More Than a Game

Eliot Shorr-Parks, a graduate of Temple University, is Associate Editor of New City Community Press. More Than a Game is his first book. He is currently working on a project focused on Philadelphia football. You can read his coverage of Eagles football on BuzzonBroad.com. He is a life-long Philadelphia resident.Steve Parks is an Associate Professor of Writing at Syracuse University and founder of New City Community Press (newcitycommunitypress.com). His previous books include Gravyland: Writing Beyond the Curriculum in the City of Brotherly Love and Class Politics: The Movement for a Students' Right To Their Own Language. He lives in Philadelphia with his family.

• Acknowledgements; Introduction; Michael Nutter; "The Philly fan wants you to put yourself out there..."; Leroy Johnson; "I can remember seeing Jack Johnson at an exhibition for the Wild Bill Hickcok Show"; Jordan Berman; "It cost a quarter to get in, maybe cheaper..."; Tina Sloan Brown; GGGGGGGGGG; Dave Leonardi; "Somewhere in the late 50's, there was a NHL game on..."; Angelo Cataldi:; "I'm positive the Red Sox killed my father..."; Nicholas Bradley:; "I looked up...but didn't see him..."; Ed Rendell:; "The shoeshine guy and the president of the bank both can have the same strong opinion..."; Michael Golic:; "Are you willing to do this? Are you willing to sacrifice?"; Rob Enslin:; "I like to think my dad was thinking the same thing..."; Bill Giles:; "At those moments, I would think of my dad...".; Vanessa Rodriguez; "Rained Out at the Ballgame."; Sheil Kapidia:; "When I was 6 years old, the game was always on for me to watch with my dad..."; Rami Ibrahim:; "They see the image of a true Palestinian, a true Musilim..."; Bobby Clarke:; "If talent won every time, what would be the point of working?"; Gary Cobb:; "An education is something they are always going to have."; Herman Douglas:; " I'm not quitting. You know, cause I'm no punk.; Alyson Goodner; "Some kid from the other team got on the microphone and said, "Stop the music, there's a white girl on the floor."; Chris Pronger; "I think the camaraderie of the team is what got us through that year".; Leonard Weaver:; "That's what God does teaches us- to continue to press on..."; James Ellis:; "And if we are going to be PDR swimming, then, we are going to represent the city."; Joseph Banner:; "I think we can try to use sports teams to reflect the values and attitudes... we have as citizens..."; Danny Diaz:; "There were 'A' students, corner students..."; Frank Greco:; "We're going to play hard, come to practice- No BS..."; Dan Winterstein:; "Understanding Mt Airy Baseball, is understanding Mt Airy"; Sonny Hill:; "Education gives you the opportunity to get to where you want to go over the long period."; Ruben Amaro, Jr.:; "Getting there is one thing, staying there is another..."; Jesse Biddle:; "Not a lot of people realize their dream. I did..."; Carlos Ruiz:; "I knew with one more pitch, we were World Champions.."; Larry Colangelo:; "It's easy to play when you know it's 20,000 against five, you know what I mean?.