{"product_id":"9781909125315","title":"Small Time: A Life in the Football Wilderness","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 1988, 23-year-old American goalkeeper Justin Bryant thought a glorious career in professional football awaited him. He had just saved two penalties for his American club - the Orlando Lions - against Scotland's Dunfermline Athletic, to help claim the first piece of silverware in their history. He was young, strong, healthy, and confident.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut professional football, he found, is rarely easy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSmall Time is the story of a life spent mostly in the backwaters of the game. As Justin negotiated the Non-League pitches of the Vauxhall-Opel League, and the many failed professional leagues of the U.S. in the 1980s and 90s, he struggled not only with his game, but his physical and mental health.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBattling stress, social anxiety, a mysterious stomach ailment, and simple bad luck, he nonetheless experienced fleeting moments of triumph that no amount of money can buy. Football, he learned, is 95% blood, sweat, and tears; but if you love it enough, the other 5% makes up for it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bennion Kearny Limited","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47040056885488,"sku":"9781909125315","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781909125315_p0.jpg?v=1763623374","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781909125315","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}