The Story of the Forgotten Game and the Men who Played

Joey Dalicandro


Carlisle vs. Army
By: Lars Anderson



Coach Pop Warner was attempting to light the dangling, hand-rolled cigarette when he realized he was nervously pacing back and fourth within the small confines of the WestPoint locker room. As the echo of the 5,000 plus fans roared, he was buried deep down in his own thoughts. He was focused on the game plan, what he had to do. Be that as it may he's having trouble finding the right words to say to inspire the young men who played for him. Time was running out. He had to think of something to spark a fire within their hearts. He's been daydreaming of this moment for months, he can't mess it up now. It was finally his time to take a turn of defeating Army, a seemingly impossible task. Be that as it may he had a plan, a game changer.

     On a cool Autumn day in 1912,  Coach Pop Warner unveiled a new offensive formation known as the double wing. This was his ace in the hole, his way of winning and defeating his nemesis, Army. Still, the coach lacked the words to inspire his players. Most of which were Young Native Americans. Young men who came from little reservations in the prairies of the mid west. Most of whom came from as far west as Arizona just to come to the Carlisle boarding school. Many if not all  had ancestors who had been massacred by white settlers at one point or another. And it was at this point he had an epiphany, he now knew what to say. Coach Pop Warner screamed with as his might "Remember that it was their fathers and grandfathers who killed your fathers and grandfathers. Remember it was their fathers and grandfathers who destroyed your way of life, remember wounded knee"(4-5). After hearing this inspiring speech the Carlisle Indians ran into the stadium like warriors much alike that of their ancestors did.

   After these events transpire author Lars Anderson begins to talk about the history of these two teams. The outcome of the game and what happened after Coaches pregame speech is left to interpretation for a brief two or three chapters. The author dives into the history of this historic rivalry and begins to fill us (the reader)  in on some useful knowledge about not only these two teams, but knowledge about the sport of football itself. Within the first few pages we learn about the assimilation of the young men who played for Carlisle. The teachers at this reform school tried their hardest to assimilate these young men " the Indians were forced to abandon every last trace of their heritage, the white teachers cut their hair and took their clothes(4) ". The rest of the chapter goes more in depth about about this. Anderson dives into the rich history of not only football but the history of life for these early Americans and what it was truly like for them growing up.
   If you're someone who enjoys reading biographies, loves sports, and history then this novel is the one for you. Being someone who likes all three, I highly and whole heartedly recommend this story. Though I'm only 25 pages into this book I still find myself enjoying it and wanting to turn each and every page. The author uses rich and colorful detail to describe the setting and to convey the most important events in this time period. Anderson offers unique perspectives that almost allows the reader to get inside the heads of the characters. As well as being a story of sport this novel is a great story of smashing prejudices and stereotypes. All and all this story is a great American novel that perfectly depicts the toughness we as Americans have.