The Ecstasy of Defeat: Sports Reporting at Its Finest by the Editors of the Onion

by The Onion

The Sports Page As You've Never Seen It Before From painfully obvious steroid revelations to sex scandals and superstars who announce trades in over-the-top TV specials, the wide world of sports can often seem too ridiculous for words. Well, attention sports fans: In The Ecstasy of Defeat, the editors of The Onion offer the laugh-out-loud funny and long overdue lampoon of sports culture you've been waiting for. Filled with the very best of The Onion's bench-clearing sports coverage, this book includes such classics as:
Lip-Reading BCS Computer Kills Officials Who Want To Shut It Down Barry Bonds Took Steroids, Reports Everyone Who Has Ever Watched Baseball. Report: Cheap Chinese NBA Players Falling Apart After A Few Seasons. Barbaro's Doctors: "A Horse This Good You Don't Eat All At Once." Lance Armstrong Wants To Tell Nation Something But Nation Has To Promise Not To Get Mad.
No topic escapes the satirical slap of America's Finest News Source, and the book covers not only mainstream sports--such as baseball, basketball, and football--but also lesser sports, sports culture, and special events like the World Cup and the Olympics. Featuring all the players, teams, and sports we love--and love to hate--The Ecstasy of Defeat is a must-read for sports nuts and Onion fans alike.

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Sports

258 pages, Paperback

First published October 11, 2011

About the author

The satirical newspaper The Onion was founded in 1988 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Originally a weekly humor print publication targeting a local student population, The Onion is today a booming news organization known as America’s Finest News Source.

The launch of TheOnion.com in 1996 expanded its signature brand of satire to a national and international audience. Online expansion opened doors to growth in a multitude of areas. The company has become an omnipotent news empire, reaching millions of fans through print, broadcast, radio, mobile apps, books, and, in January 2011, two new television shows on the Independent Film Channel and Comedy Central. The website continues to be the nucleus of all The Onion does, described by TIME magazine as “the funniest site on the Internet.”

TheOnion.com now averages 40 million page views and roughly 7.5 million unique visitors per month. The Onion’s digital strategy has resulted in an enormous and dedicated fan base. The newspaper’s content is delivered constantly, Tweeted at optimum times and posted on Facebook during high-traffic periods. Subsequently, users can easily embed, share, or post articles and videos to their personal Facebook and Twitter accounts. As a result, the Onion’s fans take an active role in the viral nature of the content. Within minutes of posting an article or video, the content materializes across a number of platforms.

Reviews

[Carlton Duff]

More of what you expect from the Onion. A few clunkers in this edition, but overall quality satire as usual.

[Liam Bates]

Really 2.5 It wasn't for me.

[Nancy]

Ridiculously perfect. Sports interest not even required. I mean, nonstop brilliance in cadence and comedy everything. Here's a randomly picked example: Shaun White's profile blurb: " Accolades: Dew Tour medals in vert, superpipe, slopestyle, superslope, vertstyle, slopepipe, styliestyle, and superstyle vert pipe."

[Jonnyh]

This book was really funny. In order to really enjoy this book, you need to really understand sports and watch them a lot. If you don't, you probably wouldn't find this book very funny. I watch sports a lot, so I really enjoyed this book. Some of the pictures were absolutely hilarious! Especially the ones with Michael Vick. I give it a 5/5.

[Bryan]

Would have been five stars, but unfortunately, A-Rod was not the butt of every single joke.

[Mitch Ryan]

Read 2012