Darnell M. reviews After the Jump: Columns on the Best 20 Years in Memphis Sports by Geoff Calkins (Nautlius Publishing Company, 2016)
After the Jump is a positive highlight on what the city of Memphis is, especially through sports. The carefully-chosen columns in this book paints an uplifting picture on Memphis sports, both collegiate and pro, the city itself, and some of the people who make this city great. There are moments in this book that will make you laugh, warm your heart, and give you even more appreciation for Memphis.
The columns in this book are broken up into categories of people: Tigers Football, Tigers Basketball, Memphis Grizzlies, and others (not in that order.) Then within those orders, the columns are then organized by date of course so now you are looking at stories like Memphis Football as time progresses (of course the dates will jump…). Some columns will bring you back to that exact moment thinking “What did I think about this when I first heard that? What about some of my colleagues and friends?” I will say that I found each of these enticing columns to have the right amount of wit- especially when an everyday person is being highlighted.
My favorite sections would have to be both parts of the Memphis Grizzlies because I remembered how the news was in my circle when we all heard about Memphis getting an NBA team. I really found the Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace to be a very interesting person, and his story was absolutely motivating. (no spoilers here) I feel slightly ashamed that I wasn’t reading Geoff’s columns as a Grizzlies fan, but this section to me gave me a great view into what the Grizzlies were bringing. While that may have been my favorite section, I really enjoyed the all of the earlier columns in this book about the Tigers and the Redbirds Stadium.
If you are a Memphian of 30 plus years or even 30 days, I highly recommend you to check out this book. These columns are all true stories of how a city and the representing sports teams can bring people closer together as one. I would even go as far to say that it is even a book to have in your own personal collection. This is a great read for all ages.