Football Genius

This section represents Troy’s venture out of the child’s world and into a new one in the adult world with the Atlanta Falcons. At this point of the story, it is important to establish the allies and enemies that we will encounter on this journey into an unknown world. Troy’s bet with Jamie, where he once again is dragged into a childish argument, reminds us that Troy is still juvenile in his decision making. Nonetheless, Jamie is strongly established as one of Troy’s main antagonists for the narrative.

The filling of the hole represents a milestone in the story where Troy has passed the point of no return. He cannot simply undo the past and go back to the child world. Rather, he will need to find a way to move forward in order to restore balance in his life.

Like Troy’s mother’s interaction with the man who sells the boiled peanuts earlier, Tate’s return of the Brett Favre card, despite Troy trading it away, indicates she is also a true ally to Troy.

In Chapter 7, when Troy and Tessa arrive at the Dome for the first game, Troy moves into the adult world where he clearly does not appear to belong. Immediately, the gatekeeps of the adult world, the security guards, attempt to exclude him and relegate him to the role of simple spectator. At first, Tessa again proves herself as his ally. Before long, Troy’s subconscious pushes him to cross the threshold and participate in this exciting world in order to express his true self. From the sidelines, he can now see the football plays clearly and thus begin to predict them. He decides that he must try to enter this adult world and establish himself there. Things do not go smoothly, however, as he is immediately met with opposition from the more established gatekeepers of the adult world, Cecelia Fetters and Coach Krock. Troy’s first attempt to overcome these gatekeepers and express his identity fails. He crosses the threshold but is quickly thrown backwards and his mother’s livelihood becomes a casualty of the event.

Troy’s recognition of his gift as a “lamp with the shade suddenly pulled off” is the “Call to Adventure” on his Hero’s Journey (42). He can’t well ignore his new “sightedness” and feels the need to act. Tellingly, the fact that his mother loses her job isn’t enough to keep Troy from his new pursuit. This speaks to his feeling that he has a higher purpose beyond the very real financial needs of his family.