Famous Football Underdog Inspires Litigator to Write Book
ALM Media
Updated
There are lawyers who long to write a book that isn't a treatise on the law.
David Marmins of Arnall Golden Gregory recently fulfilled that dream, with co-writer Steven Feit: "Appalachian State Silences the Big House" recounts the stunning upset by the Appalachian State University football team over the University of Michigan Wolverines in 2007. The book was published last month by McFarland.
Marmins and Feit, who works in sports public relations, are friends from their days as sports editors of The Emory Wheel college newspaper. They clearly know football, detailing the practices, tactics and strategy Appalachian State employed in defeating football powerhouse Michigan in September 2007. One method of preparation was playing Michigan's fight song, "The Victors," loudly during practices to immunize players to the noise of Michigan's 109,000-seat stadium known, as the title indicates, as "The Big House."
In between recounting the play-by-play, they highlight the backgrounds of key Appalachian State Mountaineers players. They have compelling stories: One was one of 17 children in his family; another immigrated from Haiti; another worked on a tobacco farm; and another saw his father imprisoned for murder.
Before the game, the Michigan team was ranked No. 5 in the nation, while Appalachian State was in the Football Bowl Subdivision, previously known as Division II. But it wasn't the "cupcake" team many big schools schedule for early-season games. The Mountaineers were coming off two seasons in which the team won the national championship for its division.
Marmins is a litigator who focuses his practice on real estate-related disputes, handling construction, contract and land use matters for plaintiffs and defendants. He wrote for the Daily Report before attending law school at Georgia State University. He worked at the Georgia Department of Law before going into private practice.
Marmins answered the following questions from the Daily Report.
You're a litigation partner at a big firm and have a young family. How did you make time to write this book, and how long did it take?
We got the contract from McFarland in August 2015 and did the first interviews the weekend of August 15. We turned in the manuscript in November 2016 and the book was released in June, in time for the 10 year anniversary of the game (9/1/17), which was the deadline.
We had a lot of late nights and weekends interviewing and writing. Really, though, it was an enriching experience learning about the lives of these exceptional young men, and it never felt like work. Unlike tracking billable hours, I often lost track of time as a late night wore on while I researched things as varied as how to grow tobacco and the history of Haiti, or as I lost myself in a story I was writing. I also gave up golf and reading books for two years. Most importantly, I have a very supportive and understanding family (and my kids are now 16 and 12, so not that young anymore!) and my wife, Amanda, a former court reporter, was a huge help transcribing our interviews.
What prompted Steve and you to write about this game? Do either of you have connections to Appalachian State?
No connection. Steve and I met 29 years ago writing together for The Emory Wheel, where we both served terms as sports editor. We eventually became like brothers and decided a few years ago to try and find a true story we could research and write together. Turns out the story ended up being a lot about brotherhood. We were inspired by, among others, Boys in the Boat and Devil in the White City true stories that read like novels. We researched many ideas, some sports and others not. When we realized nobody had written about this team and this game, we decided it was the right one. Just a good story that had not been told.
Early in the book, you explain that Appalachian State was a replacement for another team that had backed out of the season-opener with Michigan. Is there any more about that backstory you can share?
It was Tennessee, but we found no story there.
The book does a nice job of keeping the game exciting, even though the reader knows who's going to win. What surprised you the most after examining the game so closely?
Thank you. That was a real challenge when everyone knows who wins. Steve wrote the initial play-by-play, and we edited it after every interview and upon watching plays countless times with the goal to add insight and incorporate what we learned from the training, game planning and simply watching video closer than anyone had before.
Tough to say there was any surprise. To the contrary, the closer you examine the game, the more the result makes sense. App recruited for two things primarily, speed and character, and then they game-planned and trained to those strengths. They overwhelmed Michigan early with their speed at every position, and they stayed focused, even as the game turned crazy in the last few minutes and continued to execute while Michigan did not. Speed and character won that game, and that was no surprise, once you get to know these guys and understand how they were recruited, developed and trained for this game.
The individual stories you tell show how football helped many of the players grow into responsible men, most of whom didn't play pro ball. Football, however, has a problem with claims that many players sufferlife-altering concussions. How do you think the concussion risks will affect the game?
Watching the recent movie "Concussion" had a real impact on me as an avid football fan who grew up watching the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers. Education on the topic will inevitably impact the rules and safety precautions, but I fear the money involved in football will make it hard to effectuate real change anytime soon. Over time, though, I think the game will eliminate a lot of currently legal hits, and the long-term impact on youth football could result in football losing its perch on top of American sports.
Assuming you appreciate underdogs as much as this book suggests, how does this feeling affect your representation of big, "Michigan-like" clients?
Many of us litigators are "wanabee" athletes who thrive on the competition, and nothing beats winning a case you probably should have lost. Just because you represent big companies does not mean they are a favorite in a lawsuit. Regardless of the size of the client, many cases pose challenges with the facts and law that makes winning unlikely and makes you the underdog. Those are the most satisfying victories. That being said, we bill by the hour, so it is nice to have clients that can pay. Again, even though I love what I do, the experience of writing this book, which had nothing to do with earning money, was a refreshing change from the practice of law, so it is tough to draw comparisons.
