Football as God
America likes to think of itself as a god-fearing Christian nation. The truth is substantially different. Jesus may be the lord, but Football is God:
"The football field was by far the best feature of Boyer, Missouri…The bleachers gleamed, the locker rooms sparkled, and the scoreboard towered like some great pagan idol. The crumbling structure of Boyer High School stood across the parking lot, almost as an afterthought.”
Reverse Double Entendre
It is one of those simple facts of gender. Guys can take literally any image and turn it into a sexually suggestive double entendre. Here, however, the process is reversed. The narration takes a sexually suggestive image and turns into a metaphor about feelings:
“I just wasn’t used to hearing about people’s problems. Brenda, pardon the pun, never let me inside her.”
Body Language
Few things in life are more unpleasant than a fight between a couple where the girl decides it is up to the guy to figure out what’s wrong. Dramatic waterworks is a much better tactic for ending the argument, but, of course, ending isn’t the goal:
“There was something frightening about her posture. It was almost like she was fearful of some impending disaster. She looked as if something horrible was happening. There was no reason for it; I was the only person nearby.”
Track and Sweat
The protagonist of the story is a jock. But not a football player. He is on the track team. Which is not really even being a jock in this case. He might as well be on the chess club. Of course, that is true for most student athletes who aren’t on the football team. And track is no picnic on the literal track, either:
“Jack sprinted up beside me, moving easily. He sweated more than any human being I knew. Running near him was like passing through a car wash.”
The Smell of Gender
Just because all guys sweat doesn’t mean all guys sweat the same. And just because one is born with a penis doesn’t mean one has to smell the same as every other person born with a penis:
“A strand of Sage’s hair tickled my nose. It smelled like shampoo, but in a good way. I was sure I smelled like the smoking lounge at a brewery.”
