In the novel Tangerine, the "Erik Fisher Football Dream" is an obsessive plan for Erik, the older brother in the family, to earn fame and a college scholarship by joining the high school football team, becoming the star player, getting featured in the local paper for his skills, etc.

Erik himself is constantly thinking about his potential football career, but his father, Mr. Fisher, is perhaps even more obsessive over it. We learn in the first chapter of the novel (titled "Friday, August 18," on page 11) that Mr. Fisher even plans to adjust his work schedule so that he can attend every football practice session with his son. Not just every game--every practice session!

Paul, the younger brother who narrates the story, is already sick of hearing about the Erik Fisher Football Dream by the time the novel opens. Paul himself is a good soccer player and loves sports, but his father never pays much attention to Paul or to his participation in sports--Erik and his football are all Mr. Fisher seems to care about.

If you asked Paul and Erik's parents what the Erik Fisher Football Dream is, they might laugh. The term isn't something they use: it's something Paul uses, privately, in his mind. Knowing all this, we can start to understand the source of much of the conflict within the Fisher family in this novel.