Let the past stay in the past. This is a lesson taught at an early age and though it is worded differently it always has the same meaning. In John Grisham’s Bleachers, Neely Crenshaw is so stuck in the past he has only been to his home town three times since he graduated (when his football jersey was retired, when he was Paul’s best man, and when Coach Rake died). He has fallen from being the perfect All-American and cannot face the town he used to love and call home. Even when Neely is talking to friends he still has to be the All-American they knew. As he left the bleachers “he turned too quickly and the knee almost collapsed” (Grisham 60). He may have gotten this reasoning from Eddie Rake. It was not until he was on his death bed that Rake…show more content… Everyone knew he was going somewhere and they were proud of his accomplishments. Then in college he ruined his knee and was no longer able to play football or even walk for a while. He still has troubles with the old injury and is always reminded that he let down Messina. He did not want to go back to his hometown because he thought people would no longer see the great player he was. “No piece of ground in Messina was more revered than The Field” (Grisham 3) and Neely was honored to be able to play on it. The town is known for how good their football players are and he was no longer able to play the sport. “Number 19 was Neely Crenshaw in another life” (Grisham 6) that he was not willing to give up. If he could not be the same All-American he used to be he did not want to be near any old memories of it. Messina was where it all started and even though Neely was living in that past he could not bring himself to face the…show more content… He dumped her for Brandy Skimmer and will regret it for the rest of his life. Before Rake’s funeral he had to talk to her even though he knew she would not want to see him. “The gravity of his mistake hit hard” (Grisham 174) when he saw her for the first time after all those years. Many times she told him to move on because she had, but he cannot. He is still trying to take back the mistake he made. It is like an endless battle with him. He knows how she feels but he cannot let go. He still loves her and does not want to lose her even though it is clear he already has. There is no way Cameron can convince him to let her go. He is still acting like the All-American he was in high school. Acting cocky and sure he can convince her to do anything. “Neely had his pick back then” (Grisham 7) and thought that would work with Cameron now even though it did not back