Tim Green in his book “Football Hero” present us the life of a teenager, but this is not the life we got used to: parents, great childhood and love. He shows us a different reality where even teenagers have problems which adults can not even imagine. This book makes a huge influence on each reader, giving him an opportunity to reconsider his whole value system. He underlines that money is not the main value, but family is the one and we have to care about these ties we have.
The author made a huge work as he provided readers with several lessons in his book. The first lesson is that everyone has hard times in life and none of us is immune to them. Ty stepped into such a period when his parents died. Later he became a subject of bullies’ attacks. However, here the author gives readers a lesson — the family ties. Both brothers (Ty and Thane) loved each other. That is why Ty decided not to tell Thane anything about abuses as he wanted his brother to concentrate on his sport career; and Thane, feeling that he misses a huge part of Ty’s life, decided to do everything for his brother (he wanted to show that the Ty is not forgotten). One of the good examples of their relations is revealed in an episode when Thane gives a lesson to Ty, saying:
It’s not over until it’s over. You want to be a champion, you have to think that way, in everything you do. You never stop. You let yourself start to think that way, then the one time you could pull out a win because of some freak luck, you’re not ready for it. Maybe it’s only once in a lifetime, but that’s one win you’d never have, and who knows what that one win could do.
Moreover, good example of their love is given by the author is the scene where Thane signed autographs while Mob was preparing to hurt him. Ty saved the brother, even though he knew that he could have problems with Mob, and he also could be hurt. Nevertheless, when you see that the person you love is in danger, the only thing you think about is his or her safety. That is the main thing what the author was trying to show in his book.
The issues of family and bullies are not new. However, they are still crucial. Let’s take into account the example of Jamie Isaacswho was bullied by her best friend. It means that we can’t get to know where the danger hides. The only think we can do is to resist or to learn how to live with it. Jamie Issacs decided to find support. Other people’s support made her strong enough not to pay attention to what teenagers do or how they behave. “Bullying will never stop. It’s human nature”, she said later (Finn, westhampton-hamptonbays.patch.com). However, she also believes that there is a need of laws against it. Jamie decided to fight for herself and her brother also, as after leaving the school he was bullied instead of his sister.
The other problem which Tim Green underlines is that for some people money and gambling mean more than family relations and any other human contacts. Ty’s uncle wanted to use him to earn more money, he wanted Ty to get the information about possible results of matches so he could place large bets and win the prices. For Ty it meant to betray his own brother.
This situation is also real nowadays. As an example, parents and coaches make deals on who is going to win. Such kind of situation was in South Florida. Coaches even told player not to complete a touchdowns to make some team win as it was in favor for someone. But they do not care that players can get hurt because of that. Firstly, they can get hurt mentally, as they play not to win, they are under a total pressure fearing that they can be thrown out of the team if they play, for example, well when they should not. Secondly, they can get hurt physically, as a lot of players want to get scholarships for playing for some team and to get a good education.
In conclusion, the book represents not another reality but actually the real life, it shows how cruel people can be even towards their relatives. This book is a good literate for those who wears pink glasses and think that childhood is easy for everyone. For others it will be a great opportunity to spend time with a book which makes you think about life and values we have.