Game Changer

“I’m here / I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart / I’m never going anywhere again”

Sarah, Teddy’s mother, visits him in the hospital. In her first appearance, she promises that she is present and not leaving anymore. This passage provides background into Teddy’s family and its dynamics, foreshadowing the conflicts to come.

“Remember they used to call you the ‘game changer’? / Because you were always the one who made the difference”

The novel’s title is first mentioned as Teddy’s dad reminisces about his positive memories of his son playing football. Jim’s memories are laced with pride and demonstrate the impact Teddy’s playing had on his father and their relationship. His wistful language and tone point to his inability to believe anything negative may have happened and erases any doubt shown by others that Teddy will play again.

“Well, I mean, that’s the thing. Nothing really happened.”

Ethan Metzger speaks to a therapist as part of the school’s mandate and reveals a cagey and nervous attitude when speaking to Mr. Rashad. Ethan’s hesitance builds a sense of foreboding as he skirts around what happened the day Teddy was injured, suggesting he means the opposite of what he says. His adamant claims that nothing happened reveal to the therapist that something did happen.

“I love getting hit / I love falling / I love the pain / It hurts / It hurts so bad / And it’s the greatest feeling the world.”

On a respirator, Teddy remembers only the thrill of hitting an opponent and the equal thrill of being hit and hit hard. His repeated mantras and memories enhance the novel’s irony, as Teddy lies in the hospital due to this sense of tunnel-vision and brutality.

“Being a kid, that’s really so awesome / You’re going to have a blast.”

Jim demonstrates through his positive attitude and nostalgia that he is not ready to accept the difficult, even painful evidence of how football has injured his son. Further enhancing the irony of the situation, Jim’s nostalgic response contrasts his child hospitalized in a serious coma, far from having a blast. Jim’s positivity also provides a foil to Sarah’s anxiety and negativity about Teddy’s situation.

“I mean it’s weird for all of us, but probably especially for Ethan, because of what happened and everything / Wishing it never did, you know?”

Alec hints that something purposefully happened to injure Teddy, which conflicts with the claims that his injury was an accident. Though it isn’t yet revealed, Alec adds that what happened involved Ethan, adding to the sense of confusion and mystery as to how Teddy was hospitalized.

“I told [the principal] you loved the game and we don’t blame anyone for what happened / But I think she’s worried we’re going to sue or something”

Teddy’s dad continues to be a voice of positivity about what happened to his son. Vicariously living through his son, Jim is quick to believe the accident was truly an accident with no ulterior motive or intent. His confusion at the principal’s anxiety demonstrates his disconnect between his beliefs and what truly happened to Teddy during the scrimmage.

“Some girl named Clea is like starting rumors and stuff / Like maybe there was a fight or something and that’s how you got hurt”

Camille, the coach’s daughter, has a crush on Teddy and tells him about the webpage she started to support his recovery while she visits him. Camille introduces the social media page, and it quickly devolves into gossip about what really happened to Teddy, illustrating that not everyone believes the story being told. Camilla’s blind refusal to see another alternative reflects the denial of any wrongdoing by her father, the coach, and the upperclassmen on the football team.

“so it’s more important than ever to stick together / otherwise we could lose everything / the team, the season, our chance at states / everything”

Will, the senior football captain, texts the group to provide an update after visiting Teddy in the hospital. His language is positive, encouraging team building and unity, but hides an agenda to deny and refute any negative claims of abuse the football team may face. Will’s attempts to get ahead of a scandal are a form of manipulation, as he insinuates that the hopes team members have placed in their program—known statewide for championship seasons—will be lost.

“Life is football / Football is life [...] Be a man / Be men / Prove it / Do it / Do it.”

Teddy’s inner world is dominated by the groupthink mantras promoted by the football team. While his mind heals, words and phrases continue to come back to him as he remembers what happened. The language he chants illustrates the obsessive and toxic viewpoints upheld by the organization, which hazes and taunts team members to extract better performance from players.

“I realized that the only thing I could do to save myself and save my relationship with the two of you was to leave and to figure out a way to live so that I could be what the two of you needed me to be”

The novel tracks two very different sorts of teams in crisis: the Walthorne football team and the Youngblood family. Teddy’s mother shares why she left their family unit and reveals the underlying issues in the Youngbloods’ home life. Sarah’s attempts to find herself provide an example of identifying with more than one aspect of life for happiness. In Sarah’s case, she needs purpose beyond domestic life. Likewise, Teddy will need to find purpose beyond football, and the football team must find purpose beyond its hazing.

“I don’t get it. I feel so sorry for my dad. All he’s ever done his whole life is care about his players.”

Camille visits Teddy again and continues to uphold her naivete about the knowledge her father may or may not have regarding the events behind Teddy’s injuries. She serves as a dutiful daughter and is one of the main voices lifting Teddy up for prayer while discouraging any closer investigation into how he was injured. Camille’s belief that her father only cares about his players demonstrates a lack of maturity and knowledge about the inner workings of the team.

“As soon as we can all admit the truth, that kids do stupid things sometimes, to themselves and to each other, and covering it up makes it so much worse.”

An anonymous poster with the name “Wassup” responds to Camilla’s threats to take down Teddy’s support page due to the negative comments about what really happened with Teddy’s injury. Wassup appeals to reason against other commenter pleas to keep comments positive and supportive. The irony of the situation continues, as those who claim to support Teddy refuse to believe anything other than an accident caused his injury.

“We’re just trying to find out if these reports are true. We’re trying to see if some good can come out of this.”

Mr. Rashad explains to Ethan that his presence is just the school’s attempt to uncover the truth behind Teddy’s injury and whether anything was amiss with the team’s practice. Unlike the voices on social media that have been strident and emotional, Mr. Rashad attempts a calm and logical approach, with the welfare of the players in mind. Ethan’s resistance continues to build suspicion for his character and motives.

“There was definitely some sort of planned thing / There is a boy who hurt you / Who hurt you deliberately / This was not about football / This was about some contest”

Teddy’s mother voices what really happened to Teddy for the first time, increasing the tone of indignation and anger in the hospital room. Her anger demonstrates the level of injustice she feels and anger that Teddy was hurt purposefully. Her disbelief sets the emotional pitch for the second half of the novel.

“Some kids attacked you / Is that / Do football players really do that? / To act cool?”

Janey, Teddy’s younger sister, highlights her innocence and naivete as she attempts to grasp the realities behind her brother’s injury. Her disbelief paints the team’s behavior as irrational and again shows the irony in the novel. In speaking her confusion aloud, she gives voice to the illogical use of violence and hazing to build a team. Janey, who trusts people and cannot conceive of viciousness and brutality in those around her, speaks in the simple syntax of a child in a question.

“You can’t undo what happened. But you can deal with it, and be honest about it, whatever it is that you did, whatever happened. That can help you move on and figure out how to heal.”

Mr. Rashad gives Ethan advice that changes the novel’s projection. As the therapist encourages Ethan to face what happened with Teddy, Ethan is given permission to reveal his true feelings and the reason behind his hesitance to discuss what happened at the scrimmage.

“People are calling our sport and our program destructive / Calling us animals / Barbarians / But I came to support my player”

Coach Bizetti tells Teddy’s mother about the extent to which people are gossiping about the football team and the damage that has already begun to tarnish the team’s image. The coach claims to visit Teddy out of support, but his language reveals an ulterior motive as he centers Teddy as a player instead of a young boy for whom he was responsible.

“This is your fault, Jim / Not just letting him play, but encouraging him / Loving every second of it / Even though I said no, your mother said no / You loved it”

Long simmering grudges within the Youngblood family emerge as Sarah lays the blame for Teddy’s injury squarely at the feet of Jim. Sarah’s claims provide context into tensions that already existed around Teddy’s football playing. Her claims increase the sense of conflict and tension in the hospital as she lashes out in anger.

“I did it / I hurt Teddy / But it was / It’s complicated / It wasn’t anyone’s fault”

Ethan’s confession, to the very people most impacted by his moment of brutality and emotion, marks Ethan’s transition to adulthood. While the male figures in Teddy and Ethan’s time on the football field claimed that hitting the hardest was a mark of manhood, Ethan demonstrates the ultimate maturity in taking responsibility for his actions. He becomes the novel’s moral center as he explains how Teddy was injured as Ethan reacted to being bullied by the team.

“Teddy, you didn’t do it at first, but then at the end of camp on Thursday, we were running laps and I was in the back, and you yelled ‘Come on, Eden, don’t be soft. Get up here.’”

Ethan describes the way Teddy eventually submitted to the team’s groupthink and bullying of Ethan during the practice camp. Ethan’s description illustrates the damage and violence that was perpetuated on the field due to toxic masculinity and peer pressure. His feelings of betrayal and shame are demonstrated as Teddy, considered the coolest player in their grade, joined the bullying of Ethan due to his size.

“I felt my eyes and ears start to buzz, and I think I know what they mean when they say you start to see red because I felt this anger start to form in my body like it wanted to burst out of me […] suddenly the only thing I cared about was showing everyone tough I was…”

Ethan recalls his emotional response to the bullying of his size and weakness by the team during the practice camp. His teammates call him “Eden,” as if to say he was not man enough to play with them. This has little effect until Teddy joins in, increasing the shame and embarrassment Ethan feels. His shame and embarrassment turn to anger as he feels determined to prove his manhood through the violence promoted at the camp by the other players.

“Can you, can you forgive me?”

Sarah, in response to Ethan and Alec’s confession and maturity, confronts her own guilt and anger over Teddy’s injury. She asks for forgiveness for her behavior from her children, trigging a family group hug that in turn triggers Teddy’s shift into consciousness, all of which suggests the family may move toward healing.