My favorite football books.
BY BOOMER ESIASON
Saturday, December 17, 2005 12:01 a.m. EST
1. "When Pride Still Mattered" by David Maraniss (Simon & Schuster, 1999).
This is the life story of game's biggest name: Vince Lombardi. The book tells you about who Lombardi was as a coach, as a man, and about all that he brought to the table--what I'll call the virtues of football. That last is, to me, the great thing. Yes, the game is in itself exciting, exhilarating, filled with passion and desire and all the drives in human life. But at the end of the day it's something else, too: it's the great character-building sport, a teacher of discipline and cooperation. Lombardi embodied those values. The book covers his career from its beginnings to the days in the 1960s when this son of an Italian butcher had become the most celebrated coach of the most celebrated team in football. That team was, of course, the Green Bay Packers, whose great years and character Mr. Maraniss captures beautifully.
2. "Inside the Helmet" by Peter King (Simon & Schuster, 1993).
The author, a writer for Sports Illustrated, decided to immerse himself in the lives of 10 NFL players, yours truly included. He set out to explore the game from the inside--to search out what it requires of every team member, every position, and the psychological and physical elements involved. How does the player do what he does, how does he feel doing it, how does he think? What are the problems? The solutions? To find out, Peter King spent a week essentially living with each player as he prepared for a game, going to meetings with him, asking questions. Mr. King didn't just talk to players (among them some of the greatest of my era, including Bruce Smith and Barry Sanders), he also interviewed coaches known for their expertise on various positions. The result is a terrific treat for lovers of the game.
3. "Remember This Titan" by Bill R. Yoast, with Steve Sullivan (Taylor, 2005).
This is a football story charged with racial tension and drama. Bill Yoast was the coach of the Titans at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., in 1972, an era when pressures for affirmative action were already making themselves felt. Despite a long and successful history as head coach, Mr. Yoast was told to step down--his job was being given to a black coach, and he would work as an assistant. This put both the coaches and players in a dicey position, agitated and brooding over the racial resentments that had been brought to the surface. Of course, things didn't end there (as you'll know if you saw the 2000 movie "Remember the Titans"). This moving saga reveals how players and their coaches, functioning as a team, manage in the end to overcome their mistrust and animosity. The book speaks to the strengths of football, and it does so eloquently.
4. "Semi-Tough" by Dan Jenkins (Atheneum, 1972).
The first thing to know about Dan Jenkins's book is that it's better than the 1977 movie. And it's certainly more detailed. Set in the 1970s, the action revolves around the New York Giants--in particular, two players fresh from Texas who've come to the big city. They find plenty of wild parties, drinking and boundless opportunity for sex. I wish I could say it was like that when I played--I just don't remember things quite that way. Some of these memories of mad abandon, of football players on the loose, might have been fed by wishful thinking. And Mr. Jenkins's novel, it has to be said, is sometimes given to tastelessness that's neither amusing nor interesting. Still, nothing changes the fact that this hilarious satire is, on the whole, a very good read.
5. "North Dallas Forty" by Peter Gent (Morrow, 1973).
This novel is about the darker side of football, about the game's human costs: the shattered knees and broken bodies, all the painkillers required for a player to get out of bed in the morning. A barely disguised account of his own pro-football career with the Dallas Cowboys, Peter Gent's book touches on some of the same notes found in "Semi-Tough." The difference is that there's not much light comedy in "North Dallas Forty," a story about an ambitious player, a tight end, whose pain and endurance go unrewarded in a game run by vultures and users. No Vince Lombardis here. A powerful story, powerfully told.
Mr. Esiason, an NFL quarterback from 1984 to 1997, is a commentator on CBS's pregame show, "The NFL Today," and president of the Boomer Esiason Foundation, a cystic fibrosis charity.
opinionjournal.com |
