“Playing (Football) For Pizza!”
If you love pro football, and you’re looking for a distraction from the Broncos current woes, here’s a book I’ll bet you’ll enjoy, “Playing For Pizza.” My dad turned me on to this one, he’s a big John Grisham fan, as well as being a big football fan. John Grisham of course is best known for his legal thrillers, but every once in awhile he tries something different. This is a very entertaining, light-hearted, fun, fast read! Best of all–for Broncos fans–the story begins with the Broncos going to the Super Bowl!
It’s HOW the Broncos got to the Super Bowl that’s really what the book is about. A journeyman, third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns is forced into the AFC title game with about ten minutes left to play, with the Browns leading 17-0. He promptly makes a series of blunders that allows the Broncos to come back and win the game, sending Denver to the Super Bowl against the Minnesota Vikings. It LOOKS like his career is over–but then…
I’ll leave it at that, along with my hearty recommendation for the story! I started reading and couldn’t put it down.
Makes me think about OTHER great football books that I’ve read. George Plimpton’s “Paper Lion,” of course, is a classic. A little on the dry side, and maybe a little too “deep” for the casual football fan, but enjoyable. I just finished a book about the XFL–remember that league, Vince McMahon’s football “brand extension” of the WWE? The book’s called “Long Bomb,” and it’s interesting to read, but you can tell the author has an axe to grid with McMahon. He goes to great lengths to make the league and just about everybody associated with it look stupid. Not that they needed a lot of help in that. Personally, I enjoyed the XFL once they ditched the wrestling-style theatrics half-way through the year and made it all about football.
I know there’s a couple of other football books that I’ve read, just can’t think of them off-hand…to be continued…