BY JIM KNIPPENBERG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
People keep asking and both authors keep responding: It's not about Boomer, OK? It's fiction.
Meaning Toss (Dutton, $23.95), a novel co-written by Boomer Esiason and Lowell Cauffiel.
Set in the world of pro football, it's about a $6 million quarterback signed by the New York Stars. It's peppered with rough language, a gang rape, dope, gamblers, racial tension and a murder -- things you don't associate with Boomer.
But they still ask: It's Boomer, right? No, Cauffiel says: He's fictional, invented to drive a novel.
Cauffiel, a Detroit writer, is a former police beat reporter (Detroit News), so he knows a bit about crime. He has done five true crime books and three novels.
He and Esiason hooked up when an agent asked if he'd like to do a novel with a major NFL quarterback.
He and Boomer met, hit it off and decided it was a go: "Boomer told me, you bring the crime, I'll bring the football,' " Cauffiel said.
Fine. Let's get Cauffiel on the phone and fill in some blanks . . .
The way we divided labor . . .
"I did the writing; Boomer provided the lion's share of inside research. Not only the way the game, league and league security works, but the way a training room looks and the number of cell phones in the locker room, that kind of thing.
"More importantly, he provided the emotional and mental mind set of someone in the game a long time. He came up with the concept of the young quarterback, and contributed other themes (the racial tension) he thought important. He's first to admit he didn't write." Football fans are going to like this because . . .
"It takes them beyond NFL (coverage) today -- the broadcasts, print, any NFL films -- into the minds of the men who play the game. I think fans will like that."
Football widows are going to like this because . . .
"Women in the book play a key role in plot and character development. And they're strong women.
"The setting is the NFL, but it's still a damn good crime novel. The people who hate it are going to be . . .
"Ones who believe the NFL is an extension of the United Way. There are people of high character in sports, but one doesn't have to look far to see the cult of celebrity has changed it, not always for the better."
If I hadn't co-authored with Boomer, I'd like . . .
"No one else. Period."
The best and worst things about working with Boomer . . .
Best: "His insight and his ability to let me handle details -- plot, characters. He let me go on as a novelist and never worried about his image.
Worst: "He's incredibly busy -- has a cell phone sewn to his ear. As I writer, I'd need to know something now, before I could go on, but it might take a day to get ahold of him."
We disagreed about . . .
"Early on, about the main character. He wanted a young quarterback just coming in, I wanted a 14-year veteran. We resolved it by making Derek Brody a 25-year-old new quarterback with a prison record." Things I know now but didn't before Boomer . . .
"The extent of the facade with some athletes."
One impression I'm certain readers will take from this . . .
"Is that it's an exciting, fun read. Full of humor -- really a nice mix of humor and violence, something both Boomer and I admire in our favorite filmmaker, Quentin Tarantino."
I hope people don't read it and think . . .
"That football is entirely corrupt and completely money and power driven. Sports can also be heroic."
I expect the NFL reaction . . .
"To be wide-eyed."
Psst! appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Have an item to report? Call Jim Knippenberg at 768-8513; fax: 768-8330.
KNIPPENBERG ARCHIVE