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God Save the Fan: How Preening Sportscasters, Athletes Who Speak in the Third Person, and the Occasional Convicted Quarterback Have Taken the Fun Out of Sports
ESPN thinks its viewers are stupid. The Olympics claw at your inner sap. Barbaro, after all, was just a horse. So says Will Leitch, founding editor of Deadspin.com, whose God Save the Fan is your new manifesto. Arch and unrepentant, Leitch is the mouthpiece for all the frustrated fans who just want their games back from big money, bloated egos, and blathering sportscasters. Always a fan first and a journalist second, Leitch considers the perfection of fantasy leagues, the meaninglessness of the steroids debate, and the aching permanence of loyalty to just one team. He'll tell you why, long before that dogfighting mess, Michael Vick's undercover STD clinic name was Ron Mexico; why athletes persist in publicly praising God; and what the beer companies really think about you. Share Leitch's dread as he spends twenty—four hours watching ESPN. Sit and have a beer with John Rocker and his surprising girlfriend. Be inspired by Rick Ankiel's phoenixlike rise, and fall. With a voice strengthened by the success of Deadspin and its chorus of commenters, Leitch has written all—new material for God Save the Fan . If you or a fan you love is suffering from the sense of listless dissatisfaction brought on by the leagues and networks, this is your restorative tonic. Packed with lists, glossaries, confessions, and rages, Leitch's manifesto sings a rallying cry for fan empowerment. The games, after all, belong to us.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 22, 2008
19 people are currently reading
1171 people want to read
About the author
Will Leitch
16 books452 followersWill Leitch lives in Athens, Georgia with his family and is the author of seven books, including the novels Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride, How Lucky and The Time Has Come. He writes regularly for New York, MLB.com, The New York Times and the Washington Post. He is the founder of the late website Deadspin. He also writes a free weekly newsletter that you might enjoy at williamfleitch.substack.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
February 6, 2008
Will Leitch, the author of this book, is the editor of my favorite sports blog, DEADSPIN, which is also my second favorite site on the Internet, behind only Goodreads.
DEADSPIN is a site where fans of sports can comment and make fun of all the pomposity that is inherent is our experience of watching sports and being fans of the teams we root for.
At first I didn't care much for the idea of a website that mocked sports, but now I'm addicted. There IS a lot about sports that is just so absurd and funny, and I agree with the author that you won't find these stories in regular print and TV media, and most especially on ESPN.
The great fear of corporate control over the news we receive has never quite played out as dramtaically as most critics anticipated, at least in the significant areas of reporting on politics, business, and other forms of entertainment. But the sports section is a different matter. Because sports fans are so slavishly devoted to consuming the product, no matter how badly the owners treat them or how much disdain athletes, coaches, and the media have for fans, for years ESPN, the leagues, the teams, and the publicists of the most well known stars could control exactly what stories the media did and did not report, and how those stories played out. The first chapter of this book illustrates this quite clearly.
But, thanks to the underground phenomenon of the Internet and the bloggers, those institutions can't completely control the message anymore. Leitch cites numerous examples of how ESPN and other entities continue to try to dominate the way sports (and most especially, stars) are protrayed. These include hiring print reporters to appear on the network, buying up blogs or starting their own blogs, and jumping on stories that print reporters break, claiming that their network broke it. But discerning (and often, creatively funny) fans see through it, and they call out the ESPN and the other institutions on all of these policies on their websites. Deadspin, as the best known and most widely read of these websites, serves as a common hub for other bloggers to pass on the stories they uncover that fans won't hear about on ESPN, other networks, and in the papers.
This book is a fast read, and often a very funny read. For those who aren't familiar with Deadspin or the sports blogs, it will likely seem like a collection of Dave Barry columns. Even those who follow sports with a mild rooting interest will be able to follow much of what Leitch writes about, and will appreciate most of his humor. But these readers should be forwarned that this id decidely not Dave Barry -- many of the jokes here would be considered racist or gay-bashing if you don't frequent the world of blog or Internet humor very often. For example, NPR's Scott Simon interviewed Leitch last weekend about the book, and after reading a few of the jokes about blacks and gays, ended the interview by telling Leitch that "he had a problem."
I was irritated as I listened to that, as it showed me how out of touch NPR and the mainstream news media is with the types of people who really, really get into sports. Anyone who has spent much time in the upper tier cheap seats of most ballparks and football stadiums would know this, as would most anyone who actually participated in competitive team sports in high school. I admit that at times it feels a little like Leitch is writing down to the lowest common denominator of his audience, but to his credit he includes several chapters in which he calls out fans, athletes, and the media for their lack of reality in accepting the idea of gay athletes or for their double standard in how they embrace and perceive the efforts of black athletes and white athletes. I guess Scott Simon skipped those parts of the book.
For those who are Deadspin fans (are there any others here at Goodreads????), you will be happy to know that, from what I can tell, this book is about 75% new material, and that which does come from directly from the website adds new background information on how Will or other bloggers picked up or made editorial decisons about how to present some of the more famous stories, such as You're With Me Leather, Carl Monday, and the KSK-Peter King feud. I really was impressed by the John Rocker interview, which I had never heard of before - that definitely humanizes Rocker, and deserves more coverage, I think. I was a little disappointed by Leitch's 24 hour ESPN marathon, as the jokes were not quite as funny as they could have been, but it does illustrate quite well how little of ESPN programming across their many channels is actually original, and how much is simply a re-broadcast of something that aired hours earlier. And for those who know the Barbaro message board story, I was quite disappointed that this chapter was so short and near the end of the book...this was Deadspin's finest moment of sheer humor and absurdity, in my opinion.
The other thing that I thought would be disconcerting is that this book, while just as much the prodcut of Will Leitch as is Deadspin, is in the end, most decidedly NOT the Deadspin experience. For me, the funniest aspect of Deadspin are the often hilarious remarks that those fans who have earned "commenting priveleges always make once Leitch or his fellw bloggers have posted a story. Often on Deadspin we only get a little bit of Leitch's humor -- the real humor is found in the absurdity of the story itself, and in the comments on that story by all of the readers. Without the comments, I was a little worried about how funny the book would actually be. In the end, I was very satisfied with the humor content of this book.
In the end, this is a great book. Throughout all of the funny stories and jokes, Will Leitch makes many a ton of insightful comments about why we, as the fans, are in the end responsible for everything that we claim to dislike about sports. As much as Leitch is famous for going after ESPN and the other big institutions that supposedly rule the sports world, I applaud for making the persistent effort to tell the people where the fault really lies, and that is with us. If we stop going to and watching the games, sports may change. But in the end, he forces us to acknowledge that, no matter what "they" do to our teams, our leagues, and our regular coverage, we will keep participating just as we do now. The reason why is illustrated in the best chapter of the book, in which Leitch describes his joy at watching the last game of the 2006 National League Championship playoffs in a bar in Manhattan with a buch of people he had never met before, but whom were united in their passion for their team, the St. Louis Cardinals. And when the Cardinals won that game, earning them a trip to the World Series, they were united in their joy over that event, and they will likely cherish that night as one of their fondest memories for the rest of their lives...an ecstatically happy experience, seeing a long-time dream come true while in the company of perfect strangers. That is the beauty of what sports gives to our lives, and that is why we keep coming back, no matter what.
DEADSPIN is a site where fans of sports can comment and make fun of all the pomposity that is inherent is our experience of watching sports and being fans of the teams we root for.
At first I didn't care much for the idea of a website that mocked sports, but now I'm addicted. There IS a lot about sports that is just so absurd and funny, and I agree with the author that you won't find these stories in regular print and TV media, and most especially on ESPN.
The great fear of corporate control over the news we receive has never quite played out as dramtaically as most critics anticipated, at least in the significant areas of reporting on politics, business, and other forms of entertainment. But the sports section is a different matter. Because sports fans are so slavishly devoted to consuming the product, no matter how badly the owners treat them or how much disdain athletes, coaches, and the media have for fans, for years ESPN, the leagues, the teams, and the publicists of the most well known stars could control exactly what stories the media did and did not report, and how those stories played out. The first chapter of this book illustrates this quite clearly.
But, thanks to the underground phenomenon of the Internet and the bloggers, those institutions can't completely control the message anymore. Leitch cites numerous examples of how ESPN and other entities continue to try to dominate the way sports (and most especially, stars) are protrayed. These include hiring print reporters to appear on the network, buying up blogs or starting their own blogs, and jumping on stories that print reporters break, claiming that their network broke it. But discerning (and often, creatively funny) fans see through it, and they call out the ESPN and the other institutions on all of these policies on their websites. Deadspin, as the best known and most widely read of these websites, serves as a common hub for other bloggers to pass on the stories they uncover that fans won't hear about on ESPN, other networks, and in the papers.
This book is a fast read, and often a very funny read. For those who aren't familiar with Deadspin or the sports blogs, it will likely seem like a collection of Dave Barry columns. Even those who follow sports with a mild rooting interest will be able to follow much of what Leitch writes about, and will appreciate most of his humor. But these readers should be forwarned that this id decidely not Dave Barry -- many of the jokes here would be considered racist or gay-bashing if you don't frequent the world of blog or Internet humor very often. For example, NPR's Scott Simon interviewed Leitch last weekend about the book, and after reading a few of the jokes about blacks and gays, ended the interview by telling Leitch that "he had a problem."
I was irritated as I listened to that, as it showed me how out of touch NPR and the mainstream news media is with the types of people who really, really get into sports. Anyone who has spent much time in the upper tier cheap seats of most ballparks and football stadiums would know this, as would most anyone who actually participated in competitive team sports in high school. I admit that at times it feels a little like Leitch is writing down to the lowest common denominator of his audience, but to his credit he includes several chapters in which he calls out fans, athletes, and the media for their lack of reality in accepting the idea of gay athletes or for their double standard in how they embrace and perceive the efforts of black athletes and white athletes. I guess Scott Simon skipped those parts of the book.
For those who are Deadspin fans (are there any others here at Goodreads????), you will be happy to know that, from what I can tell, this book is about 75% new material, and that which does come from directly from the website adds new background information on how Will or other bloggers picked up or made editorial decisons about how to present some of the more famous stories, such as You're With Me Leather, Carl Monday, and the KSK-Peter King feud. I really was impressed by the John Rocker interview, which I had never heard of before - that definitely humanizes Rocker, and deserves more coverage, I think. I was a little disappointed by Leitch's 24 hour ESPN marathon, as the jokes were not quite as funny as they could have been, but it does illustrate quite well how little of ESPN programming across their many channels is actually original, and how much is simply a re-broadcast of something that aired hours earlier. And for those who know the Barbaro message board story, I was quite disappointed that this chapter was so short and near the end of the book...this was Deadspin's finest moment of sheer humor and absurdity, in my opinion.
The other thing that I thought would be disconcerting is that this book, while just as much the prodcut of Will Leitch as is Deadspin, is in the end, most decidedly NOT the Deadspin experience. For me, the funniest aspect of Deadspin are the often hilarious remarks that those fans who have earned "commenting priveleges always make once Leitch or his fellw bloggers have posted a story. Often on Deadspin we only get a little bit of Leitch's humor -- the real humor is found in the absurdity of the story itself, and in the comments on that story by all of the readers. Without the comments, I was a little worried about how funny the book would actually be. In the end, I was very satisfied with the humor content of this book.
In the end, this is a great book. Throughout all of the funny stories and jokes, Will Leitch makes many a ton of insightful comments about why we, as the fans, are in the end responsible for everything that we claim to dislike about sports. As much as Leitch is famous for going after ESPN and the other big institutions that supposedly rule the sports world, I applaud for making the persistent effort to tell the people where the fault really lies, and that is with us. If we stop going to and watching the games, sports may change. But in the end, he forces us to acknowledge that, no matter what "they" do to our teams, our leagues, and our regular coverage, we will keep participating just as we do now. The reason why is illustrated in the best chapter of the book, in which Leitch describes his joy at watching the last game of the 2006 National League Championship playoffs in a bar in Manhattan with a buch of people he had never met before, but whom were united in their passion for their team, the St. Louis Cardinals. And when the Cardinals won that game, earning them a trip to the World Series, they were united in their joy over that event, and they will likely cherish that night as one of their fondest memories for the rest of their lives...an ecstatically happy experience, seeing a long-time dream come true while in the company of perfect strangers. That is the beauty of what sports gives to our lives, and that is why we keep coming back, no matter what.
November 26, 2012
Pretentious and self-indulgent, even masturbatory, writing that is sewn together by the slenderest thread of sports content forms the bulk of this work by Deadspin (an alleged sports site) founder, Will Leitch. After reading this book which would have been much better published on a roll with perforations between each page, I think I know where his site got its name. A friend of mine used to refer to another editor as the kind of person who would stir up feces in a toilet bowl and raise the stench level. Leitch, whether out of professional jealousy or adolescent immaturity, does manage to stir ESPN’s turds into a “deadspin” in the commode represented by his writing, but it merely stinks rather than flushing.
I’m ashamed to acknowledge that one of our Illinois’ schools of journalism graduated this mean-spirited, snide, pathetic and petty would-be pundit. In attempting to rip the veil between fandom and the “holy of holies” we know as sports, he merely exposes Bristol, CT’s Disney-fed “den of thieves” but does nothing to advocate either improvement or reform. I grabbed this volume because of the “Blackballed by ESPN” banner on the cover, but it doesn’t do me one bit of good to know which ESPN personalities had lap dances and which ones are gay. Speaking of gay, I’m starting to wonder about Leitch since he throws in the word “penis” whenever he needs a laugh much like Rich Little used to relapse into his Paul Lynde impersonation whenever there was a brief lull in his nightclub routine.
For a moment, I thought maybe Deadspin was trying to be the sports version of The Onion, but peeling back the layers of journalistic abuses during Super Bowl Week in South Beach, slicing through accounts of his three-year old sister’s “racism,” chopping up preconceptions of John Rocker or Michael Irvin (former athletes who were crucified by the media for racist remarks, even though they were from opposite sides of the black/white spectrum), and dicing through the material on how jingoistic (and worthless) the Olympics are certainly did have me tearing up as though I were preparing onions.
I only thought there were two insightful moments in the book. One was a parody of the stupid, soft focus, human interest stories in Olympic coverage and the other was when he explained what some athletes like Kurt Warner and Zach Johnson mean when they say that Jesus helped them (If only he’d been there for Tim Tebow while John Elway was playing Judas to Tim’s Jesus.). I will quote from the parody first and close with the only quotation in the book with which I resonate.
“Lars Jorghennsenn was born with four calf valves and a blocked aorta, causing him to bleed profusely from the ear, walk around in circles with a pronounced limp, and only be able to utter the words, ‘yak broth.’ It was from this hardship that Jorghennsenn learned his love of the curling broom, and his intestinal fortitude made him a champion.” (p. 98)
And finally, “Consider the mind-set of athletes like Johnson, or Dungy, or Kurt Warner. Their Christianity isn’t some peripheral aspect to their life; it is their life. We might not agree, but as they see it, everything they do, from showing up at church on Sunday, to buying meat, to scoring a touchdown, is done for the glory of Christ. They don’t thank Jesus for helping them win a game; they thank Jesus for everything. (p. 249) He’s right about that, even though the same editorial acknowledges that there are hypocrites out there who claim Jesus without “living” for Him. I really hated this book, but I think this brief editorial kept it from being a total waste of time.
I’m ashamed to acknowledge that one of our Illinois’ schools of journalism graduated this mean-spirited, snide, pathetic and petty would-be pundit. In attempting to rip the veil between fandom and the “holy of holies” we know as sports, he merely exposes Bristol, CT’s Disney-fed “den of thieves” but does nothing to advocate either improvement or reform. I grabbed this volume because of the “Blackballed by ESPN” banner on the cover, but it doesn’t do me one bit of good to know which ESPN personalities had lap dances and which ones are gay. Speaking of gay, I’m starting to wonder about Leitch since he throws in the word “penis” whenever he needs a laugh much like Rich Little used to relapse into his Paul Lynde impersonation whenever there was a brief lull in his nightclub routine.
For a moment, I thought maybe Deadspin was trying to be the sports version of The Onion, but peeling back the layers of journalistic abuses during Super Bowl Week in South Beach, slicing through accounts of his three-year old sister’s “racism,” chopping up preconceptions of John Rocker or Michael Irvin (former athletes who were crucified by the media for racist remarks, even though they were from opposite sides of the black/white spectrum), and dicing through the material on how jingoistic (and worthless) the Olympics are certainly did have me tearing up as though I were preparing onions.
I only thought there were two insightful moments in the book. One was a parody of the stupid, soft focus, human interest stories in Olympic coverage and the other was when he explained what some athletes like Kurt Warner and Zach Johnson mean when they say that Jesus helped them (If only he’d been there for Tim Tebow while John Elway was playing Judas to Tim’s Jesus.). I will quote from the parody first and close with the only quotation in the book with which I resonate.
“Lars Jorghennsenn was born with four calf valves and a blocked aorta, causing him to bleed profusely from the ear, walk around in circles with a pronounced limp, and only be able to utter the words, ‘yak broth.’ It was from this hardship that Jorghennsenn learned his love of the curling broom, and his intestinal fortitude made him a champion.” (p. 98)
And finally, “Consider the mind-set of athletes like Johnson, or Dungy, or Kurt Warner. Their Christianity isn’t some peripheral aspect to their life; it is their life. We might not agree, but as they see it, everything they do, from showing up at church on Sunday, to buying meat, to scoring a touchdown, is done for the glory of Christ. They don’t thank Jesus for helping them win a game; they thank Jesus for everything. (p. 249) He’s right about that, even though the same editorial acknowledges that there are hypocrites out there who claim Jesus without “living” for Him. I really hated this book, but I think this brief editorial kept it from being a total waste of time.
March 22, 2017
I am not a hardcore pro sports fan, but in days of old it was favorite section of the newspaper, and once I decided to be a more rounded and worldy adult the I used the sports pages as my reward for actually reading through the news sections first.
This reads as if it was a pasteup of material written by a full time sports columnist. Others here claim it is not actually a pasteup, but it has plenty of weaknesses as if it was just that: over-repetition, a lot of filler, and an attitude of being wiser than the herd and often above most of the herd. The author uses a huge amount of sarcasm, and not all of it is obvious to someone who is not so obsessive on the subject as to know almost all of what Leitch was writing about.
Despite the weaknesses, there is some very good material here, with some good insight into the business of covering sports, fandom, and even a bit of the business of running a major franchise. There is pretty much nothing about the sports themselves.
I do not recommend this for one who is not into this subject already. There are likely books that cover this subject for the outsider to gain understanding, but this would not be a good choice for an outsider.
I note this is a review of the paperback edition.
This reads as if it was a pasteup of material written by a full time sports columnist. Others here claim it is not actually a pasteup, but it has plenty of weaknesses as if it was just that: over-repetition, a lot of filler, and an attitude of being wiser than the herd and often above most of the herd. The author uses a huge amount of sarcasm, and not all of it is obvious to someone who is not so obsessive on the subject as to know almost all of what Leitch was writing about.
Despite the weaknesses, there is some very good material here, with some good insight into the business of covering sports, fandom, and even a bit of the business of running a major franchise. There is pretty much nothing about the sports themselves.
I do not recommend this for one who is not into this subject already. There are likely books that cover this subject for the outsider to gain understanding, but this would not be a good choice for an outsider.
I note this is a review of the paperback edition.
November 10, 2023
Some parts fun anecdotes from the perspective of a fan/blogger, some parts fun insight into the media and owners, some parts where the author felt like he was trying too hard to be the sleazebag crass sports blogger. A little too much purposeless cursing/“non PC” talk that felt like it was just there for the sake of being there. Lots of yelling at the espn cloud. Some stuff aged well (see: Stephen a and Skip hate), some stuff aged poorly (see: praising Jason Whitlock and trashing Stuart Scott). Loved this book when I first read it when I was 16, found myself rolling my eyes at some parts and metaphors now. Won’t call out any of the specific references, but there are some gross ones that don’t fly in 2023. Overall, can’t fault him too much as it was written 15 years ago. A solid 3/5 sports book to breeze through.
July 30, 2018
I didn't buy this when it first came out because full-price purchase suggested more endorsement of the Deadspin mindset than I was willing to give. After a secondhand purchase and read-through, I'm still in the same place.
I can wholeheartedly get behind the railing against the sports-industrial complex and its self-interested whitewashing tendency that forms Leitch's central theme. Being honest with ourselves about the underside of our sports and the people who play (and cover) them is key to understanding them. But there's a difference between honesty and revelry, and Leitch seems to land on the far side of that line too often for me.
It works for him, and I certainly can't argue with his success. It's just not for me.
I can wholeheartedly get behind the railing against the sports-industrial complex and its self-interested whitewashing tendency that forms Leitch's central theme. Being honest with ourselves about the underside of our sports and the people who play (and cover) them is key to understanding them. But there's a difference between honesty and revelry, and Leitch seems to land on the far side of that line too often for me.
It works for him, and I certainly can't argue with his success. It's just not for me.
October 27, 2020
Always a fun re-read, this is Will Leitch's takedown of so many aspects of sports that he would find disagreeable (as the founding editor of the legendary "Deadspin" website). Fair game includes owners, media, and fans, as well as the athletes we sometimes put way too much stock in.
October 25, 2017
On the pages that he doesn't sound like a bitter, middle aged, white guy complaining about those that have decent jobs at ESPN, it was funny. But that was maybe like, 6 pages.
April 24, 2023
I remember reading this when it came out. Will Leitch was the godfather of independent sports bloggers. It was a "revolution" in sports media. It is fascinating how the media landscape has changed.
March 27, 2012
This book is basically a series of essays showing ways in which the corporate control of sports, has taken the game away from casual and passionate fans. He makes a good case for how professional atheltes are nothing like the normal human beings who cheer for them "If you knew them in real life, you wouldn't like them, they wouldn't like you" This chasm, which separates athletes from their fans, is attempted to be bridged by the sports media, in particular, ESPN. ESPN exerts a far greater influence on sports journalism, because they frequently use local newspaper sports reporters and the local media as commentators on their shows. But in order to get your face and outlet on ESPN, you have to play ball with what ESPN wants you to say. And ESPN needs to play ball with the leagues. This means there is very little truly independant thought in sports reporting anymore.
The rise in blogging has helped to combat the corporatization of sports. Mr. Leitch is also a staunch supporter of fantasy leagues as a means of fan enjoyment. And also as a way of expressing the fans superiority over the leagues and the players, turning them into mindless stat machines.
Many of the arguments and viewpoints put out there are spot on, others are things I wouldn't really consider mainstream amoungst sports fans, but he makes a good arguement for. He grew up in southern Illinois, and adopted the St. Louis Cardinals (both in baseball and football) as his teams. He has one story about what it is like to be a fan of the baseball Cardinals in NY, and a few stories about what it's like to root for one of the worst teams in the leauge, by cheering for the football Cardinals. Even after they moved to Arizona. Will makes the argument that the team only plays a few home games a year, and most professional athletes don't actually live in the city they play in after the season is over anyway. So therefore, when the team switches cities, you should keep cheering for them. He contends that the fans of the Cleveland Browns, should have kept cheering for the same players when they went to Baltimore. They have more connection with those players, then the batch of entirely new players brought in to replace them, who are also not really from Cleveland. Interesting stuff.
The book description called it a manifesto. It doesn't really reach that level. It's not an in depth case study on how the fans get screwed over by pro sports. It's not long enough, or as all encompassing as that. Which is fine. It's a fairly quick as easy read, with a broad variety of short essays and topics covering many aspects of sports in a humorous way.
The rise in blogging has helped to combat the corporatization of sports. Mr. Leitch is also a staunch supporter of fantasy leagues as a means of fan enjoyment. And also as a way of expressing the fans superiority over the leagues and the players, turning them into mindless stat machines.
Many of the arguments and viewpoints put out there are spot on, others are things I wouldn't really consider mainstream amoungst sports fans, but he makes a good arguement for. He grew up in southern Illinois, and adopted the St. Louis Cardinals (both in baseball and football) as his teams. He has one story about what it is like to be a fan of the baseball Cardinals in NY, and a few stories about what it's like to root for one of the worst teams in the leauge, by cheering for the football Cardinals. Even after they moved to Arizona. Will makes the argument that the team only plays a few home games a year, and most professional athletes don't actually live in the city they play in after the season is over anyway. So therefore, when the team switches cities, you should keep cheering for them. He contends that the fans of the Cleveland Browns, should have kept cheering for the same players when they went to Baltimore. They have more connection with those players, then the batch of entirely new players brought in to replace them, who are also not really from Cleveland. Interesting stuff.
The book description called it a manifesto. It doesn't really reach that level. It's not an in depth case study on how the fans get screwed over by pro sports. It's not long enough, or as all encompassing as that. Which is fine. It's a fairly quick as easy read, with a broad variety of short essays and topics covering many aspects of sports in a humorous way.
April 8, 2008
If Chuck Klosterman really wrapped his head around sports, this is what he'd write. It takes to task everyone involved in sports for their preceived overimportance in our world, but Leitch spends a lot of time ranting on the owners, players and media for taking sports away from the fan.
Leitch is the proprieter of deadspin.com, sort of "The Onion" for sports fans, and his wit certainly gets his point across. At his heart he is a sports fan, and the book does not lack his loyalties to the hapless Arizona Cardinals and the not-so-hapless St. Louis Cardinals. He's just frustrated with the direction in which sports are going and he offers some theories for how it happened and how fans can take them back.
The main beef I have is that he completely ignored the NHL. While I acknowledge the league is run by buffoons who sold the TV rights to an obscure cable network for little more than a song, it's still major enough that it merits mention in any discussion about disgruntled fans, since hockey's costs have increased exponentially in the past decade or so. Plus, there are more sports than just the major team sports and fans of those are just as frustrated (and sometimes overly passionate) as fans of the major team sports, so he could have been a bit more all-encompassing in his survey.
Still, his point is well-taken and this book remains highly recommended.
Leitch is the proprieter of deadspin.com, sort of "The Onion" for sports fans, and his wit certainly gets his point across. At his heart he is a sports fan, and the book does not lack his loyalties to the hapless Arizona Cardinals and the not-so-hapless St. Louis Cardinals. He's just frustrated with the direction in which sports are going and he offers some theories for how it happened and how fans can take them back.
The main beef I have is that he completely ignored the NHL. While I acknowledge the league is run by buffoons who sold the TV rights to an obscure cable network for little more than a song, it's still major enough that it merits mention in any discussion about disgruntled fans, since hockey's costs have increased exponentially in the past decade or so. Plus, there are more sports than just the major team sports and fans of those are just as frustrated (and sometimes overly passionate) as fans of the major team sports, so he could have been a bit more all-encompassing in his survey.
Still, his point is well-taken and this book remains highly recommended.
August 20, 2008
Does anyone remember The Miracle on Ice? The 1986 Penn State national championship over the unbeatable University of Miami? Kirk Gibson homering when he could barely walk? I do. I also remember Terrell Owens doing crunches in his front yard for TV cameras and Allen Iverson bitching and moaning about having to practice to TV cameras.
The premise of this book will appeal to anyone who grew up loving sports and believing that they were a pure, healthy, natural form of entertainment where anything was possible. Of course that magic place has since morphed into a nightmare world of music videos, childish excess and pay-attention-to-me-I-can't-live-without-the-spotlight-on-me-every-second-of-every-day athletes and God Save the Fan dives right into talking about what has gone wrong with sports and how it is affecting sports fans. It's laugh out loud funny at parts and circular and boring at other parts. The cover claims to have the answers, but ultimately all it really contains is some funny stories without much of an attempt to help fans cope with today's professional-sports-bullshit while still enjoying the nature of televised athletic competition.
Worth a read for sports fans based on humor alone.
The premise of this book will appeal to anyone who grew up loving sports and believing that they were a pure, healthy, natural form of entertainment where anything was possible. Of course that magic place has since morphed into a nightmare world of music videos, childish excess and pay-attention-to-me-I-can't-live-without-the-spotlight-on-me-every-second-of-every-day athletes and God Save the Fan dives right into talking about what has gone wrong with sports and how it is affecting sports fans. It's laugh out loud funny at parts and circular and boring at other parts. The cover claims to have the answers, but ultimately all it really contains is some funny stories without much of an attempt to help fans cope with today's professional-sports-bullshit while still enjoying the nature of televised athletic competition.
Worth a read for sports fans based on humor alone.
August 26, 2010
Mixed feelings. For every hilariously astute observation on the absurdity of being a sports fan, there are a dozen cheap jokes that could be pulled right out of the Deadspin comments Will Leitch makes every effort to disown. From his writing and his appearance on Costas Now, I feel like Will Leitch has two sides as a writer. First: the clever, humble, self-effacing Cardinals (baseball, and, inexplicably, football) fan who accepts his lot as a sports addict and knows he ought to quit caring about the hype machine but just can't. Second: lover of TMZ-style celebrity gossip reporting about bad athlete behavior that can't quite get over the fact that he can totally curse on the internet. The First side hates the very culture that made him popular on Deadspin, the Second embraces it. Leitch doesn't try to reconcile the two sides, nor does he have to. But for my interest, I can relate to the First and not the Second. As much as I dislike the mainstream sports media and love hearing Leitch burn them down (particularly during his attempt to watch 24 consecutive hours of ESPN), I got tired of Deadspin a lot faster.
June 12, 2008
There were several humorous anecdotes in this book that I enjoyed very much. However, the author spent way too much time complaining about ESPN and trying to convince me that the majority of people involved in sports are obnoxious jerks. He also tries to defend his position on fantasy sports, which I can't stand. Seriously, fantasy sport teams are just a more socially acceptable form of Dungeons and Dragons.
I did agree with him that Stephen A. Smith is the WORST thing to ever appear on ESPN since Stuart Scott and his lazy eye.
Another thing, he tries to make the point that sports are just a way to escape from the doldrums of daily life. I can't I can't disagree more. Tell that to my Grandpa (RIP) who never saw the Bosox win a championship. Tell that to the cheeseheads in Wisconsin who have a framed Farve pic next to Jesus. Tell that to Bartman who lives in fear of reprisal from misguided Cub fans.
Anyways, it is a decent read. I just got sick of the author's musings by the last few chapters.
I did agree with him that Stephen A. Smith is the WORST thing to ever appear on ESPN since Stuart Scott and his lazy eye.
Another thing, he tries to make the point that sports are just a way to escape from the doldrums of daily life. I can't I can't disagree more. Tell that to my Grandpa (RIP) who never saw the Bosox win a championship. Tell that to the cheeseheads in Wisconsin who have a framed Farve pic next to Jesus. Tell that to Bartman who lives in fear of reprisal from misguided Cub fans.
Anyways, it is a decent read. I just got sick of the author's musings by the last few chapters.
April 7, 2013
Will Leitch, "editor" of the deadspin.com blog on sports, tells us how it is. And it's like this:
1. Professional sports are completely and utterly pointless.
2. You are not cheering for a team, you are a cheering for a corporation.
3. Fantasy sports are far more interesting and engaging than "real" sports.
4. Professional athletes are completely unlike you and I (well, you, anyway). They do not care about you, nor should you care about them.
That does about sum it up, doesn't it? On the more optimistic side, Leitch argues that sports are invaluable to Americans today as stress relief. It's only when it becomes more than that that it becomes stupid.
Good, fun read with some thought-provoking points scattered in amongst the comedy. And for my Cleveland friends, both Lebron James and Carl Monday figure large into his screeds. Recommended for most, highly recommended for sports fans.
1. Professional sports are completely and utterly pointless.
2. You are not cheering for a team, you are a cheering for a corporation.
3. Fantasy sports are far more interesting and engaging than "real" sports.
4. Professional athletes are completely unlike you and I (well, you, anyway). They do not care about you, nor should you care about them.
That does about sum it up, doesn't it? On the more optimistic side, Leitch argues that sports are invaluable to Americans today as stress relief. It's only when it becomes more than that that it becomes stupid.
Good, fun read with some thought-provoking points scattered in amongst the comedy. And for my Cleveland friends, both Lebron James and Carl Monday figure large into his screeds. Recommended for most, highly recommended for sports fans.
July 5, 2012
This is a collection of essays by the primary writer/editor for Deadspin. I was not really impressed, except for two essays, which I would encourage every sports fan to read. The first was his explanation of why he roots for the Arizona Cardinals. They have traditionally been a horrible team, they moved away from his home state, and they have a truly obnoxious owner. But, Will Leitch remains loyal to them, and as he explains why, he encapsulated my feelings in remaining loyal to the Titans, and the way I think that every person who really loves their team should feel. The second essay dealt with why players thank God. Leitch is admittedly not a believer, but he wrote to explain the perspective of the (sincere) players who get routinely mocked for thanking God. He explained it accurately and well. It was a rare bit of understanding in a media that traditionally doesn't want to look for deeper explanations.
February 10, 2008
More irriverent fun from the editor of Deadspin. Always the fan boy, this review will be biased because I just met the author on Tuesday night.
The book of essays delves into the side of sports that we talk about with your buddies but, are never seen on ESPN or in SI. It read's like Simmons if he had an axe to grind after being shoved out the door from ESPN. You get a fan's perspective (from the couch) on ESPN, how sports are covered, owners, fantasy leagues, and athletes themselves.
I enjoyed just about every page of this book. I finished it about a day and a half and wished it were longer. I'd recommend this book to most every sports fan. If you'd like to know what you're getting yourself into before reading the book go to deadspin.com.
Earmuffs for church goers during the Kordell Stewart chapter.
The book of essays delves into the side of sports that we talk about with your buddies but, are never seen on ESPN or in SI. It read's like Simmons if he had an axe to grind after being shoved out the door from ESPN. You get a fan's perspective (from the couch) on ESPN, how sports are covered, owners, fantasy leagues, and athletes themselves.
I enjoyed just about every page of this book. I finished it about a day and a half and wished it were longer. I'd recommend this book to most every sports fan. If you'd like to know what you're getting yourself into before reading the book go to deadspin.com.
Earmuffs for church goers during the Kordell Stewart chapter.
March 24, 2008
If you think the mainstream sports media (ESPN in particular) is doing a great job at covering your favorite sports, then this book is so not for you. If, however, you, like some personal warmth and a healthy dose of cynicism at your more corporate tendencies of sports journalism, this book is a great read. A healthy and not-so-subtle remainder that the games are for OUR enjoyment and maybe that's been lost somewhere along the way.
My only real complaint is that there was almost NOTHING about the NHL. Especially with the lockout of '04-'05 still shadowing the sport, some really interesting things could've been brought to bear. Granted, the author isn't much of a hockey fan, so this shouldn't be a surprise. Just a disappointment that keeps this reading from being truly essential and well-rounded.
My only real complaint is that there was almost NOTHING about the NHL. Especially with the lockout of '04-'05 still shadowing the sport, some really interesting things could've been brought to bear. Granted, the author isn't much of a hockey fan, so this shouldn't be a surprise. Just a disappointment that keeps this reading from being truly essential and well-rounded.
June 23, 2008
As a Deadspin reader and commenter, I felt obliged to give Will Leitch a bit more of my time/money by something other than click-thru ad-revenue on his site. So I bought the book.
Great book by a funny and self-deprecating author. However, I think I would've enjoyed it much more had I been unfamiliar with Deadspin. I felt like it was a great primer for someone new to "the Underground." If the essays don't re-hash enough of the Deadspin posts, then the Glossary portions will surely drive the point home. Regular readers of the site will surely enjoy the book, but will be confronted with a lot of similar topics that they've previously been exposed to.
Congrats to our fearless leader, as I think this was a great punctuation mark on his tenure at Deadspin. He'll be moving on to greener (this is debatable), less-bloggy pastures this summer.
Great book by a funny and self-deprecating author. However, I think I would've enjoyed it much more had I been unfamiliar with Deadspin. I felt like it was a great primer for someone new to "the Underground." If the essays don't re-hash enough of the Deadspin posts, then the Glossary portions will surely drive the point home. Regular readers of the site will surely enjoy the book, but will be confronted with a lot of similar topics that they've previously been exposed to.
Congrats to our fearless leader, as I think this was a great punctuation mark on his tenure at Deadspin. He'll be moving on to greener (this is debatable), less-bloggy pastures this summer.
January 30, 2009
A series of essays written by the founder of DeadSpin (a site devoted to sport-ish issues; seems to care a lot about Michael Vick's herpes and pictures of Peter King's daughter at college). He rants well, and is clearly a sports fan, and even writes well. But... Well, it gets to you after a while. He rails against ESPN's domination of news, how nothing they don't approve of can't get through, and things they want to hype (like Jon Amaechi--who had heard of him before his book?---which was published by ESPN's publishing arm) get hyped. Weird obsession with Chris Berman's womanizing ability ("Leather, you're with me"). Very touching essay about being a StLouis fan and finding a bar in NY for watching Cardinals/Mets series. Has an odd view of what 'real fans' want to know about (or else I do).
Really 3.5
Really 3.5
June 15, 2013
God Save the Fan is a quick and fun read. Will Leitch, who is the founder of Deadspin, one of the most critical sports blogs in the media (it is also on ESPN's "blacklist") . In this book, Leitch focuses on the little things in sports that no one (especially ESPN) takes notice of, for example a part of Michael Vick's past that does not involve Dogfighting, and why the so called "experts" on ESPN and other channels are just average people.
I really enjoyed reading this book as it opened up my eyes to a whole diffrent perspective on the world of sports. As a constant watcher of ESPN, it also made me question how great the channel really is. Aside from this aspect, it is alwauys fun to read about sports in a light manner, as most of the time everyone is so serious and uptight about sports. I would recommend this book to anyone from a die-hard sports to the casual sports fan.
I really enjoyed reading this book as it opened up my eyes to a whole diffrent perspective on the world of sports. As a constant watcher of ESPN, it also made me question how great the channel really is. Aside from this aspect, it is alwauys fun to read about sports in a light manner, as most of the time everyone is so serious and uptight about sports. I would recommend this book to anyone from a die-hard sports to the casual sports fan.
July 26, 2011
I enjoyed the book and I agree with Alex that is was a quick read. The author has a unique perspective and there are some very humorous insights in this book -- especially essays that taint views on the athletes, journalism, and sports in general. Also very brutal on much of ESPN Network and its talent, although he was professional enough to credit the contributions of Washington Post personalities Wilbon and Kornheiser, and repect for Bob Ley and the late Tom Mees. We've all complained about ESPN's schedule of pool tournaments, poker marathons and often repeated episodes of SportsCenter (5 a.m. until noon), but you can't the airwaves with 24-hours of live sports. Still, I like the way he used humor to keep readers laughing, yet thinking at the same time. A relaxing read.
November 11, 2013
Contains some interesting and thoughtful essays on sports, however (and I know this is the author's "schtick", which, incidentally he seems to have issues with a lot of other sports journalists that have one!) it was really quite the negative and cyclical book. I was left confused on some of the points he was trying to make about sports journalists - particularly when he kept saying that we don't need them since the information is all out there for us to get on our own - well, doesn't someone have to put that information out there for us to get? Also, he kept saying that for the fan, the games should be "an escape" from our regular lives. I feel that at least to some extent, the same can be said for programs like SportsCenter.
September 13, 2015
This book seems primarily written for those in the "bro" culture of sports fandom (fans from 18-25 or those who simply refuse to mature). Most of the humor is sophomoric and many of the articles make some serious logical leaps, but some are solid and fun to read. It's also interesting to read this several years after it was written as the sports world changes so rapidly and many of the articles in the book are now somewhat irrelevant. I also don't know if it was intended or not, but Leitch makes himself a kind of villain - a socially awkward pariah whom you want to root against in most situations but also enjoy reading the weird things that fascinate him (like his obsession over the behavior of ESPN personalities). Kinda fun, not good, not bad.
September 13, 2008
I enjoy the authors writing purpose. I don't really enjoy the sports he writes about; thus, this book made for some difficult reading at times. I did really enjoy the chapter on Owners. There was quite a bit of data in there that i had no idea about previously. I couln't finish the last chapter as the negativity was starting to wear me down. I don't mind the negativity of the writing (what most sports writers seem to focus on) but it's negativity against athletes and sports that I just don't give a shit about.
I do frequent Will's website (www.deadspin.com) now. Apparently it was already popular without my knowledge or hits.
I do frequent Will's website (www.deadspin.com) now. Apparently it was already popular without my knowledge or hits.
September 13, 2011
I bought this book because it showed up on Amazon for $6 when I bought The Postmortal, thinking it was Will Leitch's most recent book for whatever reason; I forgot about the son-dad vehicle that is "Are We Winning?" Anyway, this is so much of the same stuff I used to read on Deadspin. Not republished material at least, but this book already feels extremely dated. I would have maybe given it another star or two, but then there was an essay about finding a bar in Manhattan to watch Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS with other Cardinals fans and their subsequent celebration, and I was so disgusted that I stopped reading. Fuck you, Will Leitch.
January 31, 2014
While at U of I we would catch PTI every once in a while, and I used to watch sportscenter in the mornings during breakfast. That phase has passed and maybe its due to that change that this book resonated so well. The style of short essay collections works to segment the book and the length is appropriate to cover broad bases but not run out of fun.
The author captures the blog style with friendly yet acerbic barbs mainly toward ESPN personalities and sports journalism in general. It's not a book I'd recommend for my sports loving grandma, but nearly anybody else I think will get a kick out of these essays.
The author captures the blog style with friendly yet acerbic barbs mainly toward ESPN personalities and sports journalism in general. It's not a book I'd recommend for my sports loving grandma, but nearly anybody else I think will get a kick out of these essays.
September 28, 2012
This book has good parts, but it is certainly not a good book. First of all, a warning: parents - don't let your children near this book. It is full of vulgar and disgusting language. I had to skip whole chapters, it was so bad. By the time your kids are old enough to read this, you problem can't tell them what to do anymore, anyways.
There are some nice chapters, like the interview with John Rocker and the story about watching NLCS Game 7 in NY in a bar of away fans, but it's really not worth it.
There are some nice chapters, like the interview with John Rocker and the story about watching NLCS Game 7 in NY in a bar of away fans, but it's really not worth it.
February 20, 2008
Deadspin's one of the few blogs I read each and every day, and while this book by Deadspin's editor Will Leitch says that it's completely original material, it does borrow heavily from the best posts in the past few years on Deadspin. That said, I think he has a lot of interesting points to make about what being a sports fan should mean, and the excesses of the sports behemoth that is ESPN.
January 31, 2008
Written by Will Leitch, the editor of Deadspin, it's for everyone who hates ESPN and loves intelligent, witty sports talk. Enlighten yourself.
If you've never read Deadspin - the best sports blog out there - Will explains the inside jokes and what happenings in the sports world made Deadspin become so popular.
The book is comprised of short essays on the sports world and culture, including many on the behind-the-scenes stuff at ESPN.
If you've never read Deadspin - the best sports blog out there - Will explains the inside jokes and what happenings in the sports world made Deadspin become so popular.
The book is comprised of short essays on the sports world and culture, including many on the behind-the-scenes stuff at ESPN.
April 8, 2008
I was afraid this might be rehashed posts from Leitch's sports blog, Deadspin, but this is almost entirely original material. However, if you're a regular Deadspin reader or general follower of Leitch, this book is generally preaching to the choir. Even so, it's an enjoyable read. There are plenty of sharp, funny takedowns of the many tenets athletes and sports media have fed fans over the years, and Leitch is really good at popping those balloons.
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