Sports Analogy

Abstract

Sports Analogy David Tomas Martinez (bio) Even if there is noI in team, there is damn sure a me that never fails to get lost in a relationship, a me, that sees love, as Willie Stargell saw baseball, a game where they give you a round batand throw you a round ball and tell you to hit it square. Which means love Lawrence Taylorsme, breaking me like Theisman’s leg,playing chin music with each kiss, submitting me with a guillotine she calls hugs, and each conversationis a red flag the booth is reviewing. Shit. When I drop back into a relationship,Anderson Silva cringes. [End Page 108] Allen Iverson once scoffed, practice? in an interview that convinced fans he was selfish, but I only saw a frustratedhusband, exasperated from driving aroundwith his wife, trying, no begging, to decide on where to eat. If you have a little capital I suggest you open a restaurant called “No Babe, You Decide.” And I would be grateful for a relationshipfull of great pro tips, some good coaching, and decent execution, even if there were no Playoffs or payoffs, that pointed me at awall, yelled for me to run through it, and actually meant it. That’s why we join teams. [End Page 109] David Tomas Martinez David Tomas Martinez’s debut collection of poetry, Hustle, was released in 2014 by Sarabande Books, winning the New England Book Festival’s prize in poetry, the Devil’s Kitchen Reading Award, and honorable mention in the Antonio Cisneros Del Moral prize. He is the reviews and interviews editor for Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts. He has been a Breadloaf and CantoMundo Fellow, and is finishing his PhD in the University of Houston’s Creative Writing program. Martinez is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of creative writing at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX. Copyright © 2015 University of Nebraska Press