“ Roth's parents were active Communists who filed suit against school prayer, winning the historic case in 1962. Ostracized, Roth just wanted to belong, and became captain of his school soccer team. (Soccer, he says, restored my self-esteem). "The better Roth played, the more normal he felt. Athletic statistics became his religion. "Joe knew every statistic about every sport, even the less popular sports, like cross country running, says his childhood friend Dave Schlesinger. His father has never seen any of the many, many films produced by Roth.”
