Synopses & Reviews
For nineteen straight years, the all-Hispanic boys’ soccer team from Oregon’s Woodburn High has made the playoffs. As they prepare to make it twenty, one thing will become clear: Los Perros play the beautiful game with heart, pride, and their lives on the line. Their spirited drive gives a rare sense of hope and unity to a blue-collar farming community that has been transformed by waves of immigrants over recent decades, a town locals call “Little Mexico.” Watched over by a south Texas transplant—a surrogate father to half the squad—this band of brothers must learn to come together on the field and look after each other off it.
More than just riveting sports writing, The Boys from Little Mexico is about the fight for the future of the next generation—and a hard, true look at boys dismissed as gang-bangers, told to “go home” by lily-white sideline crowds. The wins and losses they notch along the way spin a striking tale about what it takes to capture the American Dream.
Synopsis
In the tradition of Buzz Bissinger's Friday Night Lights, a sensitive and clear-eyed journalist takes us deep inside Oregon's only all-Hispanic boys' high school soccer team, a team whose players stand on the cusp of change.
The all-Hispanic boys' soccer team from Woodburn High has made the playoffs for nineteen straight years--but they've never won a championship. As they prepare to make it twenty, one thing will become clear: Los Perros play the beautiful game with heart, pride, and their lives on the line. More than just riveting sports writing, The Boys from Little Mexico is about the fight for the future of the next generation--and a hard, true look at boys dismissed as gang-bangers, told to "go home" by lily-white sideline crowds. The wins and losses they notch along the way spin a striking tale about what it takes to capture the American Dream.
About the Author
Steve Wilson is the former publisher and editor of
Motionsickness: The Other Side of Travel, a critically lauded magazine that was selected as a finalist for
Utne's Best New Titles for 2001. He has also been published widely in newspapers and magazines, including the
Portland Tribune, American History, and
Utne. A graduate of Portland State University's MA Writing Program, he teaches at PSU.
From the Hardcover edition.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
The Field of Play
Preseason
One: Steps to Success
Two: The Immigrants’ Game
Three: Octavio
Four: Water on Stone
Season
Five: A Lush and Level Field
Six: El Norte
Seven: Carlos
Eight: Adjustments
Nine: The Woodburn Curse
Ten: Reading and Writing
Eleven: Playing Rough
Postseason
Twelve: The Fourth Seed
Thirteen: This Dream
Fourteen: Just a Game
Fifteen: Game Over
Epilogue