The 2018-19 season of the Football Scholars Forum opened on Tuesday, September 25, with a discussion of Amy Bass’s new book, One Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together.
The genesis of the book, which has been described as in the tradition of Friday Night Lights and Outcasts United, goes back to this article Bass wrote for CNN in 2015 about Somali immigrants in Lewiston, Maine, playing for Lewiston High School’s Blue Devils.
The Emmy-winning author and historian was joined by Andrew Guest, Lindsay Krasnoff, Liz Timbs, Tom McCabe, Alex Galarza, and Peter Alegi. The FSF conversation shed light on a number issues, including the author’s methodology and writing process, as well as race, language, immigration, community dynamics, and youth soccer. We look forward to the Netflix version of this remarkable soccer story in the near future.
Click here for an audio recording of the session.