A Poem in the Form of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
Pilgrimage site: Rutgers University fields

Introduction:  Why would modern day pilgrims want to visit this sight?

Modern American pilgrims would want to visit this field, both for reasons related to athletes. One group because it was home to three American soccer national team players, and US soccer legend Alexi Lalas. Playing or visiting a field that harbored players of extraordinary quality can inspire people. The other group interested would be those who support and advocate for the fair compensation of college athletes, in the big business, collegiate athletic model. Also this “proving ground” can the work and dedication of Division I athletes, who are struggling with the issue of the NCAA taking advantage of them. Collegiate athletics are very intense, and sometimes schools look more for money than for the wellbeing of athletes. A great way to see this issue first hand is to visit a Division 1 university, and see the work athletes put in everyday for their sports.

Pilgrims:

Former European soccer player – Ari Goldberg, 79,
Lawyer – Marshall Williams, 43,
Felon/juvenile – Carter Raleigh, 19,
Referee – David Arnold, 50, 
Ari Goldberg’s grandson – Robert Schwarzenegger, 14,
Comedian – Keegan Peele, 28,
Woman writer – Lorena Mop, 39, 
Used car saleswoman/wife of former coach – Susie Schlossman, 35
Me – Jake Berger, 15,
Ari Goldberg was first, a former soccer great
A career ending injury was his fate.
Wherever he went, he created buzz
Now at 79, a shell of the man he once was.
He was going back to the ground where he began
To turn his grandson into a soccer fan.
He told a story about his career
He was once as spry as a deer
His tale of weaving and moving to shoot and score
Only made the child think him a bore. 

Next, Marshall Williams was the lawyer
In any court he was a brave warrior
With logic and rhetoric, so many cases he won
Never had the law been so fun!
He was from a poor family, but now money he had;
But the NCAA’s corruption made him mad
He wanted no evidence concealed
So to gain perspective he visited the field
Of the players he meant to defend
His goal to have the rules amended.
His tale was of a monster that ate
All of the workers he did hate
And then the monster was slain
Never was the NCAA to be heard from again

There was a juvenile on the trip-
Carter Raleigh was let slip
Away by a single mom that loved him so
When his father died long ago.  
To the Rutgers field he went
To make his life completely unbent
By getting into college through sports
And never going back to court.
The coach was to meet with him that day
So that in college he could play
The tale he told was of a mistaken crime
The perpetrator not being sublime
But still having morals and wisdom
He was just screwed by the system

David Arnold was a referee
Over fouls, players would make their plea
“Not Guilty!” they would bellow
He just reached into his pocket and pull out a yellow.
He had lost his corporate employment
And also his money, and enjoyment.
The ref job was to get back on his feet
But he really wanted to work on Wall Street.
His tale was of a Scarlet Knight who lost it all
But came back to again stand tall
With money, and wealth
And outstanding health.

The grandson of Ari, was a boy named Robert
He was a football player, and would often clobber
Other players. An athlete, he was a given,
And thought soccer was for women.
His grandfather was a soccer star
But to him, from impressive that was far
His Grandpa made him go to the college
To improve his soccer knowledge.
Football was his game
And to him, all other sports were lame.
His tale was about the benefit of toughness
The people who are on top are the roughest
How justice is a pile of lard
And the only way to survive is to hit hard.
Additionally, Keegan Peele came
Public figures he did maim
With jokes and comedy galore
He had audiences begging for more.
He heard of a scandal, where the NCAA cheated players
But went to investigate because the story had many layers
He went the field to check out the coach
But soon realized the story was a hoax.
His tale was of a man that made people laughed so hard they cried
And his jokes brought joy, to people and stopped a suicide
Everyone needs laughs to brighten the day,
That was what the comedian was trying to say.

The writer, Lorena Mop was there as well
Returning to the college that made four years hell
An alumna of Rutgers, her only fun it seemed
Came from covering the Rutgers soccer team.
She had become a writer, fluent in her art
And wanted to return to the place of her start
To get inspiration for a new page
To let herself out of an uncreative cage.
Her tale was of a pit of suffering
Annoying as a computer buffering
But after years in dark, the pit was brightened
Inspiration achieved, she was now enlightened

All throughout the tales, Susie pitched her cars
She was a car salesman who looked like she was from Mars
She had been raised to work as hard as she could
She knew her job wasn’t that good
She came to the field, to sell to moms
She was as subtle as an atom bomb.
For her late husband she also prayed
In his hey-day, Rutgers coach he was made.
Even when parents called her the devil incarnate
She simply smiled and told them the car rate
Her story was about an ugly duck
Who worked her hardest to clear the muck
From the pond, but was hated by most
But if she didn’t do her job, they would all be ghosts
The rest of the ducks were quite mean
So the ugly duck went unappreciated and unseen

Last there was me, but a rock in the ocean
Never before had I seen such commotion!
As each person undertook different emotion
From the very same field, I came up with a notion,
I was going to field because I had practice
But the criticism of my field felt like a cactus.
My opinion mattered just as much as the others
After all, the field and I were like brothers
So I broke my silence with a thunderous yell
“The field is my heaven, not a hell!
I cannot believe, upon what you have concurred
Those who criticize the place are turds!
I grew up on this soft green Faux-grass
With it memories I have amassed
From the years of soccer, with teammates galore
How could you consider the place a bore?”
And with that I sat, I barely cared
I later couldn’t believe that I dared
To do a thing so bold and rash
It happened, so quickly, in a flash
The legend, the lawyer, the felon and referee
The grandson, the comedian, the writer and me
All sat in silence cause we had arrived
And so ended the journey and the time of our lives