV series, "Friday Night Lights," "Across the River" is all about football. And then, it's not. It's not all Xs and Os. There's heartbreak and personal triumph. They both go hand in hand, and at the hands of a talented storyteller, names in a newspaper's box score turn into three-dimensional characters we empathize with and pull for with each turn of the page. In doing so, we see America. We also see hope.
This is an exceptional book, and Kent is a talented storyteller. His day job is at the Washington Post where he writes stories about how popular culture intersects with sports. And "Across the River" definitely does that. The book sprang out of an assignment he had with WaPo. And from that experience, he turned his feature piece into a book that examines how a football coach named Brice Brown helps his teenage players learn about life in a place where poverty, murder and lost opportunities are ever-present as the sunrise. That place is "Algiers," the city that sits across the river from New Orleans.
What struck me about the book was how immersive Kent got into the lives of his characters. To make this book work, Kent had to do that. He flew back and forth to New Orleans and became a part of the locker room. In doing so, he showed in an incredibly unflinching way how players survive -- and how they don't. In the middle of it all is this enigma of a football coach, a giant of a man, a football savant.
Like the cult TV series, "Friday Night Lights," "Across the River" is all about football. And then, it's not. It's not all Xs and Os. There's heartbreak and personal triumph. They both go hand in hand, and at the hands of a talented storyteller, names in a newspaper's box score turn into three-dimensional characters we empathize with and pull for with each turn of the page. In doing so, we see America. We also see hope.
January 11, 2022
This is a gripping tale of a hard-charging high school football coach and his players, who must navigate the dangerous streets of New Orleans, just across the Mississippi River from the touristy French Quarter, but a world away in reality.
The primary character is head coach Brice Brown, a force of nature with a brilliant football mind who cares deeply about his players but is not shy about getting in their face and challenging them.
It's a football book -Edna Karr High School has won three straight state championships and wants to win another - but more a study of players and a city and the violence and poverty that surrounds them and can easily define them. Race is key to the book. Karr’s team is all Black, and Babb is a Southern white man, yet he gains the trust of the key characters and bears witness to the texture and truth of their lives. “I want to show you this world, and I want you to see it as I did: unfiltered and unpolished,” he writes in the author notes. And he does.
The language, the violence, and even the detailed look at so many plays in so many games mean the book is not for everyone. But anyone who wants an unsparing look at what it is really like to grow up and try to thrive in the inner city will want to read this book. A truly good read.
The primary character is head coach Brice Brown, a force of nature with a brilliant football mind who cares deeply about his players but is not shy about getting in their face and challenging them.
It's a football book -Edna Karr High School has won three straight state championships and wants to win another - but more a study of players and a city and the violence and poverty that surrounds them and can easily define them. Race is key to the book. Karr’s team is all Black, and Babb is a Southern white man, yet he gains the trust of the key characters and bears witness to the texture and truth of their lives. “I want to show you this world, and I want you to see it as I did: unfiltered and unpolished,” he writes in the author notes. And he does.
The language, the violence, and even the detailed look at so many plays in so many games mean the book is not for everyone. But anyone who wants an unsparing look at what it is really like to grow up and try to thrive in the inner city will want to read this book. A truly good read.
January 29, 2022
I read 99 books last year and I only gave a five star rating to less than 10 of them, so I hope that speaks to how highly I thought of this book.
Any high school class that teaches the fantastic “There Are No Children” should teach this side by side. Although roughly thirty years apart and in two different cities, so much is the exact exact same.
The prose is solid. The climax scene would be called implausible if it were in a Hollywood script, but sure enough it happened in real life.
So why the five stars?
•I found the protagonist (the head coach) to be a remarkably fascinating person. Shades of Don Draper in terms of being outstanding at his craft while also not caring for his own soul in any sense of the word. A great many benefit from his round-the-clock compassion, except for himself. He is, from my perspective, a tragic figure.
•With great lucidity Babb shows that the kids growing up in this environment simply do not have anything close to an equal likelihood of success in life as someone growing up in a comfortable middle class environment has. The deck is stacked against them. That this is happening in the wealthiest country on Earth, a country that spends three times as much on its military as any other nation on earth, is morally reprehensible.
Any high school class that teaches the fantastic “There Are No Children” should teach this side by side. Although roughly thirty years apart and in two different cities, so much is the exact exact same.
The prose is solid. The climax scene would be called implausible if it were in a Hollywood script, but sure enough it happened in real life.
So why the five stars?
•I found the protagonist (the head coach) to be a remarkably fascinating person. Shades of Don Draper in terms of being outstanding at his craft while also not caring for his own soul in any sense of the word. A great many benefit from his round-the-clock compassion, except for himself. He is, from my perspective, a tragic figure.
•With great lucidity Babb shows that the kids growing up in this environment simply do not have anything close to an equal likelihood of success in life as someone growing up in a comfortable middle class environment has. The deck is stacked against them. That this is happening in the wealthiest country on Earth, a country that spends three times as much on its military as any other nation on earth, is morally reprehensible.
November 11, 2024
A very good book on the Edna Karr High football team located near New Orleans, but just on the other side of the Mississippi River. The book chronicles the 2019 season in which the team looks to try and win a fourth straight state title while battling the constant difficult times of playing in a city with a extreme high crime rate that has claimed some of the team's former beloved players. A kind of "Friday Night Lights" meets Louisiana and poor neighborhood story. The profiles of the coaches and the players are exceptional, and couldn't have been better. The writing and research for that portion of the book is 5-star quality all the way and where the book absolutely shines. At times I had to put the book down and wipe a tear away, especially with the portions describing one of the seniors and his mom, who has been in and out of prison. This book screams movie or Netflix series, but they would probably screw it up. Read the book instead. I wish there was a little more game action described in the book, but it's not like it's not mentioned at all, and the playoff games are described well. Good stuff and fans of high school football, this is a must-read.
March 1, 2022
2.5/5
I understand that I'm in the minority here, but this book just did not resonate with me. It's a genre that I typically like and I was super excited to read it, but it ultimately fell very flat for me. I felt that the writing style didn't connect me to anyone involved. It jumped all over the place and the characters were a bit difficult to keep track of.
I also though the author should have done a better job of criticizing, or at least provoking some thought, surrounding some of the methods involved in here. While I surely understand that the circumstances are difficult and that no situation is black and white, I felt the author just bought into everything the coach was doing, even when it was uncomfortable and borderline harassment? We get like five pages on Omari, who seems much more stable and thoughtful in his approach, and it's pretty much brushed aside as being not what the kids need (at least thats what it felt like to me).
Ultimately I just couldn't get into this book as much as I wanted to and felt let down by it.
I understand that I'm in the minority here, but this book just did not resonate with me. It's a genre that I typically like and I was super excited to read it, but it ultimately fell very flat for me. I felt that the writing style didn't connect me to anyone involved. It jumped all over the place and the characters were a bit difficult to keep track of.
I also though the author should have done a better job of criticizing, or at least provoking some thought, surrounding some of the methods involved in here. While I surely understand that the circumstances are difficult and that no situation is black and white, I felt the author just bought into everything the coach was doing, even when it was uncomfortable and borderline harassment? We get like five pages on Omari, who seems much more stable and thoughtful in his approach, and it's pretty much brushed aside as being not what the kids need (at least thats what it felt like to me).
Ultimately I just couldn't get into this book as much as I wanted to and felt let down by it.
November 17, 2022
Across the River was an ambitious and well researched book on the 2019 Edna Karr High School Cougars football team. Author Kent Babb through the 319 pages (before the epilogue section) he wrote in this book, really immersed himself in the subject of text, that is some of the players and coaches of that Cougar team. He discussed the eating habits of its head coach, the living arrangements of some of that teams' players, he discussed the personal lives of some of the players on the team, and more. If you didn't know jack smack about the 2019 Edna Karr Cougars, you'll know something about that team after reading this book.
In the about the author section of the book or page 372 of the text, this is what was written: "Kent Babb has been a staff writer at the Washington Post since 2012 and is currently assigned to its Sports and Society investigative and enterprise team." Then near the bottom of the paragraph the above quote was in, this was written: "Babb often examines sports intersections with culture and politics in his work."
I wish I would have read page 372 before I decided to buy this book here on Amazon.com. Look, this was a well written book and Babb really did a good job of immersing himself into the 2019 Edna Karr football team, but this book belonged in the social sciences or psychology sections of a library or bookstore rather than the football section.
Within this book there were little blurbs, or a few paragraphs dedicated to the actual games and preparation for those games. This was not really a football book, it was a psychological and psychosocial analysis of certain members of the Cougars team and coaching staff, as well as an analysis of the environment surrounding the Edna Karr campus.
In conclusion, Across the River was a psychosocial analysis of a high school football team in New Orleans, Louisiana. So, if you are looking for a book that discussed the 2019 Cougars from a football analysis (analysis of the Cougar offense and defense, the rankings or outside media coverage of the team, game by game analysis of all 15 games the Cougars played in 2019, and the X's and O's aspect of the Cougars' offense and defense) standpoint, then you're not going to get that in this book. Read this book if you are concerned with or are intrigued by the societal trials and tribulations of young Black males in not just New Orleans, but across America.
In the about the author section of the book or page 372 of the text, this is what was written: "Kent Babb has been a staff writer at the Washington Post since 2012 and is currently assigned to its Sports and Society investigative and enterprise team." Then near the bottom of the paragraph the above quote was in, this was written: "Babb often examines sports intersections with culture and politics in his work."
I wish I would have read page 372 before I decided to buy this book here on Amazon.com. Look, this was a well written book and Babb really did a good job of immersing himself into the 2019 Edna Karr football team, but this book belonged in the social sciences or psychology sections of a library or bookstore rather than the football section.
Within this book there were little blurbs, or a few paragraphs dedicated to the actual games and preparation for those games. This was not really a football book, it was a psychological and psychosocial analysis of certain members of the Cougars team and coaching staff, as well as an analysis of the environment surrounding the Edna Karr campus.
In conclusion, Across the River was a psychosocial analysis of a high school football team in New Orleans, Louisiana. So, if you are looking for a book that discussed the 2019 Cougars from a football analysis (analysis of the Cougar offense and defense, the rankings or outside media coverage of the team, game by game analysis of all 15 games the Cougars played in 2019, and the X's and O's aspect of the Cougars' offense and defense) standpoint, then you're not going to get that in this book. Read this book if you are concerned with or are intrigued by the societal trials and tribulations of young Black males in not just New Orleans, but across America.
January 21, 2024
3.5 stars - While this book somewhat increased my horror about football culture, which I feel leans too far into toxic masculinity, Babb demonstrates what a positive force the sport and caring, if harsh, coaches can make to young men's lives in a city teeming with inequality, racism, and violence. It is at times difficult to follow Brown as he pushes his own mental and physical well-being to the brink in a desperate attempt to protect his team and show them there is a better world outside the West Bank. Brown has a incisive understanding of their psychology and what will motivate each player, as he struggles to keep them focused amidst normal teenage distractions like parties and dating and less expected issues like eviction and prison. As an outsider, Babb is able to capture experiences and perspectives that are completely different than mine in a way that helps bridge those gaps and challenge pre-concieved notions, making the reader root for all these indvidiuals to overcome their situations.
February 25, 2022
I have a lot of thoughts after completing this book, but this excerpt from the epilogue sums up what the book is all about"
"What Brown and Karr provide isn't exceptional. Or at least it shouldn't be. All Brown did was invest his time in Joe, and a few dozen kids like him who say they want to play ball, win games, and be part of something special. Then he asks them to prove it, day after day, year after year. Not in what you say, but in what you do. Joe did more than most... and this final part of the sequence might change, or save, a life. It could alter his family forever."
My Goodreads history is littered with sports books, but none have affected me as much as this one. It's probably the best sports book I've read, and it isn't really about football. It's about relationships, and using sports to lift up others, and a community.
The lessons from Brice Brown and Karr Football from this book will be sticking with me for a long time.
"What Brown and Karr provide isn't exceptional. Or at least it shouldn't be. All Brown did was invest his time in Joe, and a few dozen kids like him who say they want to play ball, win games, and be part of something special. Then he asks them to prove it, day after day, year after year. Not in what you say, but in what you do. Joe did more than most... and this final part of the sequence might change, or save, a life. It could alter his family forever."
My Goodreads history is littered with sports books, but none have affected me as much as this one. It's probably the best sports book I've read, and it isn't really about football. It's about relationships, and using sports to lift up others, and a community.
The lessons from Brice Brown and Karr Football from this book will be sticking with me for a long time.
August 6, 2023
This book follows the 2019 season of a high school football team from Algiers, Louisiana. Across the river from New Orleans, Algiers is a poor and marginalized neighborhood where violence and drugs are common. Despite its disadvantages the program has won three state championships and is poised to take their fourth under the leadership of coach Brice Brown. His work focuses more on just football trying to keep his players alive, out of trouble, and setting up them up for a life beyond high school. He's reached a point where he's constantly questioning if his methods even work anymore and whether it's time to consider some of the other offers he's received where he'll have more resources and not have to struggle so much to reach his players. It's a heartbreaking and hopeful story that continues to point out the inequalities we have built into our society that our kids are forced to try and overcome.
May 16, 2021
Football is a national obsession. However, we now know more than ever before about the downside of our sport. Head injuries leading to chronic disabilities can hamper any enjoyment one felt watching the game. But what if football was your way out? What if time spent practicing and playing was the only time you felt safe, felt loved, felt like your life had worth? In a sometimes sentimental but always foul-mouthed way, Karr's football coaches led their team to victory and sometimes, but not always, to safety. This was an inspiring look at the accomplishments of those players and coaches and a heartrending look at the families of the young men who didn't make it out. Babb does a good job of making each of the coaches, players, and their relationships come to life. Thanks to Edelweiss for a digital review copy.
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