The Underdogs

My students and I love Mike Lupica’s books. The Underdogs is not only a book about football, but about the economic downturn that many of our cities have faced in recent years. Will Tyler loves football and is determined to have a team despite so many families moving out of town because factories have closed and jobs have been lost. Without money, there are no resources for sports. When he writes a letter to New Balance for sponsorship and gets a positive response, his dreams seem to be coming true. Unfortunately, Will has a hard time finding guys to play on the team. When Hannah, a classmate and star soccer player, tells Will she wants to play on his football team, Will and his father have some difficult decisions to make. Read The Underdogs to see if heart and determination are enough to bring a dying town to their feet. Other great books by Lupica include The Batboy, Hero, The Big Field, Million-dollar Throw, Summer Ball, Two-minute Drill, Heat, Miracle on 49th Street, and Travel Team.