Well-written, but ultimately sad. The emphasis on sports as the identity of the town, and of the adults in the town, is unhealthy. The harshness and crudeness on the one hand and the elevation to hero status on the other painted a very warped view of reality for the players. The truth may not have been quite as bad as this book portrayed it. The author had a definite liberal bent against Bible belt politics and culture that no doubt colored his views of the town and its people.