Tonight is a huge night in football, and when I say football, I mean the game played with the round ball, not the funny-shaped one.  Football is the biggest sport in the world – bar none. Every nation in the world – except the United States – watches it with a passion. In most of those countries it’s the biggest sport. And tonight is the big one. 

Anyway, I’m not here to convert you, just to compare sport and romance. The more I watch football, or top class tennis, or rugby, the more I see similarities between it and romance. I can’t talk about American sports because I’m not familiar enough with them but I’d bet that the same similarities exist.

A football match lasts for 90 minutes, plus injury time, and in certain circumstances, extra time and maybe a penalty shoot-out. The pitch has a goal at each end. The team that scores the most goals wins. There are 11 men (or women!) in a team, and those 22 people plus the on-field referee are the only ones allowed on the pitch during a game.

This structure allows for drama to take place. No two matches are the same, and the result is never a foregone conclusion, but it will be a happy ending for someone. There is ebb and flow, attack and retreat, and individual dramas ensue when one player takes on another or tempers get too high and someone gets sent off. Each team manager has a station, a dugout, where he stands and rants and raves at the players, just to add to the drama. The manager is an older man, sometimes an ex player, sometimes, like Sir Alex Ferguson, a man who was an indifferent player but a superlative manager.

You can become totally engrossed in the game, and all over the world, people do.

The fortunes of football have ebbed and flowed over the years, from a dangerous thug-ridden game to a family sport that is supreme worldwide. The money that goes into it is breathtaking.

And right at the top is Manchester United. After a hard season of ups and downs (retaining the Premiership title, losing the FA Cup in the quarter finals, winning the Carling Cup), they are on the brink of achieving something no other team have done – retaining the Champions’ League Cup. Sometimes known as “Europe,” this is the crème de la crème, where you have to be at the top in order to even participate. Manchester United are playing Barcelona in Rome. Difficult to top that, really.

Each player is a star, from the good-looking prima donna Ronaldo, to the potato-looking but stunningly powerful Rooney. And tonight is their night.

How romantic is that? So I’ll settle down in front of the TV tonight (can’t go, but this is the next best thing) for 90 minutes of drama and excitement. [Ed.: The UEFA Champions League Final is tonight - I think it's like the European Super Bowl for Soccer.]

Go United!

Lawson’s review of Game for Seduction by Bella Andre
Contemporary erotic romance released by Pocket 9 Sep 08

It’s fall, and during fall I love football. College football mostly (and surprisingly my team is doing surprisingly well this year, so I’ll put in a shameless plug for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Wreck ‘em TECH!), but pro is good as well, since it’s football. When I got this book, it was a good thing, as it’s romance and football. Win-win situation for me all around, though it isn’t the type of book that I normally read.

The reason it’s not my normal sort of book, is it’s erotic romance, which I don’t see a lot of as I’m the Avon historical chick. I’m not complaining, it’s just a fact. Anyway, the book starts out at a photo shoot during the off-season. Melissa McKnight is representing her father’s firm for it’s best client, wide receiver Dominic DiMarco. Melissa has had a huge lust crush on Dominic for years, but she’s never acted on it thinking that Dominic thinks of her as just a little sister. In trying to get a promotion and her father’s respect, she instead pricks her own ego and goes to a sports star only bar seeking new clients.

Drinking too much Dominic ends up taking her home, where though she’s a bit impaired, she’s not plastered and she takes advantage of the situation. Dominic feels guilty and offers to be her client, instead of her father’s, but Melissa doesn’t want him to apologize or feel guilty. Dominic does because he’s always thought she’s off limits, being his agent’s daughter and his deep dark secret from his past. Dominic can’t keep his hands of Melissa, and they end up doing the deed in several places they shouldn’t.

Melissa has a few image issues, coming from an awkward childhood and a disapproving father, but she had a good head on her shoulders and took her fantasies with Dominic into real life. She was a generally likable character, wanting her independence and even though she couldn’t keep her hands off Dominic, she didn’t want him dominating her life. Dominic did get rather possessive of Melissa rather quickly, but he does have the aha! moment and realize that he shouldn’t be railroading her life.

What didn’t work so well was the resolution with Melissa’s disapproving father at the end, it felt a bit rushed. Also, the deep dark secret that Dominic had been carrying around didn’t seem to be something incredibly horrific or life changing. It’s repeated enough times that when the big revelation does come and the reader finds out about his past, it’s almost a side note, added to have the only little extra kink in the plot. The chemistry, anticipation and sex scenes are smoking hot, and definitely well written.

A good story for smoking hot chemistry, a pretty good love story, realistic characters and a touch of football.

Grade: B

Summary:

The daughter of a powerful sports agent, Melissa McKnight has harbored lust-filled fantasies for Dominic DiMarco ever since she was an awkward teenager, when the San Francisco Outlaws’ gorgeous wide receiver became her father’s superstar client. Now Melissa’s a beautiful, tenacious associate in her father’s firm, and being around to-die-for hard-bodies is all in a day’s work…until tangling with Dominic at a photo shoot blindsides her with passion.

Dominic has built a flawless career by being in control — on and off the field. And despite his intense desire for Melissa, he’s not about to seduce his agent’s daughter — until Melissa stages a power play to break free from her domineering father and winds up at an edgy bar on the wrong side of town. Dominic thinks he’s rescuing the innocent Melissa he met years ago…but one night of sizzling passion reveals a woman with no limits — including a penchant for hot sex in public places. If anyone’s breaking all the rules of seduction, it’s sexy, irresistible Melissa.

But Dominic has a secret from years ago — one that could ruin his sterling reputation and take Melissa along with him. Will his bad-boy past bind them closer together? Or will they crash and burn?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

What’m I talking about? Well FOOTBALL of course! One of my favorite things is college football. I’m a big fan, but not die hard. (Although my sister and I are plotting ways we can catch the game while at a friend’s wedding in a few weeks. Actually, his wedding is a two day extravaganza.) Do the polls and numbers numbers mean anything to you? Good things? Bad things? Do you agree or disagree? Could care less?

I don’t know about you, but I went to a big football school. I think it was a combinations of things. We won the national championship my freshman year. I didn’t even buy season tickets going in – because really – who cares about football? :X (Sacrilege, I know. Hey – I grew up and have lived all my life North of the Mason Dixon line.) Not to say we don’t have good football up North. I mean there’s The Ohio State University, and that state up North (both in the Big Ten). I suppose I have to give props to the Pac Ten as well. Otherwise, the SEC is a major power house, and everyone knows football is akin to religion (if not greater) for the Big Twelve. (Yes I know there are more conferences.)

Some of the big schools playing this Saturday are the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes, Trojans, Sooners, Gators, Tigers, Mountaineers, and Longhorns. Some schools have awesome mascots. Others are run of the mill. You have your fierce animals, the ones everyone knows – and then the interesting ones.

Even if you have nothing to do with sports, there are some mascots that are recognizable to everyone. Likely everyone knows John Harvard. (*Please* tell me you can place this one.) The Ivy League is fun – it makes sports fanatics cringe, but Harvard and Yale have fun at their game, and the crazy traditions. (I know Harvard students go streaking before the game.) There’s the green wave (Tulane)- but their mascot figure is a pelican. Stanford’s tree has a mascot contest, I believe – which is fun (or they used to). Does your school, big or small, have a nutty sports tradition?

There are the teams you love, and the teams you hate. And I haven’t even gotten into pro football yet. (Don’t worry, I won’t. ) But other than this post being YAY YAY YAY COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS BACK AND THAT’S AMAZINGLY TERRIFIC – I’d like to involve all of you.

Do you like football? Hate it? Like another sport? Soccer, Baseball, Hockey? Have had friends who were on teams, managed teams, were cheerleaders or dancers for a team? Does your significant other love or hate sports? Are you sitting there with him/her or wishing you could use a crow bar to pry him or her off the couch? (Or using said crowbar to brain them?)

I liked playing touch football well enough, but I was never big on professional spots. Until, as I said, freshman year. There was no avoiding it, and by the end, I didn’t want to. I also discovered Susan Elizabeth Phillips, one of my favorite authors, and read her Chicago Stars books. Honestly- how can you not be at least the tiniest interested in football after that?

Still, even with all the football hype, some times my favorite stories and things about the sport are the human interest stories. Like Michael Oher’s. Yes, the article is long, but it’s worth reading. And – tell me how you can hate a sport which makes a life and gives someone who wouldn’t otherwise have them, great opportunities.

And of course, to make this everyone friendly – what’s a something that you absolutely love love love, that you look forward to yearly, (or whatever time period). Or, any good sports stories? Or bad- because sometimes those can be good too. Or a favorite character who is/was a pro athlete. (Rachel Gibson, Deirdre Martin and number of other authors write terrific stories with such characters.)