The shifting loyalties of quarterback Rick Dockery and Fabrizio, the Italian wide receiver, have a significant impact on the Parma Panthers’ season, demonstrating the importance of loyalty within teams.

At the beginning of the novel, Rick believes that, as the quarterback and the most experienced player, he should not be “subjected to the same drills and boot camp banalities required of the regular players” on the team (77). The use of the terms “same” and “regular” in this passage suggests that Rick sees himself as distinct from the rest of the team. Rick continues to put his own needs above those of his teammates, as when he shows up for a game after drinking all weekend in Milan. The Panthers’ coach Sam Russo criticizes Rick for being “a prima donna with a hangover,” and tells him that he “lost more than a game yesterday. You lost your team” (142).

Sam’s remarks suggest Rick still sees himself as the star (“prima donna”), and that his teammates need him to demonstrate his loyalty to them before they can fully trust him. Rick senses “the stares and the resentment” of his teammates and realizes that, although “[w]inning meant something, commitment meant even more” (147).