Feed: tigers football Helpful Guideline - AggScore: 11.0

tigers football Helpful Guideline

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div stylemargin0 autofloatleftpaddingright5pximg srchttpfarm4.static.flickr.com310932411191155a73c715c4m.jpg width210 height160 div It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium br br Bradleys memoir is a look at his quarter century struggle in letting go of his identity as an LSU football player.br br As memoirs go, John Ed Bradley follows a formula sufficient for keeping the readers interest its honest and provides enough gritty detail for us to connect with Bradleys past.br br A bit too sentimental in parts, but real enough to keep us rooting for the author to discover what the weather pattern is inside the stadium and in real life.br br John Ed Bradley is a former LSU football player who played for Charlie McClendon, his senior year in 1979.br br Bradley puts his shortcoming as a man on full display.br br He shows his immaturity by hiding his relationship with his divorced girlfriend from his parent for several years. br br The dysfunctional relationship with his father is something many men can relate to, not knowing or learning how to have a meaningful conversation about life.br br His inability to commit to the person he admits was the only woman he ever loved reflects the relational impotence that many men face throughout their lives.br br Bradleys story is not that much different from other coming age tales. The uncertainty of the future, the death of central figure, the relentless pursuit of the true calling and finding resolution to some lifes pressing questions are all present in John Eds tale.br br His father was a high school football coach in rural Louisiana, and that inevitably leads John Ed to be embedded into a culture where football was the epicenter.br br He was tempted to quit, but his father made him realize that he was playing for his family just as much as he was himself.br br He seems to regularly doubt his ability as a player, even from the beginning of his high school career but manages to land a scholarship to the one university that every young boy growing up in Louisiana covets LSU.br br Though he was not rebellious in his behavior, John Ed chaffed under the strict rule of Coach Mac, but was consoled by the fact he was playing for the entire state of Louisiana.br br But did John Ed really love football and he did he love his teammatesbr br And if he did, why did he run away the moment his 79 season was overbr br What is certain that he did love was the adulation and acceptance of the fans the status, whether in public or in the stadium, of being a demigod to those who followed the team.br br He allows others to define who he was rather than finding the balance between his passion writing and occupation football.br br This is why the 1979 game against USC stands as his defining moment as a player.br br In his biggest game of his senior year he allows something that was out of his control to haunt him for the better part of 25 years.br br Bradley appears to find a partial redemption by connecting with his former teammates and hearing their stories of his same struggle.br br Especially touching is the story of his former backup who was later paralyzed.br br I would imagine that John Ed could have drilled deeper into the conversation the contrast between how the two men handled life after football would have become more apparent.br br John Ed frequently employs a literary device of leaving part of the story untold, so questions remain.br br Did he ever connect with more of his teammates Did he reconcile with the woman he loved Did he ever forge of new identity Did he come to terms with his identity as an LSU playerbr br It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium is about one mans heartfelt search for meaning outside the only boundaries he has ever known. It ponders the relationships that were, that never came to be, and the pain comes losing the opportunities to make them right.keywordtigers footballkeywordbloggingtemplatetigersfootball, 1, , 0, All, 0, , bloggingtemplate