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Rick Dockery has found himself in a tight spot. A backup quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, he ends up on the field when the two QBs in front of him get hurt. Spotted with a nice lead and a chance to propel the Browns to the Super Bowl, he manages to lose the game anyway and gets a concussion to boot. An angry and drunk mob of Browns fans tries to storm the hospital where Rick is being treated, and it becomes abundantly clear that Rick’s career in Cleveland, and probably the NFL, is over.
In Playing for Pizza, published in fall 2007, John Grisham sends our hero on a decidedly less glamorous career path. With his agent ready to drop him, he takes one last stab at staying in the game – in Italy.
Rick doesn’t speak the language, has no appreciation for fine Italian cuisine, wine or art – at first. Over the course of the season, he discovers the joy of playing the sport with passion, if not a lucrative contract. Compared to the local players, he is well off and has to win over his teammates, who literally play for pizza.
Grisham takes a side trip from his famous legal thrillers in Playing for Pizza, a story that harnesses the author’s other passion: sports.
