Imagine standing on the Football field – American Football field. The stands teeming with fans from both sides towering around you. Their reverberating roars loud enough to feel the seats vibrate and quicken the heartbeat. The scoreboard says 36-38. The clock is 00.00. I am not the quarterback. I am the lone coach of a visiting Canadian team taking on the giants of American school football.
So begins 4th & Hell by Gino Arcaro. Gino Arcaro was the head coach of a high school team. Other than publishing various books on law enforcement, running a business, and becoming a full-time author, Gino Arcaro was also a SWAT team officer in his earlier career.
4th & Hell Season 1
Pages: 172 pages Publisher: Jordan Publications Inc. (June 23, 2014) ISBN-10: 1927851033, 978-1927851036
Frankly, I do not understand Football that well. By the time I began to get a hang of what was happening on the field, the opportunity to watch a game became scarce. But I clearly remember the gripping finish of the 2009 Super Bowl when the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Santonio Holmes made that amazing touchdown in the last minute of the game to clinch the Superbowl title for Pittsburgh Steelers and earned himself the MVP title of Super Bowl XLIII.
So back to the game in the book. Clock is 00.00, the score reads 36-38. In the available 40 seconds the coach needs to decide on the conversion play . . . ticktock . . . ticktock . . . ticktock . . .
Well if this doesn’t get you hooked, sports perhaps aren’t your thing. The book is partly fictionalized but the story is true. The author-coach relives the 40 seconds allowed to decide about the conversion play and explains the world of a small school-level Canadian team’s trials and triumphs. The author narrates the differences in team compositions and the infrastructure that a US team gets as compared to what the Canadians have available. He also takes a detailed view into the mind of a coach and everything that happens behind the scenes, away from the football field and eyes of the spectators.
But you will get all this technical information and problems with a strong dose of humor. You really cannot help but smile as the author discusses how years of football has cemented certain Dos and Don’ts – absolutes that no one tries to challenge in the US, when he talks about whether to go for single point or two point conversion after a touchdown.
“Pssst. Barney. Get this. Crazy Canadians. They don’t kick.”
As I began reading this I couldn’t help myself but think how amazing movie this scenario will make. I really love watching sports based movies and never miss a chance to watch Remember the Titans, Invictus, The Blind Side, or The Mighty Ducks.
A true underdog story, if you are a sports fan, I promise you will not keep the book down until you finish it. If you aren’t yet, this is the perfect recipe to get you into the Super Bowl mood before February 1.