How Football Explains America Chicago: Triumph Books, 2008.
By Sal Paolantonio
As National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell says in Sal Paolantonio’s entertaining analysis of how the professional game became our national pastime, “You can look at football and see the heart of America.”
That’s exactly what Paolantonio, an ESPN correspondent and former national political reporter, does in this highly-readable overview of what he calls “America’s most powerful and financially successful entertainment phenomenon.”
Paolantonio, who is one of the nation’s most respected pro football analysts, explains how the gridiron game evolved after American’s for the most part rejected the “stodgy and low-scoring games of soccer and rugby” while they were celebrating our country’s 100th anniversary in 1876.
He describes how President Teddy Roosevelt saved the college game early in the 20th century, and explains how people like Jim Thorpe and Bill Walsh changed professional football, a game that was significantly influenced and glamorized by Hollywood, West Point, and other institutions.
Such chapter headings as “How Football Explains Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett,” “How Football Explains John Coltrane and Jackie Robinson,” “How Football Explains Father Knows Best,” and “How Football Explains Us All” epitomize the book’s far-reaching historical and philosophical perspective of the game.
How Football Explains America is sprinkled with scores of colorful anecdotes highlighted by a unique snapshot of the 2007 NFL season, a “fascinating historical and cultural journey” that describes the intrigue, skullduggery and drama of that campaign and illustrates the quest for perfection and the triumph of an underdog against all odds.
As Commissioner Goodell says, “Football explains America because the game is about teamwork and camaraderie, competition and passion, strategy and energy, strength and emotion.” All factors that Paolantonio captures extremely well.
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Dick Vermeil: Whistle in His Mouth, Heart on His Sleeve. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2009.
By Gordon Forbes
Dick Vermeil is the first comprehensive biography of a coaching legend, who turned around the moribund Philadelphia Eagles franchise, guided the St. Louis Rams to its only Super Bowl triumph, and later came out of retirement for the second time to coach the Kansas City Chiefs.
Vermeil’s inspiring story is written with a thoroughly researched, enlightening style by Pro Football Hall of Fame writer Gordon Forbes, who covered professional football for more than 36 years including 20 years with USA Today.
Forbes describes how Vermeil accepted the challenge of a lifetime to become coach of the Eagles after leading UCLA to a huge upset victory over Ohio State in the 1976 Role Bowl.
Then, two years after guiding the Eagles to its first Super Bowl, Vermeil suddenly quit the game after being burned out by a grueling, self-imposed work schedule that wreaked havoc on his emotions.
Vermeil’s remarkable career could have ended there. Actually, it was only beginning. How it continued made him a legend to millions of football fans around the world.
As former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski writes in his Foreword: “I can say unequivocally that any success I’ve had as a father, as a player, as a husband, and as a businessperson is directly attributable to Dick Vermeil.”
Scores of other players can say the same thing about one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game.
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The Ultimate Book of Sports Movies: Featuring the 100 Greatest Sports Films of All Time. Philadelphia: Running Press, 2009.
By Ray Didinger and Glen Macnow
The Ultimate Book of Sports Movies is a refreshing, fun-filled compendium of the top 100 best sports films of all time, as ranked by co-authors Ray Didinger and Glen Macnow.
In addition to a fact-packed synopsis of each movie, every chapter contains loads of interesting tidbits including critics’ reviews at the time of the film’s release and comments by prominent celebrities. The authors also provide their own personal grades as well as tons of informative details under such headings as “Cheers,” “Jeers,” “Bet You Didn’t Know,” “Don’t Fail to Notice,” and “Best Line,” among others.
More than 100 athletes, actors, and other well-known personalities— such as Ryan Howard, Tim Tebow, Dennis Quaid, and Donovan McNabb—offer their incisive opinions. Typical is this comment by NHL All-Star Mike Modano about his favorite film, Bull Durham: “It’s more about athletes’ off-the-field lives than the sports themselves, and that’s what I really like. It gives a great insight about what it’s like to be an athlete. It’s a staple on our team flights and we throw around quotes in the dressing room all the time.”
And what is Didinger and Macnow’s favorite film?
You’ll have to buy the book to find out but we will tell you that it has a colorful Philadelphia flavor.
As Gene Hackman says in his Foreword, “Ah…the movies, we love them.”
Just as you will love this book!
Bob Lyons will review a new sports book with Philly ties each month.
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