It was named one of Booklist’s Top 10 Sports Nonfiction books of 2018 and received the 2019 New York Society Library Hornblower Award.

[1][2][3] The book tells the story of the Mo Better Jaguars, a youth football team in the Brownsville area of Brooklyn, during the 2013–2014 season.

[4] The team is composed of players aged 7–13 years old who struggle to win games.

Wes Lukowsky wrote for Booklist in a starred review, "Samaha takes readers by the hand and leads them on a visceral tour of a peril-filled world that, nevertheless, thanks to people like Legree, can also become a seeding ground for hope.

"[5] Publishers Weekly wrote, "At the heart of Samaha's unflinching book are the life-affirming themes of sports, transcendence, courage, and manhood.