Football Books

What's most amazing about this book, to me, is that it has all of the insight and vivid detail you'd expect from a prolific writer like Lipsyte, but he's captured the tone and pacing you'd expect to encounter in a high school. He truly immersed himself in the culture of high school and high-level high school sports, and he places the reader right there in the locker room and in conversations in a way you'd swear you were listening to two 17-year-olds talk.

The book is also an incredible tool in the fights against cruel hazing and doping. Without beating you over the head with the message, Lipsyte shows everything that is wrong with the darkest sides of sports. A must-read for every high school athlete.

The Nearmont High School football season looks promising. The entire town expects great things from them --- Division, even State Championships --- and the team is on track for just such a season when they take off for preseason camp: two-a-day practices, morning wakeup calls, and Raider Pride Night, the traditional freshman initiation. Unfortunately, the ritual goes places it never should in ways that might compromise their entire season and ruin any chances they might have in college football and the pros.

"The biggest enemy of best is good. If you're satisfied with what's good, you'll never be the best."

Those words atop the Jerry Rice poster over Matt Rydeck's bed tell him everything he needs to know about football and life. He has to be willing to do what it takes, no matter what --- even if that involves staying loyal to his drug-using friends and even if that means using illegal steroids and Vicodin himself. They're supposed to take away the pain and help him heal faster. In the midst of all that, Matt would love to have a girl he could actually talk to, not just the typical girls who will follow any star receiver home after a party. He wants something more, someone with whom he can share his problems.

What would Matt's life be like without all the stress? Without having to hide what really happened that night at camp? Without the responsibility that comes with being team captain? Without the baggage of former one-night flings? With Dad in his face loading on the pressure to succeed, Matt needs a way out of his slowly suffocating world, and breaking a few rules and hearts seems like the only way out of town, to a life with a little more freedom.

In RAIDERS NIGHT, Robert Lipsyte has taken the experiences of "world-class athlete and sports psychiatrist" Michael J. Miletic, M.D. and re-molded them into a gripping story that's as fictional as it is real. The insider knowledge offers a glimpse into the competitive world of high school football players who are doing everything they can to make it to college and the pros, while at the same time navigate the complex webwork of their lives.

--- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens

The Nearmont High School football season looks promising. The entire town expects great things from them --- Division, even State Championships --- and the team is on track for just such a season when they take off for preseason camp: two-a-day practices, morning wakeup calls, and Raider Pride Night, the traditional freshman initiation. Unfortunately, the ritual goes places it never should in ways that might compromise their entire season and ruin any chances they might have in college football and the pros.

"The biggest enemy of best is good. If you're satisfied with what's good, you'll never be the best."

Those words atop the Jerry Rice poster over Matt Rydeck's bed tell him everything he needs to know about football and life. He has to be willing to do what it takes, no matter what --- even if that involves staying loyal to his drug-using friends and even if that means using illegal steroids and Vicodin himself. They're supposed to take away the pain and help him heal faster. In the midst of all that, Matt would love to have a girl he could actually talk to, not just the typical girls who will follow any star receiver home after a party. He wants something more, someone with whom he can share his problems.

What would Matt's life be like without all the stress? Without having to hide what really happened that night at camp? Without the responsibility that comes with being team captain? Without the baggage of former one-night flings? With Dad in his face loading on the pressure to succeed, Matt needs a way out of his slowly suffocating world, and breaking a few rules and hearts seems like the only way out of town, to a life with a little more freedom.

In RAIDERS NIGHT, Robert Lipsyte has taken the experiences of "world-class athlete and sports psychiatrist" Michael J. Miletic, M.D. and re-molded them into a gripping story that's as fictional as it is real. The insider knowledge offers a glimpse into the competitive world of high school football players who are doing everything they can to make it to college and the pros, while at the same time navigate the complex webwork of their lives.

Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens

First Published on TeenReads.
© Copyright 1997-2006, TeenReads. All rights reserved.

(Since writing this review, I have now read the book a second and a third time. This is definitely one of the best YA books of 2006 and unquestionably one of the best YA books relating to high school sports that I have ever read.)

"Richie! Richie! Richie!"

Imagine walking into a middle school classroom and finding the desks occupied by the likes of Joey Pigza, Sahara Special, Ruby Oliver, the Ally Sheedy character from The Breakfast Club, Cookie Monster, Roadrunner, Byron's friend Buphead, Jordan Catalano, and various other scholastically, socially, and/or hormonally challenged characters.

This was what it sometimes seemed like when I was standing in front of my wife's third period English class this past school year. The class was made up of a select, especially wonderful assemblage of students whom it was decided might benefit from being gathered together into a smaller class. And it was just as much fun for me to be in there as it might sound. (Of course, as Shari would immediately point out, Richie the middle aged adolescent guy didn't have to control the class; he could just be entertaining and be entertained, in turn, by them.)

It was a great opportunity to test whether those "high interest" YAs really are as "high interest" as I've always claimed them to be. And so we read aloud and discussed Rodman Philbrick's THE LAST BOOK IN THE UNIVERSE, Todd Strasser's CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE, and Alex Flinn's FADE TO BLACK. Shari's hope was to work our way up to SPEAK, which she teaches to her other eighth grade English classes. But, alas, the introspective, sarcastic voice of Melinda Sordino was way over too many of their heads, and so SPEAK was abandoned after a week in favor of in-your-face Zach Wahhsted from Terry Trueman's INSIDE OUT.

In addition to their enthusiasm (They really would sometimes chant "Richie! Richie!" when I'd get up there to read aloud), it was heartening to see their willingness to take steps toward more scholarly behavior such as showing up close to the time when the bell rang, reluctantly but amicably forgoing mid-class snack times, and becoming attentive, in some cases, for significantly long periods of time.

And, yes, I'd say that the "high interest" YAs proved themselves to be just that.
During the time they were studying FADE TO BLACK, Shari and I had the opportunity to collaborate on a complementary research unit focused on HIV and AIDS. I was able to document the collaboration process along with the students' results and assessments as the final project for my Instructional Strategies class, and we all agreed -- adolescents and adults -- that we'd learned a lot from the search process and from the actual information that was gathered, evaluated, discussed, and compiled.

In chatting with friends about the success of the HIV/AIDS unit, I'd note that such exceptional work was being accomplished by a class of which three-quarters of the students were not being permitted to "walk" with their classmates; they were receiving "social promotions" to high school but, because of their accumulated lack of scholastic achievement, they weren't allowed to participate in the graduation exercises.

When, at one point, I spoke of this with a psychiatrist friend, he became quite emphatic in his opposition to such a policy. He told me that there are so few real rites of passage for most kids these days. He said it was a significant mistake on the part of the District to not permit those kids to participate in the ritual after spending three years in the school.

"Matt floated into the party a step behind Brody, who opened holes in the crowd with his smile. Brody reached out for guys to tap fists and girls to feel up. Ever since he was in PeeWee, All-Brody had acted like he was walking on a red carpet, but nobody seemed to mind. He could say anything to anybody. Guys trusted him in the huddle and girls couldn't keep their hands off him. He had left the football in the car. He was looking to score tonight.
"The beer and Vic buzz carried Matt over the upturned faces. 'Yo, Matt...Lookin' good, my man...Where's Amanda...Ready for hell, hoss?' He felt the words more than heard them, like hundreds of fingers plucking at him. Good thing Brody's driving tonight. Matt grinned back at people, winked, tapped a few fists, squeezed a few soft arms that came out of the crowd to encircle him like snakes then fell away brushing the length of his body. He smelled perfume and armpits. He waved back at Pete, in a corner with Lisa. They talked about everything. Pathetic, Matt thought, then wondered what it would be like to have someone you could really talk to.
" 'Start the party,' Ramp bellowed. 'Captains are here.' His shoulders cleared a path and he was suddenly beside Matt, throwing a heavy arm around his neck, thrusting a can of beer in his hand. In this kind of crowd, Ramp always acted like they were buds. Otherwise, he made wiseass remarks and kept his distance. Been like that since PeeWee, teammates but never friends.
" 'Wassup?' Can't just blow Ramp off with everybody watching.
" 'Hear about the transfer from Bergan Central?' said Ramp.
" Bergan Central was in another conference. He didn't know any of their players. 'What about?'
" 'Sophomore tight end. Thinks he's just gonna show up and play.' Ramp sounded angry. Ramp was a great linebacker, but only a so-so tight end. He didn't want any competition."

After staying up until 3 AM the night before last, totally caught up in reading Robert Lipsyte's RAIDERS NIGHT, I slept a few hours and then sat down at the laptop. My first inclination was to find more about anabolic steroids and Vicodin, the two drugs being used regularly by Matt Rydeck, the Nearmont high school senior around whom the story revolves. I then proceeded to dig up some information about California's recently enacted rules on training coaches who work in high school athletic programs -- rules enacted as the result of widespread use of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances by high school athletes.

But where my information gathering ultimately led me was to an exploration of hazing and ritual and the necessity of devising bonding rituals that really create community.

Central to the plot of RAIDERS NIGHT, and to what the title refers, is the final night of Nearmont High's football training camp and the "bonding" ritual inflicted each year by the senior players upon the new guys. The ritual portrayed in the story is homophobic in nature. Sadly, so I've been told, this is not an unusual attitude or occurrence in the real world.

What is unusual is that the ritual in Lipsyte's story gets out of hand when Ramp, the team Neanderthal and co-captain, graphically abuses the young transfer hotshot whose substantial talent threatens to significantly reduce Ramp's own playing time during the coming season.

Matt Rydeck is the other co-captain and the real story here involves Captain Matt's relationships and behavior in regard to his chemical intake, his teammates, his girlfriends, his parents, his developmentally disabled older brother and, of course, his abused teammate.

In SPEAK, the Michael Printz Honor book with the vital message about looking out for the welfare of all the members of one's school community, readers at first don't know what has happened to Melinda to make her call the cops, but gradually they come to learn the facts when she finally begins to let herself remember. In RAIDERS NIGHT, we see what happens to Chris (the transfer student) but don't have any idea about Chris's subsequent thoughts and behavior during the extended period of time when Matt is too confused and too caught up in the rest of his drug, girl, and parent-crazed life to do or say anything about what has befallen the kid whom he, as co-captain, should have been protecting from the Neanderthal.

As a reader of RAIDERS NIGHT, one might be tempted to blame Matt's behavior on his father's being such an a-hole -- which he truly is. But, hey, I'm sure that I'm not the only one who could spend an hour or two spewing about how so many of my own bad habits are the result of my father's misparenting or setting a bad example. The bottom line, as Matt eventually figures out, is that you are dealt what you are dealt, and the measure of a young man is who he decides he is going to be and what he decides he is going to stand for, irrespective of the influence exerted by parents (or peers).

We do need to be talking about behavior and attitudes of adults is in terms of the rituals in the lives of adolescents. We don't want to do away with rituals. What is needed instead is for adults to ensure that bonding rituals and rites of passage are positive and inclusive to the benefit of the entire group, team, or community.

RAIDERS NIGHT is one hell of a story. I'd never before read any of Robert Lipsyte's YA fiction, but am now feeling lots of admiration for the members of the Margaret Edwards Award committee who were responsible for voting Lipsyte that honor a few years ago. You can bet I'll be reading more of his books. And, no doubt, people will be hearing me speak more about RAIDERS NIGHT, both in upcoming presentations, and when the time rolls around to debate the best books of 2006.

This book mostly talked about his life off of the pitch and all the stress he went thourgh in the the World Cup.

This book is GREAT! It explains Ronaldo`s footballing life and his personal, and public life, and many secrets only a few on the earth know.

i got this book for my birth day a i read it. i thought that itall talk a bout soccer, but it didn't. i taked abot how he grow up inbrazil and how the enverment was so diffecult in there. how he escaped from all bad things like gaging and drug and alcholes. his father was not so lucky. he smoked and he had alot of alckholes and drug. he was very unkind to his wife and his son. there fore, his wife decided to built up her self and her son.

Ever since the final whistle of the World Cup final I have had a big unanswered question. Why did the world's best player in the world's best team play so badly in the one game, the most important game, of his life so far, giving one of the world's worst performances in front of the world's biggest ever event audience of 2 billion. Months before the world cup the papers were full of Ronaldo. How Ronaldo would score more goals than ever seen before. How this would be his world cup like Pele's 1970, Kempes' 1978, Rossi's 1982, Maradona's 1986, and Romario's 1994. TV Programmes showed endless clips of his sublime skills, his genius. Months after the tragedy that was France '98. No credible explanation has appeared until now!! Clarkson's book to answer the question of what happened on that fateful day in Paris.He gives a complete picture of what makes up the man - Ronaldo. Clarkson delves into Ronaldo's childhood, giving an account of the early flashes of brilliance, his love of the game, his disappointments, the influence of his family and even his lack of confidence with girls. Then he takes us through Ronaldo's early career in a lowly 2nd division Brazillian League team. Then the breakthrough and subsequent move to Europe followed by stardom and megabucks. Then we are told of the trials and tribulations of his life in Europe. The immense build up to the World cup and the account of what actually happened to Ronaldo's Brazil. I must confess I did not let the book go until i had read in from cover to cover. Clarkson has a lovely smooth flowingly style of writing which captures the essence of the story. After reading the book I felt i had understood one of the most intriguing mysteries of footballing history.

Classic rugby in black and white, large format film glory!

This is a great photo book. It's interesting to see how the game used to look: twentysomething men in tweed suits, often smoking pipes, with hair styles that suggest one's grandfather. They hold huge rugby balls, wear huge shorts and long socks. They don't appear anywhere as fit and muscular as today's pros, but they were stroppy, tough and admirable men... rugby just doesn't look like this anymore.

You also get images of some of the greats: Napier, Wakefield, Prince Obolensky, etc. I once wrote an article about some of the old school ruggers depicted in this excellent coffee table book - [...] - read it and you'll get a taste for the content in this book.

Tennant mentions that in the photographic era before modern digital photography the game was depicted differently than today; you can certainly see this in the photos in this book, and it's fascinating.

Qualified recommendation: my wife only paid $[...] for it, not the $[...] plus I see right now. Not sure it's worth more than $[...]...

What a better gift to offer in Rugby World Cup Year? Great pics that take you back to the days of the glorious amateur sport of rugby football. The communal baths were all the players would bathe after the game, the muddy pitches with any signs of grass, etc. etc. This is the sole high level sport that resisted the calls of professionalism into the last decade of the 20th century. Enjoy the Rugby World Cup, the world's third biggest sporting event!

If you love rugby you will love this book. It is a coffee table tome full of fantastic photos from the 1800s to the 1980's. These are not mainly photos of match action, but cover the ethos and spirit of the sport with sensitivity, artistic value, and imagination. For its size and content, this book is a great value. A must!

This is a great coffee table book, filled with pictures you might not otherwise see. It shows the rugby that most of us as players know- having to work a real job, deal with the home life and the kids before lacing them up on Saturday afternoons.

The reviews here are from the earlier part of this decade, or the late' 90s, when the Raiders were heading upward under Al Davis, Bruce Allen, and Jon Gruden. So, it was easy at that time to pass this book off as good fun.

But now that the Raiders are coming off of a 19-61 record over the past 5 years, this book takes on a whole new life, and lacks only an update focusing on what happened between Al Davis and Jon Gruden, and the landslide this franchise has been on ever since.

This book is an excellent dissection of Al Davis and the stunts he pulls throughout his life and with the NFL. His battles with Pete Rozelle and the league are not much smaller than battles in a World War. From coaching at the Citadel to moving his Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles. It goes through Al's boyhood life and his struggles to the top of the game with the Raiders. This is an excellent book, not only for Raiders fans but any fan of sports.

Well-researched, well-written, and fun to read, this book reveals the "Genius" in all his wretched squalor and details the steps he took to get where he is. Great sport!

If your looking to learn more on this football legend, then get a copy of this. Great research on a man obessed with being the best in pro football. Gives you the ups and down in his life.

Big Ben: 27-4 as a starter (2004-2005 seasons)---only losses (3 of which were injury-related): Patriots, 2004 AFC Championship game (if Plax holds on to sure TD pass, we are only down 7 with about 7+ minutes to go in that game; Ben did some good things and was battling thumb and toe injuries) and also in 2005 (if Randle El doesn't get `cute' and lateral that pass to Ward, we probably win; again, Ben did some good things), as well as the Bengals in 2005 (Ben has beaten Carson Palmer's Bengals 3 times: twice in 2004 and big-time in the AFC Wild-Card game in 2005; Ben had 3 TD passes in this lone defeat and was battling a thumb injury) and Indy in 2005 (as we know, he got revenge in the AFC Divisional Playoff game; Ben threw a TD pass to Ward in this Monday night defeat and was coming off an injury-induced layoff).

Ben's FIRST NFL game: 2004 Pre-season at Ford Field vs. the Lions...last game of 2005 season: 2/5/06 at FORD FIELD, SUPER BOWL XL VICTORY!!!


So Ben didn't play a superb game in Super Bowl XL and there was some controversy...

--Super Bowl IX, 1/12/75: Steelers win 16-6 over the Vikings---Future Hall-of-Famer Terry Bradshaw is only 9 for 14 for 96 yards...BEN WAS 9 FOR 21 FOR 123 YARDS...Bradshaw threw a lone TD...BEN RAN FOR A LONE TD... Future Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton's numbers were putrid: 11 for 26 for 102 yards, 3 interceptions, NO TD's! We were only winning 2-0 going into the third quarter (on a safety); a boring game. The Steelers wore their white shirts and Terry had a beard (the other 3 Super Bowls: black-and-gold shirts, Terry clean shaven)...WE WORE OUR WHITE SHIRTS IN XL AND BEN HAD A BEARD...the game turned on a VERY controversial "fumble-that-wasn't" by the Steelers Larry Brown: the Steelers left the field dejected, the Vikings were in prime territory...then the officials ruled Brown was down before the ball came loose (no way!!!!!)...and the rest is history;

--Super Bowl X, 1/18/76: Steelers win 21-17 over the Cowboys---Future Hall-of-Famer Roger Staubach almost pulled out another miracle comeback...Swann's great falling-to-the-ground acrobatic catch led to no points (!);

--Super Bowl XIII, 1/21/79: Steelers win 35-31 over the Cowboys---the Cowboys' Jackie Smith drops a SURE TD pass that would have tied the game AND our go-ahead TD was aided by a very controversial tripping penalty that cost Dallas 33 yards: Lynn Swann fell over Benny Barnes's ankles and, as Bradshaw has admitted, it shouldn't have been a flag...we were ahead 35-17 at one point...Staubach almost brought them back (35-31);

--GAME BEFORE SUPERBOWL XIV: AFC Championship game vs. the Oilers, 1/6/80: Steelers win 27-13---late in the third quarter, officials ruled that Oilers receiver Mike Renfro did not have possession of what appeared to be a game-tying TD (WRONG!!!! He was in bounds; bad, bad call)...and the rest is history...

---Super Bowl XIV, 1/20/80: Steelers win 31-19 over the Rams---Bradshaw threw 3 INTERCEPTIONS and we were losing for most of the game...until Lambert saved our butts by intercepting QB Vince Ferragamo's pass...and the rest is history
(Steelers in the 1970's: regular season---99-44-1; playoffs: 14-4)

NON-STEELER SUPER BOWL "LUCK"---
Super Bowl XXV, 1/27/91: Giants defeat Bills BECAUSE SCOTT NORWOOD BARELY MISSES A RELATIVELY EASY FIELD GOAL, one of the biggest blown plays ever!;
All 3 of the Patriots victories were by exactly 3 points...and the Eagles really blew it with poor clock management (sound familiar?)!;
Super Bowl XXXIV, 1/30/00: Rams defeat Titans, 23-16--- The Rams' Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson at the 1-yard line as time expired. Dyson would have tied the game; Super Bowl V, 1/17/71: Colts beat Cowboys, 16-13, via a field goal... Dallas' Chuck Howley, who picked off two passes, became the first defensive player and the first player from a losing team to be named MVP.



The Steelers have been in the Super Bowl in the 1970's. 1980's, 1990's, and in the new millennium (2000's)---
IX (1975), X (1976), XIII (1979), XIV (played in 1980), XXX (played in 1996), XL (2006)

Big Ben---ONLY QB to ever go to Championship game his first two years; youngest to win the Super Bowl (Steelers: first 6th seed to go/ win; only team to beat #1, #2, and #3 seeds on the road and win; three-way tie for most Super Bowl victories: 5, along with Dallas and San Francisco; tied for second with most Super Bowl appearances: 6, along with Denver [who have `only' won 2])...comparison to other Hall-of-Fame and/or outstanding QBs---
Jim Kelly: 0 for 4; never won a Super Bowl;
Fran Tarkenton: 0 for 4; never won a Super Bowl;
Dan Marino: 0 for 1; never won a Super Bowl;
Kenny Anderson: 0 for 1; never won a Super Bowl
Len Dawson: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Johnny Unitas: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Joe Theismann: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Brett Favre: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Kurt Warner: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Ken Stabler: won one Super Bowl
Joe Namath: won one Super Bowl;
Phil Simms: won one Super Bowl;
Steve Young: won one Super Bowl;
Also: John Elway: after FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE LEAGUE, won two...after losing 3 very badly!

BEST run in sports history (as confirmed by a Congressional resolution!): won 8 in a row---
Bears (who had an 8-game winning streak), Vikings on the road (who had a 6 game winning streak...and Cowher NEVER won in a dome stadium before!), Browns on the road, and Detroit on 1/1/06 (where, unbeknownst to us at the time, we were headed for 2/5/06!); Bengals on the road (#3 seed, previously beat us), Colts on the road (#1 seed, league's best record, heavily favored, dome stadium, previously beat us; the Fumble, the Tackle, and the Miss), Broncos on the road (#2 seed, favored, 10-0 at home)...and the #1 NFC seeded Seahawks "on the road" in another dome, Detroit's Ford Field (where Big Ben started his NFL career vs. the Lions in the 2004 pre-season!!!)

YOU HAVE TO GET THE TWO-DVD SET "STEELERS: THE COMPLETE HISTORY" (2005; NFL Films), 1933-2004 (too bad they didn't wait a year haha!)---the main feature is 2 hours and 20 minutes long and covers 1933 up to and including Beg Ben's 2004 season; incredible. All the `lean years' (1930's-1960's; 1980's) are covered, NOT just the "glory seasons"---Kordell, Brister, Malone, Stoudt, Hanratty, etc. etc. etc. The bonus feautures are awesome, ESPECIALLY the 45-minute Jerome Bettis special-VERY IRONIC!! You will see Tommy Maddox with the Bus when they were both Rams in 1995...excellent miked-on-the-field comments, often funny, by Bus, Ward, and Cowher...Jan. 2005 AFC lowlights, Hines Ward crying, Jerome's reaction, and the tantalizing hint that Super Bowl XL wil be played in Jerome's hometown of Detroit...which makes what they did in 2005/2006 VERY story book! Also: the Bill Cowher, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier, Myron Cope, Dick Hoak, and Bill Saul segments/ specials are very entertaining, as is the Super Bowl XIII feature..get this...as well as the SUPER BOWL XL DVD---2005 season highlights included, as well as the 2006 playoffs!

Okay, now if you don't know much about Pittsburgh, but if you like football, this book will enlighten you. Whether you are a remaining native Burger or were born here and left, keeping your allegiance to the city(such as I), this book will open all your senses and you will recall the glory of walking duntown in a seemingly not too distant past where the Stillers were the lifeblood of the city. These were the days when the "legendary" performers were writing their part of history. If you want to read about mostly plays and scores, this may not be for you. If you have ties with either or both the city and the team, this may be the best thing out there. Do not miss it.

I must preface this review by saying that I am not a Steelers fan or even a football fan. Never the less I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was given to me by a Pittsburgh based friend who thought I would appreciate the writing and ( as a Cubs fan ) the 'lovable losers' quality of the early Steelers. My friend was right.
This is indeed a terrific underdog story. With a founder/owner straight out of Damon Runyon and a record of only eight winning seasons between 1933 and 1971 this team was the doormat of the NFL. Then with Franco Harris's Immaculate Reception in 1972 everything turned around. The Steelers became the dominant pro football team for the rest of the '70s with eight future Hall of Famers and nine visits to the playoffs.
The writers assembled to tell this compelling story are first rate. This book is required reading for Steelers fans, but I would recommend this book to all football fans or fans of good writing.

I was thirteen years old on December 23, 1972 when, on a small black-and-white television in our half-finished basement, my buddy and I watched Jack Tatum viciously pop Frenchy Fuqua on a play that should have ended the game and season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. What happened moments later and still burns in memory is just one of the many stories wonderfully captured in THE STEELERS READER, a must-read for any thinking sports fan with or without connections to the city and people of Pittsburgh. Although this collection covers the 70-year history of the team, for me it's the great Steelers teams of the 1970s which are most vividly brought to life from a series of cultural, historical -- even geographical -- perspectives. This collection includes some great sports writing from Frank Deford, Roy Blount, Jr., and others, but best of all there are the characters and the folklore: the Terrible Towel, Three Rivers Stadium, Gerela's Gorilla's, Terry Bradshaw, Art Rooney, Mean Joe Greene, Ernie "Fats" Holmes, Chuck Knoll, Rocky Bleir, and Franco's Italian Army. If only my local sports section were this well written and fun to read!

Another gem for local Philadelphian Anthony Gargano.
I'm looking forward to future work from this promising author.

This is the book for all Eagles fans. Re-live the magic of last years run to the Super Bowl. This book has incredible stories about Trotter, Ike Reese, and Donovan McNabb.

Learn about a softer, gentler, nicer side of Terrell Owens.

The book even includes some insight into the final minutes of the Super Bowl.

This book is a must read for all diehard Philadelphia Eagles fans. Anthony Gargano takes you back to that week of the Super Bowl
and takes you with him to Jacksonville. The behind the scenes stories of the players and Andy Reid is the kind of stuff all Eagles fans want to know. A must read!!

Knowing the heart and care that went into this book makes it even better to read. The stories about the quest to the big game and the local flavor make this an important part of all Philadelphia fans libraries. Anthony Gargano's look at dads and the crazy personalities in the area are memorable. Anthony Gargano has a way of bringing us all into the world where football rules.

I am a Baltimore Ravens fan but still a Baltimore Colts lover. I just finished reading my grandfather's copy of this and it was the best Baltimore Colts book and possibly the best book that I have ever read. The interviews are great and some entertaining. Every time I had extra time, I read some of this. So, if you are a passionate fan of Baltimore sports, GET THIS BOOK!

The Baltimore Colts are not really gone, not as long as we remember them. And more than twenty years after their last game in 1983, they live on thanks to Steve Sabol of NFL Films, broadcasters like Don Criqui, Dick Enberg, Mike Patrick, and Pat Summeral, authors like Tom Callahan, Frank Deford and William Gildea, Super Bowl III conspiracy blogs on the internet, and the fans who rub Johnny U's bronze toe for luck before Ravens games and still hate the New York Jets.

The Colts were the original America's Team. When Unitas passed in 2002, veteran sportswriters Mickey Herskowitz and John McClain were as moved here in Houston as anyone in Baltimore. In 2004, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue ordered his staff to read Michael Maccambridge's America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation, which naturally featured Johnny U on the cover.

But if the national legacy of the team is inarguable, the best book about it, Sundays at 2:00 with the Baltimore Colts, is a local work of oral history. Rather than expound on the big picture, authors Vince Bagli and Norman L. Macht simply ask notable individuals to remember life before, during, and after they were Colts. The scope and span of the book are impressive: thirty people agreed to be interviewed, among them nine members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame such as Unitas and coaches Weeb Ewbank and Don Shula. Other participants include NFL MVPs Earl Morral and Bert Jones, and fan favorites from the 1958-1959 NFL champions, Super Bowls III and V, and the 1975-1977 AFC East division champions. The result is a flood of memories and emotions, from both the Colts and the reader who holds them dear.

Yes, the big games are here, from the sudden-death 1958 championship over the Giants to the Super Bowl III upset loss to the Jets, as are heroes like Gino Marchetti and villains like Robert Irsay. Historians will enjoy the roster of every coach, player, and draft pick, but the real gem is the All-Time Results of every game in team history. Looking for memories among this wealth of information will keep you busy, and happy, for years.

Still, the book covers far more than football. The reader will find stories about the Second World War from Art Donovan, racial segregation from John Mackey, Lenny Moore, and Jim Parker, and labor unions from Mike Curtis. Who could ask for anything more?

For fans who loved the Colts, the best part of the book may be the relationships between the players, both good and bad. Here and there someone will call out a teammate, but anyone looking for bitter denunciations or hysterical rants will be disappointed save for a few about Irsay. Apart from him, the Colts Family is no myth.

Of course it might have been interesting to hear from Bubba Smith, who once accused his teammates of throwing Super Bowl III. Other strong personalities are missing, like Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks. Moreover, the book includes just one member of the last-ever Colts team, Nesby Glasgow.

But this is no problem: just bring on volume 2.

Sometimes very sad ... but more often, quite hilarious.

Each chapter profiles a different ex-Colt and prompts that player or coach for his recollections of & reflections on playing for what is perhaps the greatest franchise in the history of the NFL.

This is of "Hall of Fame" caliber, cover-to-cover.

If it wasn't for a dude named Vince Lombardi many of these former Baltimore stars would have had their hands full of rings -- as in Championship.

Targeted toward the old Baltimore Colt fans with some interesting interviews with players like Bert Jones, John Unitas, Art Donovan and more. Whether you are or were a big football fan some of the interviews conducted are very interesting. Well researched with some photographs and inside stories. An enjoyable read!

there is nothing like Super Bowls they use to really be exciting.and this Book Highlights past ones including my Buffalo Bills.full of Information&Insight.very well put together.

This book was very entertaining with Super Bowl information and stories that most people don't know. There is a chapter for each Super Bowl up through the 2000 game. Each chapter is a story told by someone who was a part of the game. Stories are from coaches, players and even referees. They offer different perspectives on the game and how the experience affected them and their teams. It was an enjoyable read and the insert comments from the CBS sports people who covered the games were also neat to see. I would recommend this for any football fan to add to their sports book collection.

The good things about this book that make it unique are that you get to hear the points of view of important people in Super Bowl history that you normally do not get to hear from. (linemen, non-superstar players, team executives) Their unique perspectives on the biggest of all football games makes this book stand apart from the typical Super Bowl book.
The negatives are that for the money, the book is too short. There are a couple of factual errors, as well as printing errors, where the same paragraphs and pages are accidentally repeated. (Did anyone at the publisher bother to proofread it first?)
For the true football/Super Bowl fan, you will find this book enjoyable.

This book was very entertaining with Super Bowl information and stories that most people don't know. There is a chapter for each Super Bowl up through the 2000 game. Each chapter is a story told by someone who was a part of the game. Stories are from coaches, players and even referees. They offer different perspectives on the game and how the experience affected them and their teams. It was an enjoyable read and the insert comments from the CBS sports people who covered the games were also neat to see. I would recommend this for any football fan to add to their sports book collection.

The author has a fast paced style in which he covers topics quickly and includes events and observations not strictly limited to the 79 Steelers. Not much depth on most subjects, however the Steelers poor drafting after the 74 bonanza is covered well (the 79 first round pick, Greg Hawthorne, had to resort to wearing pantyhose to avoid leg injuries later in his career w/Patriots, Wexell didn't metnion this). I like his writing style, covering so many players and topics make this a great book to reread in a couple of years.
Offensive lineman Steve Courson died when a tree fell on him in Nov 2005, his struggles with steriods-caused heart failure is mentioned here.
Chuck Noll's poor overall handling of Bradshaw is briefly mentioned, has been speculated they might have squeezed out one more Super Bowl win if Noll had been more responsive to the clinically depressed Bradshaw (his depression discussed in book). During the last half of the 80s Bradshaw said if he had been treated better he would not have retired after 83. Was surprised Lambert and others smoked.
Homeless, punch-drunk from football-related injuries to the head and dead from heart attack in his early 50s, Mike Webster,the workaholic center, barely mentioned. Defensive lineman Steve Furness also dead from a heart attack in his early 50s after being fired (and blacklisted?) by current Steeler Head Coach Cowher back in 94.
Even casual football fans, esp. in their 50s, will delight in this needed book.

Big Ben: 27-4 as a starter (2004-2005 seasons)---only losses (3 of which were injury-related): Patriots, 2004 AFC Championship game (if Plax holds on to sure TD pass, we are only down 7 with about 7+ minutes to go in that game; Ben did some good things and was battling thumb and toe injuries) and also in 2005 (if Randle El doesn't get `cute' and lateral that pass to Ward, we probably win; again, Ben did some good things), as well as the Bengals in 2005 (Ben has beaten Carson Palmer's Bengals 3 times: twice in 2004 and big-time in the AFC Wild-Card game in 2005; Ben had 3 TD passes in this lone defeat and was battling a thumb injury) and Indy in 2005 (as we know, he got revenge in the AFC Divisional Playoff game; Ben threw a TD pass to Ward in this Monday night defeat and was coming off an injury-induced layoff).

Ben's FIRST NFL game: 2004 Pre-season at Ford Field vs. the Lions...last game of 2005 season: 2/5/06 at FORD FIELD, SUPER BOWL XL VICTORY!!!


So Ben didn't play a superb game in Super Bowl XL and there was some controversy...

--Super Bowl IX, 1/12/75: Steelers win 16-6 over the Vikings---Future Hall-of-Famer Terry Bradshaw is only 9 for 14 for 96 yards...BEN WAS 9 FOR 21 FOR 123 YARDS...Bradshaw threw a lone TD...BEN RAN FOR A LONE TD... Future Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton's numbers were putrid: 11 for 26 for 102 yards, 3 interceptions, NO TD's! We were only winning 2-0 going into the third quarter (on a safety); a boring game. The Steelers wore their white shirts and Terry had a beard (the other 3 Super Bowls: black-and-gold shirts, Terry clean shaven)...WE WORE OUR WHITE SHIRTS IN XL AND BEN HAD A BEARD...the game turned on a VERY controversial "fumble-that-wasn't" by the Steelers Larry Brown: the Steelers left the field dejected, the Vikings were in prime territory...then the officials ruled Brown was down before the ball came loose (no way!!!!!)...and the rest is history;

--Super Bowl X, 1/18/76: Steelers win 21-17 over the Cowboys---Future Hall-of-Famer Roger Staubach almost pulled out another miracle comeback...Swann's great falling-to-the-ground acrobatic catch led to no points (!);

--Super Bowl XIII, 1/21/79: Steelers win 35-31 over the Cowboys---the Cowboys' Jackie Smith drops a SURE TD pass that would have tied the game AND our go-ahead TD was aided by a very controversial tripping penalty that cost Dallas 33 yards: Lynn Swann fell over Benny Barnes's ankles and, as Bradshaw has admitted, it shouldn't have been a flag...we were ahead 35-17 at one point...Staubach almost brought them back (35-31);

--GAME BEFORE SUPERBOWL XIV: AFC Championship game vs. the Oilers, 1/6/80: Steelers win 27-13---late in the third quarter, officials ruled that Oilers receiver Mike Renfro did not have possession of what appeared to be a game-tying TD (WRONG!!!! He was in bounds; bad, bad call)...and the rest is history...

---Super Bowl XIV, 1/20/80: Steelers win 31-19 over the Rams---Bradshaw threw 3 INTERCEPTIONS and we were losing for most of the game...until Lambert saved our butts by intercepting QB Vince Ferragamo's pass...and the rest is history
(Steelers in the 1970's: regular season---99-44-1; playoffs: 14-4)

NON-STEELER SUPER BOWL "LUCK"---
Super Bowl XXV, 1/27/91: Giants defeat Bills BECAUSE SCOTT NORWOOD BARELY MISSES A RELATIVELY EASY FIELD GOAL, one of the biggest blown plays ever!;
All 3 of the Patriots victories were by exactly 3 points...and the Eagles really blew it with poor clock management (sound familiar?)!;
Super Bowl XXXIV, 1/30/00: Rams defeat Titans, 23-16--- The Rams' Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson at the 1-yard line as time expired. Dyson would have tied the game; Super Bowl V, 1/17/71: Colts beat Cowboys, 16-13, via a field goal... Dallas' Chuck Howley, who picked off two passes, became the first defensive player and the first player from a losing team to be named MVP.



The Steelers have been in the Super Bowl in the 1970's. 1980's, 1990's, and in the new millennium (2000's)---
IX (1975), X (1976), XIII (1979), XIV (played in 1980), XXX (played in 1996), XL (2006)

Big Ben---ONLY QB to ever go to Championship game his first two years; youngest to win the Super Bowl (Steelers: first 6th seed to go/ win; only team to beat #1, #2, and #3 seeds on the road and win; three-way tie for most Super Bowl victories: 5, along with Dallas and San Francisco; tied for second with most Super Bowl appearances: 6, along with Denver [who have `only' won 2])...comparison to other Hall-of-Fame and/or outstanding QBs---
Jim Kelly: 0 for 4; never won a Super Bowl;
Fran Tarkenton: 0 for 4; never won a Super Bowl;
Dan Marino: 0 for 1; never won a Super Bowl;
Kenny Anderson: 0 for 1; never won a Super Bowl
Len Dawson: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Johnny Unitas: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Joe Theismann: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Brett Favre: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Kurt Warner: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Ken Stabler: won one Super Bowl
Joe Namath: won one Super Bowl;
Phil Simms: won one Super Bowl;
Steve Young: won one Super Bowl;
Also: John Elway: after FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE LEAGUE, won two...after losing 3 very badly!

BEST run in sports history (as confirmed by a Congressional resolution!): won 8 in a row---
Bears (who had an 8-game winning streak), Vikings on the road (who had a 6 game winning streak...and Cowher NEVER won in a dome stadium before!), Browns on the road, and Detroit on 1/1/06 (where, unbeknownst to us at the time, we were headed for 2/5/06!); Bengals on the road (#3 seed, previously beat us), Colts on the road (#1 seed, league's best record, heavily favored, dome stadium, previously beat us; the Fumble, the Tackle, and the Miss), Broncos on the road (#2 seed, favored, 10-0 at home)...and the #1 NFC seeded Seahawks "on the road" in another dome, Detroit's Ford Field (where Big Ben started his NFL career vs. the Lions in the 2004 pre-season!!!)

YOU HAVE TO GET THE TWO-DVD SET "STEELERS: THE COMPLETE HISTORY" (2005; NFL Films), 1933-2004 (too bad they didn't wait a year haha!)---the main feature is 2 hours and 20 minutes long and covers 1933 up to and including Beg Ben's 2004 season; incredible. All the `lean years' (1930's-1960's; 1980's) are covered, NOT just the "glory seasons"---Kordell, Brister, Malone, Stoudt, Hanratty, etc. etc. etc. The bonus feautures are awesome, ESPECIALLY the 45-minute Jerome Bettis special-VERY IRONIC!! You will see Tommy Maddox with the Bus when they were both Rams in 1995...excellent miked-on-the-field comments, often funny, by Bus, Ward, and Cowher...Jan. 2005 AFC lowlights, Hines Ward crying, Jerome's reaction, and the tantalizing hint that Super Bowl XL wil be played in Jerome's hometown of Detroit...which makes what they did in 2005/2006 VERY story book! Also: the Bill Cowher, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier, Myron Cope, Dick Hoak, and Bill Saul segments/ specials are very entertaining, as is the Super Bowl XIII feature..get this...as well as the SUPER BOWL XL DVD---2005 season highlights included, as well as the 2006 playoffs!

The Steelers made their Curtain call on the NFL in 1979, and Jim Wexell's impressive, fast-moving chronicle of that season recalls the anecdotes (L.C. Greenwood's disdain for weight-lifting among the more interesting) while delivering a healthy amount of background on players you've long since forgotten about. Strengths are the candid interviews with the anonymous faces who ran the hugely successful drafts of the early 70s, explaining how they found guys like Stallworth and missed guys like Montana and Marino. Also, the quick-read vignette format is a big plus. Many players and coaches tell it like it was, but some obviously have been interviewed many times before and offer little here beyond cliched coachspeak. Weekly accounts of the games could be a bit beefier. But because it's such a fast read and contains so much background on long-forgotten role players, it belongs on the coffee table of anyone who lived and died with this team every Sunday in the '70s. Merits a 4.5-star rating, rounding up here.

Tales from the behind the Steel Curtain is a must read for Steelers fans who still bask in the glory of the 1970s as well younger fans who are interested in learning how the dynasty was built. Jim Wexell's book is written in short stories that makes it easy to read and thoroughly traces the 1979 season - the team's fourth Super Bowl title in an amazing six-year stretch - and the years prior. Some nuggets are how some Steelers scouts believed receiver Frank Lewis was better than Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, but was too shy to tell quarterback Terry Bradshaw to throw him the ball. Steelers coach Chuck Noll wanted to draft Stallworth - a small-college no name whom the team's scouts uncovered - in the first round of the 1974 draft, a draft landed the Steelers four Hall of Famers. It also focuses on the many unique personalities of the team's number of colorful characters, including Dwight White, L.C. Greenwood, Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, etc. It's truly a book that will put a smile on the face of any Steelers fan.

I think this is an incrediblly well-written book.
The stories are short, interesting and insightful. Any Browns -- new or old --- will enjoy this book. Grossi is the best Browns writer EVER!
An NFL team should hire him for his insight and knowledge of the game.

I thought I knew everything about some of my favorite Browns players and stories until I read this book. They should have subtitled it, the Greatest Stories NEVER Told. This is a must-buy for a fan of any Browns era.

I would recommend this book for any Cleveland Browns fan. It makes for good light reading, and yet is very insightful into some stories you may not know about your favorite Browns of all time. Grossi couldn't have spent much time putting these stories together because they are very brief, but he does the job in giving the reader some unknown info about Browns from the past. The only thing that would have made it a 5-star rating for me is if the stories on the individuals would have been more in-depth.

I was 8 years old when my father took me to the 1964 NFL Championship Game, and the Cleveland Browns' 27-0 victory over Baltimore remains the highlight of my sports life. I felt that rush of happiness again when I read Tony Grossi's fine page-turner, "Tales From the Browns Sideline." It's filled with great stories about all of our heroes, and also has a few eye-openers about some little-known characters from Browns history. Read it in one sitting, or pick out a chapter here and there . . . you'll remember the glory days immediately!