Watching Football: Discovering The Game Within The Game

by Daryl Johnston, Jim Gigliotti (Primary Contributor)

Daryl Johnston’s name and voice are known to millions of television viewers who hear his insightful commentary on NFL telecasts each week during the football season. But football fans first learned to love him years ago, when “Moose” was a crowd favorite on the Dallas Cowboys’ Super Bowl championship teams of the 1990s.

A bruising fullback with an unyielding work ethic, Johnston enjoyed the respect of teammates and fans in Dallas almost from the moment he joined the club as a second-round draft pick out of Syracuse in 1989. He earned national recognition in 1993, when he became the first blocking fullback selected to represent the NFC in the annual Pro Bowl game.

Moose’s blocking helped the Cowboys win three Super Bowls in four years from 1992 to 1995, and helped pave the way for Dallas running back Emmitt Smith to ascend to the top of the NFL’s all-time rushing charts.

Johnston was a thinking man’s football player—an athlete determined to get the most out of his abilities by outsmarting his opponent as well as outhitting him. And when he retired from football following the 1999 season, he brought that same competitive edge to his role as a television analyst, first for CBS in 2000, then for Fox Sports since 2001. In 2004, he was teamed with veteran Dick Stockton and former NFL defensive star Tony Siragusa on one of Fox’s most popular announcing crews.

Daryl knows that spectators who just follow the football are missing much of the game. We can all see the quarterback hand the ball to the running back, and the linebacker make the tackle. But there are 22 guys in motion on every play. In Watching Football, Moose draws upon his playing experience and years of expert analysis on television to bring the entire field into focus. So the next time you tune in an NFL or college game on television, you’ll know what’s coming—almost before the players do!

Genres: Sports

264 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

Reviews

[Dev Govindji · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not impressed with this book. The writing is elementary. The content is a mix of football basics and the life of Moose Johnston. Overall it is not very interesting. I had high hopes as I expected it to discuss how to dissect plays while watching games on TV instead of birds eye view. I was very disappointed.

I reccomend this book to anyone with a small amount of knowledge of football and wants to learn more.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a lot of flaws. It’s a bit all over the place at times and will often explain very simple concepts in great detail and then gloss over more complex material with a sentence or two. But I enjoyed it at times. Still, if you’re looking for a way to learn more about the game, I’m sure there are better books out there.

[Hilmi Isa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sukan yang dipanggil 'Bola Sepak Amerika' atau American Football bukanlah sebuah sukan yang popular di Malaysia. Namun demikian,imej seorang pemain yang berhelmet dan berpakaian pad pelindung badan yang memaparkan ketrampilan seorang atlet yang berbadan tegap dan sasa,sambil membawa bola berbentuk bujur (mirip bola ragbi) dan merempuh pemain lain yang berpakaian sama sepertinya pasti muncul di wayang minda kita apabila nama sukan ini disebut.
Buku ini ditulis bukanlah untuk mengajar atau memberikan panduan kepada para pembaca untuk menjadi seorang pemain bola sepak Amerika. Sebaliknya,memberikan gambaran dan pengetahuan,terutamanya kepada mereka yang masih baharu terdedah kepada sukan ini. Seperti yang diharapkan oleh penulis buku ini sendiri,buku ini mampu dijadikan panduan oleh mereka yang menonton sukan bola sepak Amerika supaya mereka lebih tahu asas-asas sukan bola sepak Amerika seperti sejarah,peraturan,peranan pemain,struktur permainan dan lain-lain perkara berkaitan.
Yang menjadi kepayahan saya apabila membaca buku ini adalah terdapat beberapa istilah-istilah dan slanga-slanga yang berkaitan dengan bola sepak Amerika yang terdapat di dalam buku ini. Jadi,terdapat beberapa penerangannya yang saya kurang jelas. Namun demikian,saya fikir buku ini ditulis dengan baik. Buku ini boleh saya sifatkan sebagai user-friendly dan sesuai dibaca kepada mereka yang ingin lebih tahu mengenai sukan bola sepak Amerika,terutamanya asas-asas sukan tersebut. Buku ini bukanlah buku yang muktamad untuk memahami secara keseluruhan sukan ini. Saya mencadangkan supaya buku-buku panduan lain mengenai bola sepak Amerika juga harus dibaca untuk meluaskan lagi pengetahuan pembaca mengenai bola sepak Amerika. Turut disertai adalah gambar-gambar hitam putih dan kotak-kotak maklumat/fakta untuk rujukan para pembaca. Buku ini juga ditulis dengan menyelitkan beberapa maklumat/fakta yang berdasarkan kaca mata/pengalaman salah seorang penulis buku ini sendiri,iaitu Daryl Johnston yang pernah bermain bola sepak Amerika dari tahun 1989 sehingga 1999.
Buku ini amat disarankan kepada para pembaca yang berminat dengan sukan bola sepak Amerika.

[Carol]

This is the second time I've tried to read it, and I just can't get through it. Even though it says its to introduce you to the game and I feel like i know a fair amount about football I STILL get lost in the reading....I can see why it was on clearance at half-price