The Roar of the Crowd Read Online Free PDF

spend the rest of the season sitting on our butts?” Manny asked.
    “I don’t know. Coach Reynolds is a good guy. I think he wants to let everybody play. We just have to take advantage when we do. We’ve got another tough game this week, and he wants to make sure the starters are ready for it.”
    “Well, if we’re going to be benchwarmers, at least we’re getting good practice for that,” Manny said with a laugh.
    They walked down the aisle and Manny picked up a box of Frosted Flakes. “Sal loves this stuff,” he said.
    “Me, too,” Donald said. “I eat it by the handful right out of the box.”
    They walked around the store, looking at the piles of apples and pears and stopping to stare at the big bags of pretzels and potato chips. When they’d made it back to the cash registers, they each got a bottle of soda and continued on their way.
    Across the street, in the field behind St. Joseph’s Church, Manny could see his old soccer team practicing. “Let’s go over there for a minute,” he said.
    They crossed the Boulevard and walked onto the field, stopping next to the young priest who coached the squad.
    “Hey, Father Lou,” Manny said.
    “Hey, guys,” the priest said. “How’s it going?”
    “Not bad.”
    “We could use you, Manny. Not enough speed in the midfield this year.”
    Manny nodded. “I may be back next season. You never know.”
    They watched the players on the field, moving the ball quickly back and forth. The parish team was always good, but Manny could tell they were a bit less skilled than usual.
    “How’s football going?” Father Lou asked.
    “It’s fun,” Manny said. “But we don’t play that much.”
    “We’re specialists,” Donald said.
    Father Lou smiled. “That’s important, too.”
    A fifth grader came racing down the field, dribbling the ball with skill and feinting past two defenders. He made a nice centering pass to a teammate, who booted the ball into the goal. Father Lou clapped his hands and said, “Nice one, fellas. That’s the way.”
    Donald grabbed Manny’s sleeve and gave a tug. “We gotta get going,” he said.
    “Yeah,” Manny said, still staring at the field. “See ya, Father.”
    “Thanks for stopping by, boys.”
    “Okay.”
    Manny looked back as they reached the fence. The soccer players had started scrimmaging again.
    “I’d be a starter on that team,” Manny said.
    Donald shrugged. “You could probably still get on the team . . . if you wanted to.”
    Manny stood still for a moment. He looked over at Father Lou. “Nah,” he finally said. “I don’t quit at anything. And I like football. Even if I hardly ever play.”
    They walked toward home, a little more slowly than usual.
    “I figured we’d make our mark on the kickoff team, then get more and more playing time on defense,” Manny said. “Looks like the opposite is happening. We messed up our chances on the kickoff team, and now we’ll be doing nothing the rest of the season.”
    “Maybe, maybe not,” Donald said. “Look, give it another week. If we don’t start playing again, at least in practice, then we’ll ask for another shot. Besides, we don’t even know yet if we’re off the kickoff team or not. He still didn’t say that we were.”
    “Yeah. You’re right,” Manny said. “But it sure didn’t look good for us today.”

9
    Bad News
    S al was waiting, as usual, on the front steps of the house as Manny walked up the block. When he saw his big brother coming, he ran up the sidewalk to meet him.
    “Hi, Sal, how’s it going?” Manny said, bending down to give his brother a hug.
    “I was worried,” Sal said.
    “About what?”
    “About football practice,” Sal said. “I didn’t want you to get in trouble.”
    Manny put his hand on Sal’s shoulder as they began to walk. “No trouble,” Manny said. “I didn’t get to do much today, but nobody yelled at me.”
    “That’s good.”
    “Yeah. Here, you can carry my helmet.”
    “Are we still mad,