John Grishams The Bleachers Research Paper

In John Grishams The Bleachers, Eddie Rake was king. If he wanted something to happen, it happened. Football was at the top of Rakes priorities, “football was king and that would never change” (Grisham 103). Everyone seeks Rake’s approval. He has been a very successful coach, “almost anyone on the streets of Messina could rattle off from memory—thirty-four years as Coach of the Spartans, 418 wins, 62 losses, 13 state titles, and from 1964 to 1970 an undefeated streak that ended at 84” (Grisham 11). Rake wants perfection, he always wins and sometimes that is not even good enough. Rake and a few of his players have gone through some events that make them realize that winning is not everything. Rake has realized that he was too caught up in trying …show more content…
Neely Crenshaw was no exception. Everyone wanted to meet Rake, “Neely, Paul, and a handful of their buddies were playing a rowdy game of sandlot football when they noticed a man standing in the distance, near a backstop of the baseball field watching them closely. When they finished, he ventured over and introduced himself as Coach Eddie Rake” (Grisham 72). They stood there in awe. Just being in the presence of Messina’s legend had them memorized. The boys did not know what to do, “the boys were speechless. ‘You have a nice arm, son,’ he said to Neely, who could say nothing in response. ‘I like your feet too.’ All the boys looked at Neely’s feet. ‘Is your mother as tall as your father?’ Coach Rake asked. ‘Almost,’ Neely managed to say. ‘Good you will make a great Spartan quarterback’” (Grisham 72). Neely was soon able to live his dream and play for the famous Eddie Rake. He went on to play college football, until someone took a cheap shot and injured Neely’s knee. Neely later realized that all the fame and glory did not mean anything in the long run. Neely found out, that the decisions he made as a high school student affected him the rest of his life. He realized that he made a huge mistake when he broke up with Cameron for Screamer. After Neely divorced his wife, he realized how much of a mistake he made when he went for Screamer. Neely realized when all …show more content…
He had always scouted for younger boys and made sure that they wanted a chance to play for him. Rake was a person who would do anything to win; he would go the extra mile just to be ahead. He put in the best players, no matter what color their skin was. Coach Eddie Rake did not care what someone looked like, “Eddie Rake had appointed him as the first black captain in 1970” (Grisham 221). At this time, many teams only played white athletes, while Rake decided not only to play colored students, but to even appoint one as captain of his team. At Rake’s funeral, he said in a note that he regretted very few things in his career, “at halftime, in a fit of rage, I physically assulted a player, our quarterback. It was a criminal act, one that should have had me banned from the game forever” (Grisham 204). After that moment, the team came back to win against amazing odds. Rake felt mixed emotions, “as I watched that team rally against enormous odds, I have never felt such pride, and such pain” (Grisham 204). The only other regret Rake had in his life, was when one of his players died during a conditioning practice. Scotty Reardon passed away while they were running up and down the bleachers. When Scotty collapsed, “Rake held Scotty’s head in his lap while they waited an eternity to hear a siren. But he was dead in the bleachers, and he was certainly dead when he finally arrived at the hospital. Heatstroke” (Grisham 76). Rake only wanted to