By Andrew Evans aka “the Pickleball Librarian”
“The Boundless Game” by Tim Bascom is the perfect book to read in preparation for the upcoming World Cup where Kansas City is one of the host cities. Tim shares his personal experiences of the game while interjecting captivating stories about how the game “evolved over centuries.”
This small book looks like a quick and easy read, but Tim kicks so many stories and information through the 168 pages! His narration feels like I’m in a living room hearing him personally share his experiences or carpooling to his pick up games. The sequences where he shares soccer playing experiences makes me feel like I was on the pitch with him and experiencing the same things. “What stays with me at the most basic level is the loudness of my own slapping feet and my own gasping breath, the consciousness of existing right there in the middle of everything. Alive!”
Tim’s lifelong relationship with soccer takes you from his first games as a seven year old through watching the World Cup in his fifties and playing people younger than half his age in his sixties. While many stories take place in Kansas, Tim takes the reader along on his international soccer adventures!
Another highlight is meeting Bascom’s teammates in recreation games and learning about their backgrounds. Their stories help these players score goals in all hearts. From the single mom waitress in Lawrence who played “with tremendous stamina and enthusiasm” to the seed researcher from Costa Rica who if you ignored would “show up quietly at the right place at the right moment.” I also learned about Coach Oumar. Now when I meet a soccer player from Lawrence, I will ask if they know Coach.
While this book is about love of the game, heartbreaking moments exist. Reading about the plight and tragedy of Afghan players when the Taliban took over was tragic. Members of the Afghanistan women’s national team fled to Australia and will likely realize their dream of playing international soccer with their refugee status. They will keep kicking!
This is the best sports book I’ve read related to Kansas and the KC area since “Our Boys” by Joe Drape and “The Soul of Baseball” by Joe Posnanski. I’ve learned more about soccer and grew to love it more from Bascom’s writing. I won’t be betting on who’s going to win the World Cup, but I’m confident in betting “The Boundless Game” will win awards!
I highly recommend this book to soccer fans and soccer players who are ages twelve and up. If you are a parent of a soccer player, this book is also for you. You can see how the game helped Bascom and other successful people find friends, make meaningful connections, no matter where they travel or live, domestic or international. Fans and players of other sports will appreciate this homage to soccer. I hope readers take the camaraderie Bascom experienced to their sports!
