TJ and The Sports Fanatic

"TJ Barnes doesn't usually play team sports, but he learns a lot about football and even more about his friend Seymour when they both join a football team."
"Story of the reluctant protagonist, TJ. With his best friend, Seymour, TJ is pulled into trying something new - football. TJ considers himself to be quite unathletic, and he is dismayed to find himself agreeing to play football with Seymour. After a few weeks of practice, TJ begins to learn the thrill of participating in a team sport. His new pastime is also a useful diversion when he learns his parents can no longer keep their hardware business afloat."@en
"TJ Barnes is back, playing with his crazy cats, T-Rex and Alaska, helping out in his parents' hardware store and goofing around with his best friend, Seymour. When Seymour announces that he has signed them both up for a football team, TJ fears the worst. Neither of them is huge or mean or able to tackle, catch, throw, run or kick a ball down a field, but Seymour is determined to be a star. With the help of a stack of library books, TJ starts to understand the game but it takes more than a few books to figure out what's wrong with his best friend."
"TJ finds out that there's more to football than passes, punts and touchdowns."@en