About the Book

About the Author

Gotcha Down in the News

The Capital Times
By Noah Seligman
AUTHOR WINS WITH TALE OF GRIDIRON TURMOIL

With the Olympics over, sports fans can now focus all their energies on the football season.
Chris Earl's first novel, "Gotcha Down," is an interesting way to kick off the season, with its plot about troubles in college football.

Earl creates a story about gambling, stardom and the inevitable downfall in the college sports world.
A 1997 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Earl uses his alma mater as the setting for his fiction, with some name changes. The Wisconsin State Boars are based in Madison, and lakes and street names are familiar. True Badger faithful will also recognize similarities in the descriptions of players, coaches and even journalists.
Earl weaves several story lines together, and although the chapters don't always seem to follow logically, that doesn't really hurt the story's readability.

All the story lines involve turmoil within the football team. Coach Frank Flaherty is close to losing his job. Offensive coordinator Randy Munson is going through financial difficulties at home. Clark Cattoor, the top sports anchor in Madison, is having money troubles of his own as the result of a bitter divorce. Walk-on kicker Jake Steffon, from Fall Creek, Wis., is struggling with his newly acquired fame as a sports star.

Knowing he likely won't have a job next year, Munson does the unthinkable: He starts gambling on Wisconsin State games. Cattoor joins in the exploits and they both make a tidy profit.

Flaherty has his own fight against off-the-field problems with his star receiver while, at the same time, he tries to hold onto his job.

Steffon, for his part, is adjusting from being a face in the crowd to being campus royalty as a football player. He struggles with his loss of privacy and questions his choices.

The gambling ring and the coaching controversy combine for an intriguing plot of ethics, morals and integrity.
I found Steffon's story line interesting as well, but it wasn't woven as directly into the story. Munson does try to use the kicker to improve his gambling prospects, but I didn't see that as the focal point of Steffon's character. I almost thought that the kicker's saga would have been better as a separate story. The rise to stardom and the perils of fame for a college kid could make a novel all its own.

Overall, the book is a quick read. Earl's writing is very smooth, and he uses descriptive language effectively to create powerful imagery. "The football floated on the lake wind, careening to the right. Jake cringed as the football edged in front of the right goalpost. He fell to his knees with his silver helmet into the turf."

The book is written at a level that middle school students could comprehend, but the subject matter - gambling, drinking and occasionally sex - may cause some parents to pause. However, Earl does a good job of avoiding too much graphic detail of these activities.

Earl should be pleased with his inaugural effort. He creates a story that is fictitious, but real enough to seem almost too plausible. He delivers a well-written story that makes the reader think a little about college football beyond the sidelines, and I look forward to his next work.

Gotcha Down
By Chris Earl
Jones Books
338 pages, $23.95

Chris Earl will discuss "Gotcha Down" at 2 p.m. Sunday at Borders East, 2173 Zeier Road.