Gene Fehler's If Richard Lovelace Became a Free
Agent: Review
Talk about being a scrooge
By Mike Burrow
In Gene Fehler 's “If Richard Lovelace Became a Free Agent” anybody can come to the conclusion that the theme is a humorous look at how an athlete chooses money over loyal fans. The author actually does it very plainly with no misleading words. This poem was cleverly written to show how an athlete is willing to leave all of his loyal fans and team for more money. This poem is not far from the truth, we see it almost everyday in every sport that is broadcast and promoted. In the very beginning of the poem you are a little confused why this athlete is having to say goodbye to his fans in line 1 and 2 “Tell me not, fans, I am unkind/For saying my good-bye” (Fehler). The first time a reader views this they try to figure out why an athlete would have to say goodbye to his fans. It almost sounds depressing in the beginning, and almost want to feel sorry for the athlete. I have seen many athletes retire from a sport, and have never seen one not cry when their career is over. It truly has to be a very real accomplishment to dedicate ones whole life to one sport and being able to successfully retire without injury. We all should know how bad the pain is that you can feel from saying goodbye to something you love. We saw that as Brett Favre retired “with a little crying in between press conferences” (Chovancek). Then a twist is already seen in line 3 and 4 “And leaving your kind cheers behind/While I to new fans fly” (Fehler). The author is using play of words to hide to the athletes true intent. You can clearly see that the athlete is in fact not retiring, he is simply moving or trading to a new team. At this point a reader cant really tell if he is happy or sad about the move. The athlete says leaving kind cheers to find new fans cheers, it almost sounds that the athlete is going to miss the sound of his fans cheers at this point. Many athletes move teams because they don’t like coaches or want better positions. It
By Mike Burrow
In Gene Fehler 's “If Richard Lovelace Became a Free Agent” anybody can come to the conclusion that the theme is a humorous look at how an athlete chooses money over loyal fans. The author actually does it very plainly with no misleading words. This poem was cleverly written to show how an athlete is willing to leave all of his loyal fans and team for more money. This poem is not far from the truth, we see it almost everyday in every sport that is broadcast and promoted. In the very beginning of the poem you are a little confused why this athlete is having to say goodbye to his fans in line 1 and 2 “Tell me not, fans, I am unkind/For saying my good-bye” (Fehler). The first time a reader views this they try to figure out why an athlete would have to say goodbye to his fans. It almost sounds depressing in the beginning, and almost want to feel sorry for the athlete. I have seen many athletes retire from a sport, and have never seen one not cry when their career is over. It truly has to be a very real accomplishment to dedicate ones whole life to one sport and being able to successfully retire without injury. We all should know how bad the pain is that you can feel from saying goodbye to something you love. We saw that as Brett Favre retired “with a little crying in between press conferences” (Chovancek). Then a twist is already seen in line 3 and 4 “And leaving your kind cheers behind/While I to new fans fly” (Fehler). The author is using play of words to hide to the athletes true intent. You can clearly see that the athlete is in fact not retiring, he is simply moving or trading to a new team. At this point a reader cant really tell if he is happy or sad about the move. The athlete says leaving kind cheers to find new fans cheers, it almost sounds that the athlete is going to miss the sound of his fans cheers at this point. Many athletes move teams because they don’t like coaches or want better positions. It
Cited: Chovancek, Nancy. "My Name Is Brett "Indecisive" Favre. Pleased to Meet You...Again." Hold Up I Have Something To Say. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. ESPN. "Shaquille O 'Neal." Basketball-Reference.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. . Fehler, Gene. If Richard Lovelace became a free agent, Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print.