Our Boys review

I’ll have to admit, I was not excited to read “Our Boys.” I sometimes have a hard time getting through a sports story, let alone a whole book. But what I found was that rather than getting lost in statistics and play-by-plays that often haunt sports writing, I got lost in personalities and stories.

I felt like I got to know the triumphs and failures of the Smith Center Redmen, and that I got a little backstage pass into the lives of these players and the coach who obviously cared so deeply about them.

I have to wonder how Joe Drape wrote this book. Did he write it as the season went, or did he stare through his notes at the end of the year and panic to find the story? Did he take liberties with quotes, or did he stick to his journalistic roots? What I really enjoyed about it is that he talked about actually being in the town, being enveloped by it, and that’s how I felt when reading.

My favorite thing about the book was how he showed coach Barta as an emotional person, not really concerned in the long-term about football, but rather about turning out good guys.

The one part of the book that sticks out to me and shows this the most is when Drape talks about Barta’s inner turmoil about letting the score run up against a team. Barta was ashamed and felt genuinely terrible. He also apologized when he went off on his kids and they didn’t deserve it.

I think this book showed a really rare side of coaches, and a really rare, raw, emotional side of football. It showed the background to these kids’ lives and what their struggles were on-and-off the field.

I have to wonder how the people in Smith Center reacted after it was written?