Why We Love Football

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A copy of this volume is located at the Sherman Public Library.

796.332 POSNANSKI

Why We Love Football by Joe Posnanski

A follow-up to a previous volume, Why We Love Baseball, this volume covers, as the subtitle intimates "a history in 100 moments".  And those 100 moments include some of the most memorable plays in football history.  Not just NFL history, which you could be forgiven if you thought so before you opened the book. There are plenty of memorable collegiate football moments, too.

As well, the author has 10 "moments" that are basically paeans to legendary players, including Jerry Rice, Walter Payton, Reggie White, Jim Brown and, just to prove he is not partial towards post-1960's football, Sammy Baugh, a quarterback who played in the 1930's. 

Each moment discussed gives some interesting insights into the featured players involved in that moment, as well as some quotes by the central figures. Some of the events will be familiar:  such as the classic game known as "The Ice Bowl", when the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers played in sub-zero temperatures and horrendous weather, or Joe Namath's guarantee that the New York Jets would win Super Bowl III, or the play that will forever be known as "The Catch", which you only need to say those two words and even people who aren't San Francisco 49ers or Dallas Cowboys fans will probably remember.

But also there are some great pieces on classic college plays and even one on a great professional football player who outperformed, on the field one year, better than any other player at the time, but as a woman in a women's football league.  (Yes, there was at one time a Women's Professional Football League, which may come as a surprise to many). 

Probably one of the most heart warming stories is about a boy in Ohio who, despite his love of the game, had no chance to make the high school football team because of his mental retardation.  But he got his moment of glory when the coach suited him up and gave him a role in the final play of the last game of the season.  No spoilers here, but you might be able to guess what happened even so...

My only quibble would be that he doesn't include the game ending of the 2005 Rose Bowl as one of his moments, when QB Vince Young led the #2 ranked Longhorns to a comeback victory against the favored #1 ranked USC Trojans.  Being a University of Texas fan prejudices me, I admit, but that is one of the reasons I love football... Otherwise, I really enjoyed this trip into the history of the sport.

Until next time, happy browsing.

Quiggy

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