In this captivating debut, Belfast native Stephen Rea crafts a story of sportsmanship and strength built around an unusual pub soccer team in the heart of New Orleans. Set against the dark backdrop of Hurricane Katrina, this luminous and infinitely inviting memoir traces the affecting stories of Rea and his hilarious and dynamic friends and teammates. Comprised primarily of ex-pats over the age of 35, Finn McCool's Football Club boasts a dynamic mix of idiosyncratic personalities. From Macca, the team's Scottish coach and a hard-drinking ex-professional player, to its outspoken South African landscape gardener/striker Benji, each character comes vibrantly to life in Rea's fresh and frank prose. Hilarious moments and poignant reflections shine with equal intensity throughout this multifarious work, which captures the individual experiences of the Finn's players in the wake of Katrina. A literary memoir, soccer story, and tale of survival and resolve, this work is an indefatigable tribute to a city and its residents who determined to play on after their lives were all but washed away.
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Given the growing number of books about American soccer fans trapped in a country that doesn’t value or even understand their sport, Rea’s take—that of a Northern Irishman trying to watch and play the beautiful game in New Orleans—adds an enjoyably different perspective. Dissatisfied with the lack of camaraderie at pickup games and desperate to find broadcasts of his beloved Chelsea, Rea breaks his vow to assimilate and starts hanging out with a bunch of other expatriates at a pub called Finn McCool’s. But just when their team is starting to gel, Hurricane Katrina blows everything to hell. Rea is an agreeable chronicler, and his blend of comedy, tragedy, and social observation moves briskly. The narrative arc isn’t entirely satisfying, and it can be hard to keep track of all the characters (many of them, oddly enough, named Stephen), but Rea’s thoughts on the pains and pleasures of globalism’s diaspora, and the horrors of Katrina and its aftermath, make worthwhile reading. The parts about soccer, however, may mean that the book’s best audience will be made of the usual suspects: those to whom “football” is never played on a “gridiron.” --Keir Graff
Review
"Score 10-nil for Rea and the McCools." --The Irish American Post
Stephen Rea is a freelance writer based out of New Orleans who has contributed to national and international newspapers, magazines, and Web sites for over twenty years. He has worked for England's Daily News and Western Daily Press in the features, sports, and entertainment departments. When he was only seventeen, the Sun daily newspaper chose him as their first-ever trainee reporter, and he covered a range of news stories, from the Gulf War and terrorist attacks in London to the resignation of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Rea attended Campbell College in his hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland. He studied journalism at the United Kingdom's National Council for the Training of Journalists before joining the Sun. After moving to New Orleans with his wife, Rea won a writing grant from the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival in 2006.
After his move to New Orleans, Rea struggled to find an outlet for his love of soccer. He discovered an Irish bar in New Orleans's Mid-City area called Finn McCool's, an eccentric blend of locals and ex-pats. The men eventually formed a club team and joined a league--the perfect place for Rea to play soccer and express his love of the game. He wrote Finn McCool's Football Club while he was displaced to Houston, Texas, after Hurricane Katrina, and the story follows not only Rea's struggles through that difficult period, but the rest of the team's as well.
Stephen Rea's eclectic life has led him to more than one hundred countries, all seven continents, and all fifty U.S. states. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he spent his childhood against the backdrop of bombings and shootings in that country during the seventies and eighties. At the age of sixteen, he went on tour with rock star Ozzy Osbourne and later traveled the world as his assistant road manager, contributing a chapter to Osbourne's official biography Diary of a Madman. In New Orleans, Rea served as the media relations officer for the Shell Shockers, the city's minor league soccer club. Rea lives with his wife and daughter in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Stephen Rea's account of his life in New Orleans, the happenings at Finn McCool's, and the impact of Katrina on the patrons of this fine pub is an absolutely enthralling--and humorous--read.
As a long-time fan and visitor of New Orleans--yet a recent convert to soccer fandom--Rea's book introduced me to a side of NOLA I had not seen, the life of ex-pats just looking to get their soccer fix...or those "odd" Americans who would get up at 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday to watch a game largely ignored by most of our countrymen.
Here's to raising a pint to Rea for sharing his story with us...and hopefully we can all enjoy that pint with him at Finn McCool's while watching (ugh) Chelsea!
I was in New Orleans and wanted to see Liverpool v AC Milan in the Champions League. I got an address for Finn McCools and decided to head over there.
I walked into the place and had a sip of my Harp and could hear a Belfast accent cheering on Chelsea to my left. Turned out to be Steven Rea and I found out all about him and his book. You couldn't meet a nicer person I had to come back at 7am to watch another game before I left.
The book is amazing it has everything in it and appeals to all audiences young, old, ex pats, locals, football fans and any sporting fan in general. It has some sad moments and some very laugh out loud moments (which make you fit-in well with the random crazy subway riders who talk to themselves).
All round fantastic book and fantastic fella who should be very proud of this accomplishment.
