Welcome back to the Year of the Lads, in which we focus on one Glasgow Lads book each month through next July. August’s book is Book 0.5, Play On (Duncan + Brodie novella).
Duncan Harris is a romantic to his core. Not only in his relationships, but in his fervent fandom of his beloved Black Cats, Sunderland AFC (who also happen to be my own favorite team. Coincidence?).
In Chapter 6 he explains his passion for football to a skeptical Brodie as they lie together in Brodie’s twin bed (platonically, for now):
“It’s about being part of something bigger than yourself. Whether you’re playing for a team or just supporting one, for ninety minutes the world isn’t about you. It’s a bit like religion. There’s love and faith and even hymns—and it’s all built on suffering.” …“Haven’t you ever loved something far past the point of sanity?”
Play On was written before the Netflix series Sunderland Till I Die, which chronicles the ups but mostly the downs of being a Sunderland fan during their repeated failed attempts to return to the English Premier League.
I hope Netflix has a season 4 coming because a few months ago Sunderland finally WON the playoff to gain promotion to the Premier League. 🎉 Both the final and the semifinal were won on last-second goals that I will still be buzzing about in the nursing home during my final days on earth.
In this video, you can see the winning header by defender Dan Ballard (the Robert McKenzie of Sunderland) in the 121st minute of the semifinal against Coventry City at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light:
At 1:45 you can see how he does his victory knee-slide right into the arms of his center-back partner, Luke O’Nien, who lies atop him for what feels like a very long time. 👀
Same thing but closeup in slo-mo. 😍
I love picking out different fans throughout the sequence: their nerves before the corner kick, their microsecond of suspense as the ball hits the crossbar, and their rapture when they realize what’s happened. 🥹
When Duncan tells Brodie that the fans sing Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” before each match, Brodie finds it a bit cringe but Duncan is undeterred. This Golden Retriever of a man is all love, all loyalty, ’til the end.
Ha’way the Lads! 🔴⚪️🔴⚪️🔴
To be entered into this week’s giveaway and the monthly giveaway, leave a comment on this post. What are you a diehard fan of (sports team, recording artist, TV show, book)? What or whom do you love far past the point of sanity?
- Comments from all weekly posts will be automatically entered to win the monthly prize.
- THIS WEEK’S PRIZE: autographed bookplate plus your choice of one other swag item (collection coming pronto). Open through Sunday, 31 August*.
- THIS MONTH’S PRIZE: An autographed copy of the gargantuan 600+-page paperback anthology Men in Shorts: A Glasgow Lads Collection, which contains every Glasgow Lads short story and novella, plus a few wee extras. Open through Sunday, 31 August.
- Pool of entrants will consist of comments on this post and on the blog version.
- One entry per person.
- International entries welcome.
*as is last week’s post and the week before’s because I just this morning finally accessed my Etsy account to have swag made. Hopefully by the first week in September all swag will be ready for winners to choose from!