Gameday

A College Football Novel

De: Enrique Antonio

Narrado por: Malvo Gil

He was a Pop Warner coach with no pedigree—never supposed to get the job. Now he’s one win away from the top of college football.

Mayer Casal didn’t come from the coaching ranks. He came from suburban sidelines, calling plays for Pop Warner teams and a high school program where he teaches, collecting a pathetic paycheck that barely covered gas to practice. Suddenly, he’s offered the job of a lifetime: head coach at Leiland University, an FBS, Division 1 football program in a major conference.

A schematic genius and brilliant leader, Mayer doesn’t know how to lose. He inherits a staff he didn’t choose and a roster full of overlooked recruits. With the help of a young, gifted, beautiful GM and undervalued assistants, he turns Leiland into a real contender, despite having one of the lowest NIL budgets in the country. As wins mount and attention builds, so do the enemies: media operatives, power brokers, and institutional insiders guarding the gridiron through networks and conferences that know exactly what this is: a billion-dollar escapade hiding behind school colors and fight songs.

GAMEDAY is a rare football novel—a gripping, character-driven, real-world sports drama that goes the whole nine yards. For fans of Friday Night Lights, Draft Day, The Blind Side, and underdog stories that hit harder than the next play.

©2025 Tenon, a Division of Silver Sockets Publishing, Enrique Antonio (P)2025 Tenon, Silver Sockets Publishing

Felt Like ESPN Met Friday Night Lights

From the opening kickoff to the final whistle, Gameday doesn’t just tell a story, it puts you inside the goal line. The writing is sharp and grounded, but what really seals it is the narration. Malvo Gil’s delivery has that perfect, gritty timbre—part coach, part commentator, part locker-room veteran who’s seen it all. His voice calls the story like a live game. It's unique for this genre. I 'll be following the narrator as a result, seeing how he'll bring other stories to life. Great selection by the publishers to collaborate with Gil.

The production quality is crisp and cinematic. It captures not only the action but the texture of the football world: the booster pressure, media narratives, locker-room politics, and the quiet human cost behind it all. It sounds like the whole sports industry got compressed into a single performance. This book was timely for college football season. It should get new life with every fall kickoff season.

The story itself is built with the kind of authenticity only someone who understands the game, and the people who orbit it, could deliver. Coach Mayer Casal’s rise from obscurity to Division I power feels lived-in, believable, and full of emotional gravity. It's a unique angle, a never-been-done before story. Those are hard to find. There’s not a false note in the pacing. You feel the weight of each decision, the sting of betrayal, and the electric charge of redemption.

Malvo Gil’s narration turns the story into an experience. He went for making it like a broadcast, and it worked. His voice cracks at just the right moments, steadies when it counts, and carries the gravity of a man who’s been on the field. It’s the rare audiobook where you forget you’re listening to fiction at all.

Verdict: This is Friday Night Lights meets Any Given Sunday in audiobook form and with a level of polish and realism that feels modern and true. If you love football, sports books, leadership or underdog stories, and plain old drama, or just hearing a voice that makes you believe what you’re hearing, Gameday is a touchdown.