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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
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33607003108720 | Adult Nonfiction | 796.332 EASTERB | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Is there anything more universally American than NFL football?
Love of the NFL runs deep and broad. It is a primetime TV event on multiple national networks, subsidized by public funds and popular from Mount Rainier to Miami Beach. The 2015 Super Bowl, a thriller between the Patriots and Seahawks, was the most-watched program in the history of television, with more than a third of the country watching.
Yet football is in trouble. Public anxiety over football spiked in 2014 during the heat of the Ray Rice domestic violence scandal, the ongoing concussion crisis and the league's appropriations of tax money for its own ends. The mounting problems have led some to question the ethics of watching America's beloved game.
In this sharply argued, witty, observant book, Gregg Easterbrook makes a spirited case in defense of the NFL. As he shows, the league brings together Americans of all stripes, providing a rare space to talk about what matters. Indeed, the various issues we see in the league are often microcosms of the ones we see elsewhere, whether it's suspicion of the rich, or gender politics or even concern over bullying. The NFL's social, economic and legal problems are real, but they also produce some of our best and most valuable discussions of those issues. Football is a magnificent incarnation of our national character. It has many flaws, and they need fixing -- but the game's not over.
Author Notes
Gregg Easterbrook is the author of ten books, two of them New York Times Notable Books. He was a national correspondent for the Atlantic , and since then has been a contributing editor. He is a former visiting fellow of the Brookings Institution (dual fellowship in economics and in governance studies) and a distinguished fellow of the Fulbright Foundation.
He often writes for the Atlantic (nine cover stories), New Republic (seventeen cover stories), and New York Times (thirty-three op-ed pieces and counting). He has been a politics columnist for Reuters and a sports columnist for ESPN. He has written for the New Yorker, Science, Wall Street Journal, Wired, Esquire, Washington Monthly , and Los Angeles Times .
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
At a time when the reputation of the National Football League is under siege, Easterbrook (The King of Sports), a contributing editor at the Atlantic and the Washington Monthly, defends the sport but scolds its governing organization, which he calls "broken and needing reform." Easterbrook examines the public fallout stemming from the New England Patriots' "Deflategate" scandal, the chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) lawsuit and its massive cash settlement for ailing veteran players, the domestic assault debacle involving former running back Ray Rice, and various changes to rules in order to safeguard current players. He describes how the ambitious NFL empire brings in billions in revenue for the major TV networks and cable systems, yet he blasts the diminishing power of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, calling him "a water boy who makes eight figures." In a series of familiar arguments, Easterbrook speaks of football as a sport of civic pride, a way to lift boys out of poverty, and a game that mirrors America's obsession with violence and organized mayhem; some segments, such as the dull poetic bits and hastily assembled highlight reel of memorable moments, feel like filler. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal Review
Easterbrook (The King of Sports) is a political writer who, for many years, has written an online column about football. In many ways, this latest book is an abbreviated update of the themes of The King of Sports. The author finds football distinctly American, and that it holds a mirror to American culture and society regarding gender, health, drugs and economics. While Easterbrook believes football's combination of strength, speed, power, and thinking make it the best of sports, this is less a defense of the game than a validation of the author's reform plan for the sport. For example, to address brain injury, he advocates for no youth football before middle school, less practice time, and no three- or four-point stances for linemen. However, he is most engaged when railing about the unholy alliance among the National Football League (NFL), government, media outlets, and advertisers that lead to tax breaks for billionaires to build stadiums and advantageous tie-ins for large corporations. "Bonus" appendixes reprise familiar elements from his columns, such as his aversion to punting and his silly use of haiku in discussing the game. VERDICT With a distinct voice, -Easterbrook makes important observations about the game that will have a broader appeal than just football fans. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
Preface: Americas Love-Haie Relationship with the NFL | p. ix |
1 A Not-So-Distant Mirror | p. 1 |
2 What Comedians Know About Football | p. 19 |
3 How the NFL Got Game | p. 37 |
4 You Ain't Seen Nothin Yet | p. 55 |
5 Hey, That's Me in the NFL Mirror | p. 79 |
6 Where Barack Obama Was Wrong About the NFL | p. 97 |
7 Is the NFL Bad for Boys and Good for Girls? | p. 113 |
8 Knocking Pro Football Down to Size | p. 127 |
9 Captain Kirk Will Be an NFL Fan | p. 143 |
Bonus #1: Memorable Moments in Professional Football | p. 157 |
Bonus #2: Ye Gods, Why Are They Punting? | p. 173 |
Bonus #3; Maybe You're Not Reading Enough Football Poetry | p. 183 |
Bonus #4: Predict NFL Winners Without Even Knowing Who's Playing | p. 193 |
Bonus #5: Iron Laws of the Gridiron | p. 201 |
Bonus #6: Football Maxims to Live By | p. 207 |
Index | p. 211 |