“Few things unite a town like a high school football win.” So observes Phil, the 49-year-old narrator of this debut novel that provides a keenly observed account of two eventful high school football seasons, one in 1986 and the other in the Covid-19 year of 2022. Phil is also the name of the author, who was clearly inspired by his own memories of performing as a band member during football season. Broken into 82 short chapters, the novel alternates between dual time frames: Phil’s tumultuous freshman year playing saxophone in an Alabama high school band in 1986 and his life in 2022 in small-town Indiana as a loving husband to Misha (the name of the author’s real-life wife). An upcoming reunion of his high school band serves as the catalyst for Phil’s self-reflective reminiscences about the school’s football team’s fight to reach the state finals when he was a student. The narrative includes rousing examples of how a marching band can galvanize players and the audience alike, but before the band and team can come together as a united front in 1986, there is some strife. Seniors on the football team are unhappy when band members are recruited to fill empty player slots; there are also girlfriend and boyfriend troubles, injuries, and a parent’s drunk-driving car accident. The present-day team struggles with its own difficulties, such as a captain with a chip on his shoulder, junior varsity players brought in to fill gaps after a resurgence of Covid-19, a critically ill teammate, a couple’s infertility anguish, and a coach working through self-doubt. Friendships and personal issues among wives and husbands are depicted with empathy; “church” (denomination not specified) is an understated source of social and spiritual support. Throughout, descriptions of football games and marching band performances, informed by lived experience and exhaustively detailed here, will resonate with any fan of a sport that’s fundamental to civic identity and pride in countless American towns.
