The Underdogs

Hannah Grayson is unique in several ways in the novel: She is the only significant female character in the story; she is the only young person in Will’s peer group to move to Forbes, not away from it; and she has outstanding football skills. Hannah’s father took a job as an auditor and consultant for the local struggling newspaper, which required the family to move to Forbes. Hannah has tremendous kicking power and aim, which make her a natural punter and field goal kicker for the team. However, she must fight to convince Will, his father, and the other members of the team to accept her and let her play. Hannah’s struggle for acceptance and her continual quest to prove that she is talented on the field form the motif of gender stereotypes in sports.

Once she succeeds in becoming a Bulldog, Hannah contributes to many high-pressure gameplay moments. For example, she saves Will’s fumbled ball in the championship game, sliding in and kicking it out of bounds just before Kendrick can pick it up. Hannah is tough, outspoken, and resilient. As Will’s father says, she has a chip on her shoulder about being a football-playing girl; she feels an intense need to prove she is as good as the boys. Hannah is a round and dynamic character who both grows as a teammate and changes her feelings about Will,  beginning to like him as more than a friend by the end of the story. Hannah’s actions and changed mindset create a platform for the novel to illustrate The Power of Teamwork for Achieving Goals.

Will’s father, Joe Tyler, was an impressive high school football star before a knee injury crushed his hopes of a football career. He also lost a stable and respected job in the Forbes Flyer factory when it closed. However, he admits to Will that he never loved the job and actually despised how the daily go-nowhere grind of manufacturing reminded him of his poor choices. He insists that Will not pin all his hopes on football: “The only job I ever really cared about was football. I never saw myself as anything other than a football player […]. I won’t let you make the same mistake I did, putting all your eggs in one stupid basket” (13). Joe Tyler is forced to take any work he can get now; despite his bad knee, he walks a mail route in Forbes.

At the same time, Joe is stubborn—or loyal, depending on one’s perspective—in that he refuses to leave Forbes for better potential opportunities elsewhere like Castle Roc. Still bitter over losing his job, he has sworn off factory employment for good. He shows his tremendous work ethic and no-pain, no-gain attitude by working part-time toward a degree and doing physical therapy for his knee at the gym. As Will’s sole living parent, Joe fulfills the mentor archetype.

Joe Tyler is a round, dynamic character in the novel. He loses his bitterness about football after agreeing to coach Will’s team and rediscovering the game’s joys and thrills. He learns that football can be an enjoyable part of his life. Joe is also responsible for redeeming a former teammate’s love of football as well. By offering the “mean” Mr. Keenan a role as the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator, Joe shows his inherent kindness, flexible thinking, and willingness to take risks to succeed.

Tim is a seventh grader on the Bulldogs team and Will’s best friend. He is a loud, boisterous “class clown” who always has a smart or witty comeback. Tim’s dialogue with Will early in the novel helps explain why the town cannot afford the youth football program; his father is on the town council, which gives him some kind of authority on the topic. Tim’s father gets a new job as the team heads toward the championship game, so Tim cannot finish the season with the Bulldogs. That he must miss out on an experience that he worked diligently to achieve is an example of The Impact of Economic Hardship on Youth. Tim is a flat character without much complexity, and he is an archetypal ally to the protagonist. He is, however, dynamic in one way: He changes his mind about Hannah’s value on the team.