Rick Dockery at the beginning of the book is a pompous quarterback who can’t play at the NFL level, but he believes the NFL needs him and his miracle arm. Throughout the beginning of the book, you can see his cockiness, his arrogance, and his I-am-first attitude. He doesn’t care about others; he just needs people who will make him look good.

When Tick arrives in Italy, he is greeted by his coach. His coach, Sam Russo, is a humble man who loves to compete. You would think Rick would be grateful of Sam coming out to meet Rick and show him around Parma and even Sam buying dinner. One statement that summarize Rick’s and Sam’s first meeting was when Rick said, “Are you going to feed me or talk me to death” (Grisham 51). Sam was telling Rick about something that they saw while walking to the restaurant. Rick didn’t care about what Sam was talking about because in Rick’s mind this stop in Italy was just a side show on his way back to the NFL. Little did he realize that his three interception-fourth quarter incident cost him his NFL career. After a performance like that, you would think it would be a humbling experience to Rick, but it doesn’t and he carries his arrogance to Italy.

The only thing about him that I admire is his drive to return to playing professional football. After two concussions and a scaring performance that Charley Cray (A Cleveland Post writer) deemed Rick Dockery as “the unquestioned Greatest Goat in the history of professional sports” (12). The drive to play is admirable, but his arrogance that comes with it, is pathetic. John Grisham made the character of Rick Dockery have imperfect characteristic to show his change throughout his experience in Italy.