Chapter 1 – “South Philly”

Monday, September 2, 2024  

“ALL RIGHT, WHAT’S THE LINE ON THE BIRDS AND PACKERS today?” Antonio Costa asked himself as he eyed his cell phone screen in his Fanatics Sportsbook app while walking into the kitchen. It was extra early on Labor Day morning in the city of Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, located on the far east coast of the United States, where the sun rose above the Atlantic Ocean.

Tony, as he was called by friends and family, took a seat at the kitchen table wearing blue jean shorts and a wrinkled red Phillies T-shirt to join his father Moe, short for Maurice. Moe was a burly Italian man in his sixties wearing a white wifebeater T-shirt and plain dark blue pajama pants. He rubbed his balding, gray-haired head and was noticeably shorter than his son— Tony towered over his father even while sitting at the kitchen table. There was a considerable distance between six foot three and five foot eight. Tony, in his mid-thirties, still had his hair, which was thick and black.

“All right, they got the Eagles minus three, and a forty-eight and a half for the final score,” Tony told himself.

Moe took a sip of his morning coffee and studied his son silently as Tony continued to talk to himself about the spread on the upcoming Eagles football game in São Paulo, Brazil.

“All right, they got, ah . . . Saquon Barkley at even money to score a touchdown,” Tony said and stopped. He stared at his cell phone. “Well, that’s obvious. It’s Saquon’s first game with the Eagles. Of course he’s gonna score. He might score a couple of times.”

Finally, Moe decided to speak to his son. “Have you heard the news about Brazil? They say they had a bunch of wildfires around the city and a recent spike of environmental diseases.”

Tony paused from looking at his phone and eyed his father sternly. “Those fires happened outside the city, and they’re over with now. That was a week ago,” he emphasized.

He went back to reading the Fanatics football bets on his cell phone. “All right, after Saquon, they got Jalen Hurts, A. J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith to score.”

His father spoke up again with concern. “You know the air is still gonna have fumes and shit in it from the fires. They say it may not be healthy for the players. So, it won’t be healthy for the fans, either.”

Tony eyed his father again. He said, “Dad, you don’t think they’re gonna take care of that before the players get there? There’s a bunch of NFL officials down there right now, getting everything ready. They’ve probably been there for weeks al ready. The NFL knows what’s going on. They wouldn’t send their players and fans there if it wasn’t safe.”

Moe took another sip of his coffee in silence, but he wasn’t done airing his concerns. “They say there’s a bunch of gang violence going on down there, too. And you’re not supposed to wear the color green. They say it’s a gang color.”

Tony was getting more agitated by the minute. He said, “Yeah, I heard all of that. But how does that make any sense? You got Green Bay playing Philadelphia, two teams that wear green for God’s sake. What are we gonna do, all wear white? The Eagles are wearing black and white for the game now anyway. Everybody knows that now. They just announced it last week.”

“Well, what about the fans?” Moe asked him. “Do they all know not to wear green?”

Tony snapped, “Jesus Christ, Dad, we live in Philadelphia! This isn’t the safest place in the world, either, you know. Have you heard the reports about Philly lately? We’re still one of the biggest crime cities in the country. And you’re sitting here talking about Brazil. Come on.”

“Yeah, but you know where not to go here. And you know what not to do,” Moe argued.

Tony asked him, “What, you don’t want me to go or something? I heard it’s a bunch of Italians down there in Brazil. Maybe I’ll go down there and meet up with some lost cousins or something. You don’t know.”

“I know it’s dangerous when you don’t know the people,” Moe responded calmly. “They don’t care that you’re Italian. You’re not one of them. You walk around there wearing green and you may not make it back to Philadelphia.”

Tony had heard enough. He stood up from his chair and said, “Well, I’m fuckin’ goin’, Dad! I’m going to Brazil. I’m not afraid of all that shit. They got police down there like any other city. They’re not gonna be pulling people off the street. What are you thinking about? It’s not the Third World down there. São Paulo is like New York and Chicago.”

“What’s going on in here? What’s with all the language?” Elena Costa walked into the kitchen and asked her tall and irritated son. She was a small woman with a strong glare, who had raised three Italian boys. She was still dressed in peach floral pajamas—her favorite color.

Tony turned to face his mother and looked down. He was the official giant of the family. No one else even reached six foot in the family. He opened his right hand toward his father at the table with his cell phone in his left. “He’s in here acting like a grandmother, talking all this negative stuff about Brazil,” he stated. “He knows I’m going down there for the game. It’s the season opener against the Packers in São Paulo. Why would I wanna miss that? I’ll be telling stories about this game for ten years!”

“Yeah, if you live for ten years,” Moe snapped at him.

“Why would you say something like that to Antonio?” Elena asked her husband of forty-two years. “You’re always saying stuff like that to him. That’s just wrong.”

“He doesn’t care what he says,” Tony cut in.

“Because it’s true,” Moe spoke louder. “He spends all of his money betting on these games. And then he has nothing left to help anyone.”

Tony looked appalled. His father’s comment blindsided him. He said, “I help out whenever I can.”

“Yeah, he helps out. That’s why he’s here now, to help you cook,” Elena spoke up for her son.

“Yeah, because he doesn’t want to buy anything,” Moe responded tartly. “So he gets over here all early to help us set up instead of having to bring anything.”

Tony paused and felt busted again. The truth was the truth. His mother didn’t know what to say, either.

“Well, what difference does it make? I’m still here to help out,” Tony blurted defensively.

“Yeah, different people have different positions in life,” his mother rationalized.

Moe looked at his wife and said, “Elena, you’re always taking his side. That’s why he’s spoiled now.”

Tony said, “Oh yeah? Well, I’m gonna be spoiled down in Brazil this week, too. Because when Wednesday comes, I’m out of here. On a plane full of green jerseys!”

With that said, he walked out of the kitchen and headed toward the front door. But his father wasn’t done with him yet. He had to have the last word.

“You better hope you make it back home,” Moe said, raising his voice again.

“Maurice!” his wife yelled at him. “Stop it!”

Tony spun around at the front door and shook his head. His father refused to forgive him for so many years of fuck ups. The defiant middle son yelled back toward the kitchen, “You know what, Pops? I’m gonna fuckin’ die in Brazil! I’m gonna die in Brazil with a beautiful brown model. Okay? So kiss your favorite son goodbye!”

Like father like son, Tony got the final word that morning and stepped outside to smoke a cigarette out front.

Inside the kitchen, Elena stared at her husband and sighed. “You feel better now?” she asked him. She then turned to open the refrigerator door behind her.

Moe took a deep breath and exhaled with no more coffee in his cup. He looked up at his wife from the table and explained himself. “I just want him to be more responsible. He owes it to his kids.”

Elena grabbed the container of orange juice and poured herself a glass before she responded to him. “The Eagles keep him going, Moe. You know that. Everyone has to have something. Nothing has come easy for Tony. He’s had a hard life.”

She drank her glass of juice in a moment of silence, while her husband thought of a response.

He made it hard on himself, Moe mused of his middle son. He’s hardheaded. He never wants to listen.

Out in front of the house, Tony puffed his cigarette and looked up and down the tight street to see who was up this early. He spotted someone to his right pulling out a grill to the side walk, to fry food on Labor Day. The man wore a bright Kelly green Eagles football jersey from Nike.

Tony saw it and got excited in need of an affirmation. “GO, BIRDS!” he yelled. He held his cigarette up in the air like a salute.

The Irish American neighbor turned and grinned at him. He nodded and said, “Yeah, go birds,” calmly. Then he walked back inside the house.

Tony nodded back to him, feeling reenergized. “Damn right,” he let out. He took another drag of his cigarette. “It’s gonna be a good game down there,” he mumbled through the smoke. He pulled his cell phone back out to look over the Fanatics bets again. “Okay, do I take the Eagles by six or more?” he asked himself. He thought about it with confidence. “Yeah, the Eagles are gonna win by ten. I’ll take that,” he stated. “Come on, Hurts. Show us what you got, baby!” he yelled to himself that morning. “Let’s go down there and show off for the Brazilians.” 

~ Touchdown In Brazil By Omar Tyree and Kensington Books will be available for Pre-Orders in June, after the final cover design has been chosen. The official release event will be held during the NFL Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio the weekend of Thursday, August 6, 2026.

3 Reasons for Men to

READ THIS BOOK

#1) The Exploration of World Travel – It is uplifting, sensible and progressive to think internationally, while expanding our horizons. Don’t get stuck on just one city, one town, or one culture. Learn to explore other possibilities. This book will take you to Brazil. Go in and learn about it. And enjoy the southern hemoshere!

#2) The Connections of Fathers, Sons & Family ~ Every race, class, and culture has family ties and struggles. How do you connect to and deal with your father, mother, wife, children and so on? This book will normalize those experiences as you read, relate and learn. Humans are all different, and all the same. Relate to it.

#3) The Addictions of Life Can Ruin Us All – What are your addictions? Be honest about them. This book will make you consider your own addictions while reading about someone else’s. That’s what the best novels do. They allow us to be bluntly honest about who we are, while reading a character in our own privacy.  

#4) NFL Football – Did we mention the Bonus of NFL football love for the game, the teams, the players, the jerseys  the colors, the rivalries, the history, the bets and the live action with singing, chanting and talking trash? It’s all in there with Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, and Brazilian fans, as well as the youth, learning to play and love flag football, including young, excited and skilled girls.

Touchdown In Brazil by Omar Tyree… another classic story…