Pop

Through Marcus’s relationship with Charlie, Korman explores how social expectations inform an athlete’s career and persona at all stages, including after retirement. As a high-school football player, Marcus faces pressure from his team to practice and play well—but not so well as to upset Troy’s place as the star quarterback. Similarly, Troy faces pressure from his team to be the player everyone needs him to be, but he also pressures himself to live up to his father’s reputation. However, since Charlie has been out of the NFL for years and was never a big-name player, this pressure is personal for Troy, and it highlights how, despite a long and successful career, Charlie is all but forgotten by the sport. Within his hometown, Charlie is considered a local legend, which affords him some special treatment, but it’s not until the induction ceremony at his college that Charlie is truly shown recognition for his status as a professional athlete. When Marcus initially searches for Charlie on the internet, he finds little information, most of which comes from local sources. From watching clips of Charlie’s NFL games, Marcus realizes that Charlie was an indispensable member of his team as a linebacker, but since Charlie didn’t play quarterback, he was left out of the spotlight. This highlights the arbitrary nature of fame, as certain skills are valued over others even though all positions contribute to a team’s success.

Pop falls into the category of sports novels, defined as books where sports play a critical role in the character arcs, plot, and conflict. In particular, Pop highlights the dichotomy between Marcus (a current athlete) and Charlie (a former athlete) with a focus on how Charlie’s illness has affected his life post-career. Post-career sports novels comprise a subgenre within sports fiction and include titles like For One More Day by Mitch Albom, in which a former baseball player struggles with finding his place in retirement. Like Charlie, this novel’s protagonist has been largely forgotten by his sport, which makes him question his purpose and leads him toward self-harm. In Playing for Pizza by John Grisham, an injured NFL quarterback struggling to adjust to being dumped by his team moves to Italy to play on an unpaid team. While coming to terms with the lack of hype outside the NFL takes time, the protagonist finds a new sense of fun and purpose with this team, highlighting how working through post-career angst can lead to a fulfilling love for the game. Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Carrie Soto is Back tells the story of a retired tennis player who reenters the sport to cement her legacy as the greatest player of all time. After a career characterized by an obsession with winning, the titular character struggles with her need to be the best, highlighting how the competitive nature of sports can have a negative impact on how athletes view themselves and others. Only after finding other sources of purpose (such as love and friendship) does the character let go of her need to be the best, which shows the importance of a strong support system during times of transition.