The Sacred Bond In 'The Celebrant'

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The Sacred Bond: Players and Coaches The one bond that is the most essential in sports is the one which is shared between both an athlete and his or her coach. Through many works of literature regarding sports and athletics, this player and coach bond is highlighted with both positive and negative examples. For instance, in the novel The Celebrant by Eric Greenberg, New York Giants manager John McGraw tries maintaining a close relationship with players such as Christy Mathewson and Fred “Bonehead” Merkle. In accordance with this, an extended essay by John McPhee titled Levels of the Game provides an insight of the differences of the tight-knit relationships between both Arthur Ashe Jr. and his many mentors, as well as Clark Graebner and his father Paul. However, in the novel End …show more content…

When Clark graduated high school, he had three times as many state championships as his father (McPhee, p. 17). This wasn’t by sheer coincidence, rather it was a result of an unbreakable bond between father and son that ended up creating a very gifted tennis player. Contrary to the previous coach-player relationships, in the book End Zone, head coach of the Logos College Football Team Emmett Creed didn’t quite understand the importance of his relationship with his players. Instead, Creeds strength was recruiting players. However, promises of “pain and sacrifice” (DeLillo, p. 237) to Taft Robinson and “a fresh start” (DeLillo, p. 23) for Gary Harkness only brought the players there, rather than building a close relationship. Taft notes the disconnect in his relationship with coach Creed: He’s so inside himself, that man. I don’t think he sees any need for mobility. I mean whatever it is, it’ll come to him. I think that’s the way he sees it. It’ll come or it won’t. I doubt he cares very much. (DeLillo, p.

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