I saw the movie with Dennis Quaid and Jessica Lange before I read the book. The movie runs close to the book except for the ending. I enjoyed both the movie and the book. Not an unusual story. Football star becomes legend in college. Good, not great career in the pros. Then a sad decline as the years build up and the injuries mount. Gavin, the Grey Ghost was a running back and athletes in that position do not usually have long careers.

Gavin suffers financial setbacks, betrayal and his marriage to his college girlfriend Babs begins to suffer. When Gavin’s playing days are over, he does not make an easy transition to a new career. He flounders and hopes he gets the chance to play football again. Babs moves on with her life.

All the attention, accolades and glamour leaves his life. He hangs on tight to his past legends and memories to the dismay of his wife and friends.

This is not so much a sports book but a tale of human tragedy. One reads actual stories like this of other athletes who retire or unable to compete and become financiually destitute and suicidal. A cautionary tale not only for athletes but all who choose to live on past laurels. ( )

DeFord's voice reminds me a lot of Pat Conroy. He definitely writes with a drawl and a flavor of the South. I admit to skimming past the Civil War "positioning pieces," because I didn't need help understanding the "old soldiers" and old gridiron comparison. It was a vividly written book, and I was kind of devastated by the ending, which was both sudden and not so. It's not exactly what I thought it would be, but I liked it a lot. ( )