November Blues

After lunch, the team arrives at the academy’s stadium and everybody is in awe of how professional it looks. They are greeted by Bob Rubicon, president of the Excelsior Alumni Association Boosters, who offers them a tour of the campus. He refers to the football players as boys, and Coach Barnes quickly corrects him, saying that he refers to them as young men. To see the campus quickly, Mr. Rubicon suggests that they all board their bus and drive around it. As they drive around, Mr. Rubicon shows them the academy’s athletic complex, which includes tennis courts, the polo fields, and an Olympic-size swimming pool. He also points to their stables, where they keep the polo ponies and the horses for students involved in equestrian activities. After seeing the academy’s “elaborate, clean, and perfect campus” (238), the team is discouraged and does not believe that they have a chance to win. 

Seeing their faces, Coach Barnes gathers his team around him. He assures the team that Mr. Rubicon gave them the tour of the campus just to intimidate them. He reminds them that “[a] man is not measured by what he owns, but by what he’s made of inside” (238), and they are “made of steel” (238).