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How Football Explains America
ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio explores just how crucial football is to understanding the American psyche
Using some of the most prominent voices in pro sports and cultural and media criticism, How Football Explains America is a fascinating, first-of-its-kind journey through the making of America's most complex, intriguing, and popular game. It tackles varying American themes—from Manifest Destiny to “fourth and one”—as it answers the age-old question Why does America love football so much? An unabashedly celebratory explanation of America’s love affair with the game and the men who make it possible, this work sheds light on how the pioneers and cowboys helped create a game that resembled their march across the continent. It explores why rugby and soccer don’t excite the American male like football does and how the game’s rules are continually changing to enhance the dramatic action and create a better narrative. It also investigates the eternal appeal of the heroic quarterback position, the sport’s rich military lineage, and how the burgeoning medium of television identified and exploited the NFL’s great characters. It is a must read for anyone interested in more fully understanding not only the game but also the nation in which it thrives. Updated throughout and with a new introduction, this edition brings How Football Explains America to paperback for the first time.
Using some of the most prominent voices in pro sports and cultural and media criticism, How Football Explains America is a fascinating, first-of-its-kind journey through the making of America's most complex, intriguing, and popular game. It tackles varying American themes—from Manifest Destiny to “fourth and one”—as it answers the age-old question Why does America love football so much? An unabashedly celebratory explanation of America’s love affair with the game and the men who make it possible, this work sheds light on how the pioneers and cowboys helped create a game that resembled their march across the continent. It explores why rugby and soccer don’t excite the American male like football does and how the game’s rules are continually changing to enhance the dramatic action and create a better narrative. It also investigates the eternal appeal of the heroic quarterback position, the sport’s rich military lineage, and how the burgeoning medium of television identified and exploited the NFL’s great characters. It is a must read for anyone interested in more fully understanding not only the game but also the nation in which it thrives. Updated throughout and with a new introduction, this edition brings How Football Explains America to paperback for the first time.
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
16 people are currently reading
190 people want to read
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July 31, 2025
I picked this up in my futile attempt to marginally understand the love for the sport that 98% of my family is absolutely obsessed with – the sport I openly question and scoff at during family parties, while angrily munching on chips and burying my nose in a book on C. S. Lewis.
Gee. Hmm. I wonder why I still don't understand football...
Ah. It’s written by a sportscaster. One of THEM.
I should have known.
Between the flimsy arguments, weak topics, useless play-by-play descriptions, incessant name-dropping, hollow patriotism, lack of organization, erratic paragraphs… Ugh. It was generous for me to have finished it. By the second chapter I was speed-reading. Maybe this guy talks better than he writes (I wouldn’t know), but he’d be number -182 on my list of people for the “Who-in-history-would-you-like-to-have-tea-with-living-or-dead?” scenario.
Paolantonio absolutely cannot write. He can’t craft a chapter. He can’t organize a paragraph. He can’t even shmuck together a cohesive sentence. And his quotes just sit there, abandoned and unused, as if he's too scared to tackle what they really mean, how they fit into the discussion, or just basically any reason for their inclusion in the prose. He can't even tackle his own chapter titles adequately.
It's an outlet for Paolantonio to praise how grand football is because we’re Americans and it’s grand. He basically dumped all of his research together in a bowl, sprinkled in weak bits of symbolism, and stirred it to serve up chalky clumps of dry trivia.
He writes this book as a response to America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation, supposedly saying that he wants to answer the “how” behind it all. But the only "how" he answers with this book is how to make the reader simultaneously aggravated and bored--while throwing a football at his head.
Here’s how his chapters are structured:
1. Title that has nothing to do with the first five pages of text
2. Opening line that he thinks is catchy and interesting but is really cliché and pointless *cough*badhighschoolenglishteachers*cough*
3. Inflated paragraphs about historic football event, with plenty of name-dropping to boot
4. Rabbit-trailing description of a football player’s life story
5. Sudden switch back to previous scenario because author forgot what he was doing
6. Quotes and dramatic one-liners thrown about in attempt to create “atmosphere” that serves no purpose
7. Trivia used to awkwardly segway into historical information
8. One minute rule in football turned into a powerfully inept symbol for entirety of American culture
9. Vague random praises of how awesome America is because we're “defeating the odds” and “travelling over territory” and “defending themselves against lines of enemies”… just like football players. GET IT!?!?!?! ('You WILL like football if you’re American because the rest of us do and you’re un-American if you don’t!!!!')
10. Ends on quote from someone else because author can’t manage to do it himself
Slap it all together and what’ve you got? Ghastly writing that football lovers praise, because they don’t know any better, and it's crammed full of names they recognize.
I hate to say it, but this book is a prime example of how “sports people” write. Time and time again I am disappointed by the fulfillment of pitiful stereotypes about the lack of writing ability in smart coaches and players. No one has yet proven me wrong.
My attempt to understand football is now over, and I will laugh mercilessly at all the illiterate throwers of pig-skin wrestling in the dirt, as I return America's Game to the library to be buried in the thick dust of other unread paperweights.
Gee. Hmm. I wonder why I still don't understand football...
Ah. It’s written by a sportscaster. One of THEM.
I should have known.
Between the flimsy arguments, weak topics, useless play-by-play descriptions, incessant name-dropping, hollow patriotism, lack of organization, erratic paragraphs… Ugh. It was generous for me to have finished it. By the second chapter I was speed-reading. Maybe this guy talks better than he writes (I wouldn’t know), but he’d be number -182 on my list of people for the “Who-in-history-would-you-like-to-have-tea-with-living-or-dead?” scenario.
Paolantonio absolutely cannot write. He can’t craft a chapter. He can’t organize a paragraph. He can’t even shmuck together a cohesive sentence. And his quotes just sit there, abandoned and unused, as if he's too scared to tackle what they really mean, how they fit into the discussion, or just basically any reason for their inclusion in the prose. He can't even tackle his own chapter titles adequately.
It's an outlet for Paolantonio to praise how grand football is because we’re Americans and it’s grand. He basically dumped all of his research together in a bowl, sprinkled in weak bits of symbolism, and stirred it to serve up chalky clumps of dry trivia.
He writes this book as a response to America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation, supposedly saying that he wants to answer the “how” behind it all. But the only "how" he answers with this book is how to make the reader simultaneously aggravated and bored--while throwing a football at his head.
Here’s how his chapters are structured:
1. Title that has nothing to do with the first five pages of text
2. Opening line that he thinks is catchy and interesting but is really cliché and pointless *cough*badhighschoolenglishteachers*cough*
3. Inflated paragraphs about historic football event, with plenty of name-dropping to boot
4. Rabbit-trailing description of a football player’s life story
5. Sudden switch back to previous scenario because author forgot what he was doing
6. Quotes and dramatic one-liners thrown about in attempt to create “atmosphere” that serves no purpose
7. Trivia used to awkwardly segway into historical information
8. One minute rule in football turned into a powerfully inept symbol for entirety of American culture
9. Vague random praises of how awesome America is because we're “defeating the odds” and “travelling over territory” and “defending themselves against lines of enemies”… just like football players. GET IT!?!?!?! ('You WILL like football if you’re American because the rest of us do and you’re un-American if you don’t!!!!')
10. Ends on quote from someone else because author can’t manage to do it himself
Slap it all together and what’ve you got? Ghastly writing that football lovers praise, because they don’t know any better, and it's crammed full of names they recognize.
I hate to say it, but this book is a prime example of how “sports people” write. Time and time again I am disappointed by the fulfillment of pitiful stereotypes about the lack of writing ability in smart coaches and players. No one has yet proven me wrong.
My attempt to understand football is now over, and I will laugh mercilessly at all the illiterate throwers of pig-skin wrestling in the dirt, as I return America's Game to the library to be buried in the thick dust of other unread paperweights.
November 28, 2008
Sadly, this was not as interesting as I hoped. There are some interesting bits of football trivia, but this book is mostly style without substance. The essays on "How Football Explains the 60s" and "How Football Explains Show Business" are of better quality than the rest, though.
Oh, and "SalPal" should apologize to Franklin Foer forstealing riffing on the title of his book and then producing this meh product. (Extra fail points for confusing reign/rein and their/there.)
Oh, and "SalPal" should apologize to Franklin Foer for
May 20, 2019
This book is about the history and the importance of football in America. There is a lot of information about the players and coaches that have been in the NFL. Bill Belichick, the coach of the New England Patriots, has been in some controversies in the past years about cheating. He was caught filming an opposing coach which is against the rules because this allows him to learn their hand signals that coordinate with certain plays. Then in 1994, the NFL allowed radio communication between the coach on the sideline and the quarterback on the field. This solved the problem of knowing the plays of another team by their hand signals. Furthermore, Sal Paolantonio claims that football is similar to the Manifest Destiny because when the Americans were moving west they advanced, held their territory, and defended it. The process used by the Americans during the Manifest Destiny is the same process used in football. In addition, Sal Paolantonio says that war is sometimes used as a metaphor for football. Although war has much greater consequences they are similar because it is critically important to gather intelligence about the enemy in both war and football. Football has become a world renown sport that people enjoy because they can be around their friends and family and maybe place a bet on the winning team. On the whole, football is the most watched sport in the United States because it provides an entertaining thrill.
I enjoyed reading this book because I got to learn more about the history of football. It was interesting to read about Bill Belichick and the controversies he has had over the years with the NFL. Since I always watch the Patriots play on TV it was exciting to discover information that I never knew about them. This book contained a lot of facts and history which might not seem appealing to read, but the stories about the players were thrilling. I think someone who wants to learn about the past and present of football would like this book. Overall, this book was good and it was amusing to find new things about a sport you hear about everyday.
I enjoyed reading this book because I got to learn more about the history of football. It was interesting to read about Bill Belichick and the controversies he has had over the years with the NFL. Since I always watch the Patriots play on TV it was exciting to discover information that I never knew about them. This book contained a lot of facts and history which might not seem appealing to read, but the stories about the players were thrilling. I think someone who wants to learn about the past and present of football would like this book. Overall, this book was good and it was amusing to find new things about a sport you hear about everyday.
March 7, 2023
The premise of this book was solid: football exhibits many of the traits our country and culture has adopted in history. I enjoyed the connection of the NFL to Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. I also enjoyed the chapter about West Point. But sometimes, the connections felt like they were stretching too far. It's hard for me to compare Tom Brady's 16-0 season to the Battle of Midway, just because coaches use code words and hand signals to call plays. The historical insight on the development of the sport was awesome, but I just couldn't follow everything Sal was writing.
February 9, 2009
Good stuff.
November 23, 2020
I am a big football fan and I was hoping this book could answer two questions:
1) Why do Americans love football?
2) Is there something about football that is specific to the American character?
Paolantonio attempts to answer both questions thoroughly. A summary of Question 1: American football was invented to be a crowd-pleasing, violent, suspenseful game. It is constantly tweaked to be more entertaining.
I think the weakness of that answer is that it doesn't explain why Americans prefer football to soccer. It also doesn't answer why American football isn't popular in other countries.
Regarding Question 2, Victor Davis Hanson had one of the best answers on this question, highlighting the sports' emphasis on hard work, meritocracy, and "Take no prisoners" competition. "Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser." - Patton. American life ain't beanbag!
The weaknesses of the book are sometimes it's slow and disjointed. Sometimes it reads like bad Malcolm Gladwell. There are also two egregious errors (that I caught!).
p. 138 Paolantonio writes that Paul Brown took the Bengals to two Super Bowls. I believe Brown was PRESIDENT of those Bengals teams (1981, 1988), but he was not their coach.
p. 183 has an error that's extremely disorienting. It talks about general Ray Odierno interacting with the New York Giants, and it notes how Odierno lost his left arm in an RPG attack.
The error is that Ray Odienro's son Anthony lost his left arm in an RPG attack. So, from the book, it's impossible to discern which Odierno, Ray or his son, interacted with the Giants.
The strongest chapters drew parallels between football and the Battle of Midway, "Father Knows Best," and the 60s. The Battle of Midway parallel is the first time I felt sympathy for the Patriots in the "Spygate" imbroglio, and considered Mangini a disloyal tattletale. Unfortunately, the book is uneven. It seemed slap together to provide a Father's Day present for consumers who don't know better.
1) Why do Americans love football?
2) Is there something about football that is specific to the American character?
Paolantonio attempts to answer both questions thoroughly. A summary of Question 1: American football was invented to be a crowd-pleasing, violent, suspenseful game. It is constantly tweaked to be more entertaining.
I think the weakness of that answer is that it doesn't explain why Americans prefer football to soccer. It also doesn't answer why American football isn't popular in other countries.
Regarding Question 2, Victor Davis Hanson had one of the best answers on this question, highlighting the sports' emphasis on hard work, meritocracy, and "Take no prisoners" competition. "Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser." - Patton. American life ain't beanbag!
The weaknesses of the book are sometimes it's slow and disjointed. Sometimes it reads like bad Malcolm Gladwell. There are also two egregious errors (that I caught!).
p. 138 Paolantonio writes that Paul Brown took the Bengals to two Super Bowls. I believe Brown was PRESIDENT of those Bengals teams (1981, 1988), but he was not their coach.
p. 183 has an error that's extremely disorienting. It talks about general Ray Odierno interacting with the New York Giants, and it notes how Odierno lost his left arm in an RPG attack.
The error is that Ray Odienro's son Anthony lost his left arm in an RPG attack. So, from the book, it's impossible to discern which Odierno, Ray or his son, interacted with the Giants.
The strongest chapters drew parallels between football and the Battle of Midway, "Father Knows Best," and the 60s. The Battle of Midway parallel is the first time I felt sympathy for the Patriots in the "Spygate" imbroglio, and considered Mangini a disloyal tattletale. Unfortunately, the book is uneven. It seemed slap together to provide a Father's Day present for consumers who don't know better.
February 25, 2021
I was looking forward to reading this book after hearing the author talk about it on the radio years ago. It was somewhat disappointing. He did explain, I guess, how football is so popular here but not anywhere else in the world. It's a complicated subject and there really isn't an easy answer. So maybe he did get it right but I'm not 100% convinced. Some of the stories and anecdotes were entertaining either way. I did learn some new things about the early days of the sport. Some were quite fascinating as a football fan. The disappointing part is that it felt cobbled together and disjointed. I see what he was trying to do but not sure if this is the type of subject that works well with this writing style. The big annoyance to me was the emphasis on football teams from the east coast. Granted, those are the teams he knows well but he did a lot of research so you would think he could balance it. Maybe he didn't see it. Lots of big time sports writers have this bias so not surprising. Football buffs should like it. East coast football buffs should love it. Casual fans . . . maybe?
September 11, 2019
Beautifully written book. I'd highly recommend this for everyone out there whether you are a sports fan or not. It'll resonate easily with the football fans and educate them on the history, cultural implications, evolution of the game and so on. If you're not a football fan, you'll walk away with an understanding why millions of men and women across America huddle around the idiot box on Sundays (btw, the book also talks about the evolution of a "Huddle") making it the most popular sport.
Why only 4 stars you ask? I can't help but notice the author's bias to his favorite team by the way of his examples. Wish he had done his homework on teams that demonstrate sustained success.
Why only 4 stars you ask? I can't help but notice the author's bias to his favorite team by the way of his examples. Wish he had done his homework on teams that demonstrate sustained success.
June 30, 2021
This is one of the most creative books I've ever read. Every single sports writer thinks their sport somehow represents a culture at large. But Paolantonio does it in a way that is convincing and well-researched. Paolantonio not only chronicles the history of football, but how it reflects the American ethos, at times better and at times worse.
August 7, 2017
A nice little football book. Lots of nice little historical tidbits.
December 8, 2018
Almost a four but sloppy editing and shameless shilling for the NFL knocked it down to 3.
August 9, 2019
Really fun.
December 27, 2019
Interesting content but some of the factual and editing errors I noticed cause me to question the accuracy of the other material.
September 22, 2023
This is a good little book that explains the history of football (such as the origination of certain rules) and the history of America.
October 5, 2010
How Football Explains America
Read and You’ll Find Out
Think of what explains you. Now think of what explains America, what about football. How Football Explains America is a book written by Sal Paolantonio. The genre of this book is short stories. That means that it has no main characters or any one particular setting. My rating of this book would be three out of five stars. I thought that there were a lot of stories, but I would have liked more detail about the stories. This book tells you how football explains lots of things such as the 60’s, West Point and even all of us. It takes you through when football was struggling to develop as a sport to now when it is one of the most popular sports in America. How Football Explains America is a good book because it is informative has a lot of stories and also has a wide range of stories.
How Football Explains America is a good book because it is very enlightening. It has a lot of cool and random facts all throughout the book. One of them is on (p.93) “Belichick was fined $500,000. And the team was fined another $250,000 dollars” The Patriots organization was fined this much money because they had been accused of stealing plays from other teams. I remember when I found out about this I knew they would get fined, but I did not think it would be nearly as bad as it was. I thought that was a very interesting fact about football. That was just one of the many facts that there were in this book. That was just one of the many cool facts in this book.
How Football Explains America is also a good book because it has a wide range of stories. The stories range from how football explains America to how football explains Manifest Destiny. One of my favorite stories is how football explains all of us. It talks about a solder in Iraq who is risking his life every day, but is a die-hard Giants fan. I thought that was a very cool story. Another story talks about how football originated and how football became what it is today.
The final reason why How Football Explains America is a good book is because it has a lot of stories that appeal to not only one type of people. This book has so many different stories about so many different things. But there is one constant, football. No matter what stories you are reading it all somehow ties into how football explains everything. It is a good book because it has a wide variety of stories. I thought that that would take away from the book, but I thought the amount of stories made the book better.
How Football Explains America is a good book because it is informative has a lot of stories and also has a wide range of stories. I have a personal connection to this book because I like to play football and enjoy watching it. I learned that football has a very rich and deep history.
I feel that I worked very hard on this assignment. I spent around two hours doing it. I thought the typing was easy, but the ideas were hard to come up with. I did, however, enjoy doing this assignment. I thought it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it a ton.
Adam Niedbalski
Want to read
January 7, 2013Seve DiBucci
English 10
Period 9
7 January 2013
There are many different theories people have of who or what shaped America. Some people think that we had leaders that shaped our country, but still others think science made us who we are today. Sal Paolantono, the author of "How Football Explains America", a nonfiction story telling book, thinks that sports shaped America and in particular he thinks that football shaped America. This book tells many stories from the Civil War to Manifest Desitiny and explains how all these events were caused or assisted by football and it's own evolution.
This nonfiction book contains many different and interesting connections between football and changes in America. The first connection that I found to be interesting was football's connection to Manifest Destiny. The book explains about how the population shifted to the West and so did the population. But, the book also says how football was expanding at the time and how it too was expanding in the West direction, just like America. Another great connection is a connection between the "rise in the popularity of football" and a "rise in the popularity of show buisness". The book makes the connection that as show buisness was making lots of money and growing so was the sport of football and it's many events that it held. Next, the book makes many connections between the battle of Midway and the sport of football. For example, one of the connections the book makes is when it says that coaches cover their mouths when calling plays and so did the generals in the war when demanding their troops to "take some type of action." Lastly, the book makes connection between the civil war and football. The book says that just before the civil war football teams started to self divide and get upset over questionable reasons causing lockouts and fights between the leagues. Then, at right about the same time America got in a "fight with itself" and the civil war occured.
This book was a good book and I would rate it a 4 out of 5. The reason that I am not giving it a 5 is because of the many different complexions of the book and at times the book can be hard to follow. I would reccomend this book to anyone that enjoys history and sports and espicially people that enjoy the game of football. I particuarlly enjoyed this book because I love playing the game of football and it has always been a childhood dream of mine to make it to the NFL.
English 10
Period 9
7 January 2013
There are many different theories people have of who or what shaped America. Some people think that we had leaders that shaped our country, but still others think science made us who we are today. Sal Paolantono, the author of "How Football Explains America", a nonfiction story telling book, thinks that sports shaped America and in particular he thinks that football shaped America. This book tells many stories from the Civil War to Manifest Desitiny and explains how all these events were caused or assisted by football and it's own evolution.
This nonfiction book contains many different and interesting connections between football and changes in America. The first connection that I found to be interesting was football's connection to Manifest Destiny. The book explains about how the population shifted to the West and so did the population. But, the book also says how football was expanding at the time and how it too was expanding in the West direction, just like America. Another great connection is a connection between the "rise in the popularity of football" and a "rise in the popularity of show buisness". The book makes the connection that as show buisness was making lots of money and growing so was the sport of football and it's many events that it held. Next, the book makes many connections between the battle of Midway and the sport of football. For example, one of the connections the book makes is when it says that coaches cover their mouths when calling plays and so did the generals in the war when demanding their troops to "take some type of action." Lastly, the book makes connection between the civil war and football. The book says that just before the civil war football teams started to self divide and get upset over questionable reasons causing lockouts and fights between the leagues. Then, at right about the same time America got in a "fight with itself" and the civil war occured.
This book was a good book and I would rate it a 4 out of 5. The reason that I am not giving it a 5 is because of the many different complexions of the book and at times the book can be hard to follow. I would reccomend this book to anyone that enjoys history and sports and espicially people that enjoy the game of football. I particuarlly enjoyed this book because I love playing the game of football and it has always been a childhood dream of mine to make it to the NFL.
February 27, 2014
I got this book for Christmas years ago, and it's taken me this long to read it. I'm mad at myself I did.
Most pigskin fans aren't big readers. Copies of S.I are as far as most of my sports-jockey friends get anyway. Part of the charm of this book is it's modest length and breezy language. You can drop this baby on the top of your man's toilet, and it'll be done in 5 poops.
What Sal Paolantonio manages to capture in this book is part a telling of the history of both how football and the NFL developed and part discussing American history. The book weaves both history, culture, and sports together to paint one of the more captivating images of sports-Americana I've ever seen. The culture is reflected in the sports, the sports are reflected in the culture. It takes a delicate eye and passion for both fields to capture it the way the author does though. Highly admirable.
Let it be known though; the book is NOT a top to bottom, or by any means thorough analysis of the history and development of either the game or the NFL. Many early strategies and development of the game are covered extensively in early chapters, but many of the more complex strategies that dominate the later years and chapters are oft simply used in conjunction with strong analogies. If you're looking for in-depth play talk or a super robust player history your out of luck here. Similarly, if you're looking for an extensive history lesson here you''re going to be disappointed. The author is clearly no history major, and while the events covered are both accurate, detailed, and analogies made clear, you can obviously tell our author is simply a passionate amateur American historian.
This is a fantastic book if you're looking to expand your knowledge of football beyond just the context of scores, stats, and what goes on in the field. If you're interested in the cultural and historical impact of sports in America I highly recommend this for you. Four stars. Will easily re-read this one down the line.
Most pigskin fans aren't big readers. Copies of S.I are as far as most of my sports-jockey friends get anyway. Part of the charm of this book is it's modest length and breezy language. You can drop this baby on the top of your man's toilet, and it'll be done in 5 poops.
What Sal Paolantonio manages to capture in this book is part a telling of the history of both how football and the NFL developed and part discussing American history. The book weaves both history, culture, and sports together to paint one of the more captivating images of sports-Americana I've ever seen. The culture is reflected in the sports, the sports are reflected in the culture. It takes a delicate eye and passion for both fields to capture it the way the author does though. Highly admirable.
Let it be known though; the book is NOT a top to bottom, or by any means thorough analysis of the history and development of either the game or the NFL. Many early strategies and development of the game are covered extensively in early chapters, but many of the more complex strategies that dominate the later years and chapters are oft simply used in conjunction with strong analogies. If you're looking for in-depth play talk or a super robust player history your out of luck here. Similarly, if you're looking for an extensive history lesson here you''re going to be disappointed. The author is clearly no history major, and while the events covered are both accurate, detailed, and analogies made clear, you can obviously tell our author is simply a passionate amateur American historian.
This is a fantastic book if you're looking to expand your knowledge of football beyond just the context of scores, stats, and what goes on in the field. If you're interested in the cultural and historical impact of sports in America I highly recommend this for you. Four stars. Will easily re-read this one down the line.
May 29, 2009
A painfully written book that manages to have interesting bits of football history and sports writing sprinkled throughout it, which is the only thing that drags it out of the one star cellar. I was intrigued by the main premise of this book - "Why has football never managed to catch on in any country except America?" - but it failed to live up to my expectations.
Each chapter starts out with a simplistic, sometimes patronizing main hypothesis like "America Loves Football Because They Love Manifest Destiny!" and then devolves into sweeping generalizations and stories that try to "support" the main hypothesis. It's like reading a high schooler's essay paper. The only thing that saves this book from utter ruin is that the author is actually a good sports writer, and has subsections on football history (interesting!) and scenes captured from the football season two years ago, when the Giants upset the Patriots in the Super Bowl (suspense!). Too bad the rest of it is tripe.
Two stars.
Each chapter starts out with a simplistic, sometimes patronizing main hypothesis like "America Loves Football Because They Love Manifest Destiny!" and then devolves into sweeping generalizations and stories that try to "support" the main hypothesis. It's like reading a high schooler's essay paper. The only thing that saves this book from utter ruin is that the author is actually a good sports writer, and has subsections on football history (interesting!) and scenes captured from the football season two years ago, when the Giants upset the Patriots in the Super Bowl (suspense!). Too bad the rest of it is tripe.
Two stars.
April 19, 2010
Just to say it: I really wanted to enjoy this book. I'm a bona fide football nut and I have a huge appreciation for Sal Paolantonio's editorial work on ESPN. Those two together should have made for a really enjoyable reading experience, but I just couldn't like this book.
Throughout, Sal attaches characteristics of football to those found in other "artifacts" of American history (Manifest Destiny, the unique American art form of jazz, etc.). While reading Sal's conclusions, I consistently found myself saying, "Well, I guess you could make that connection..." Too often, the conclusions that Sal arrives at are beyond what one would normally think of.
The other major detractor of this book is its organization (or lack thereof). The best way I can describe it is this: it's as though Sal researched various topics, followed trails that led back to other topics, produced a whole pile of disparate notes, then stapled the whole thing together for the publisher.
Sorry, Sal - I like you as a reporter, but not as an author.
Throughout, Sal attaches characteristics of football to those found in other "artifacts" of American history (Manifest Destiny, the unique American art form of jazz, etc.). While reading Sal's conclusions, I consistently found myself saying, "Well, I guess you could make that connection..." Too often, the conclusions that Sal arrives at are beyond what one would normally think of.
The other major detractor of this book is its organization (or lack thereof). The best way I can describe it is this: it's as though Sal researched various topics, followed trails that led back to other topics, produced a whole pile of disparate notes, then stapled the whole thing together for the publisher.
Sorry, Sal - I like you as a reporter, but not as an author.
January 23, 2016
This account, focusing on some well presented parallels between the evolution of the game of football and the development of the American psyche and culture, argues that football explains America. However, I believe that the converse is more accurate: America explains football! There are a number of interesting anecdotes, but the author's treatment of the game is far from balanced. He almost totally ignores the college game (and its many innovations) after about 1960, and he focuses on a relatively few professional teams and on their quarterbacks and coaches. Those favoring the college game and or the many excluded teams will likely feel short-changed.
The author clearly loves the game of football, and, in spite of a few rather questionable connections between professional football and American history and culture, the book reads well. Though generally factually correct, this reader was personally annoyed by at least one significant error. On two occasions, Paolantonio wrongly refers to Miami University as 'The University of Miami in Ohio'.
The author clearly loves the game of football, and, in spite of a few rather questionable connections between professional football and American history and culture, the book reads well. Though generally factually correct, this reader was personally annoyed by at least one significant error. On two occasions, Paolantonio wrongly refers to Miami University as 'The University of Miami in Ohio'.
January 19, 2009
How Football Can Be Vaguely Associated with Several American Historical Landmark Events while Dishing Up Some Great Football Stories would have been the more accurate title.
Paolantonio states his thesis that the game of football can be used to describe the American pysche briefly in the preface and make vague hand gestures at the concept through the rest of the book. This book doesn't do what it claims and is certainly not a complete history of the game (which the author readily admits) - but so what?
Paolantonio is a fantastic sports writer and here he brings alive a pile of football triumphs and tragedies from all time spans in American football in an engaging way. This is a testosterone-infused, highlight reel of football history and worth a ready for anyone interested in that kind of thing.
Paolantonio states his thesis that the game of football can be used to describe the American pysche briefly in the preface and make vague hand gestures at the concept through the rest of the book. This book doesn't do what it claims and is certainly not a complete history of the game (which the author readily admits) - but so what?
Paolantonio is a fantastic sports writer and here he brings alive a pile of football triumphs and tragedies from all time spans in American football in an engaging way. This is a testosterone-infused, highlight reel of football history and worth a ready for anyone interested in that kind of thing.
November 26, 2011
By no means does this work challenge the examination of sport in America on the level of a James Michener or a David Halberstam, but I loved it...Yes being a football coach and historian/political scientist helps, but, by no means, is that a requirement to enjoy it...Paolantonio accurately places football and the NFL in our social/political/historical underpinnings of being an "exceptional" nation...I particularily sat up with Victor Davis Hanson's quote, "The values that made America exceptional-themeritocracy, team-work, self-reliance, competition, the desire to win, magnamimity in victory, and resolve in defeat-are on display..."
September 28, 2015
Pretty good overview of football's interwoven history with the growth of American society and commercialism. As can be expected, the author is a bit of a homer and tends to exaggerate the importance of football in some chapters, often stretching an analogy or argument to a breaking point in order to make his argument. With that being said, the first few chapters - especially chapter 1, which ties football to manifest destiny - make up for the various rabbit paths given in the last half of the book. Recommended for those interested in football (and can read) or those interested in the development of American social norms.
December 10, 2012
The title of this book is an unfulfilled promissory note. Football does not explain America, anymore than the Boy Scouts explain the Roman Legion, so don't read this book if you are not already a die-hard football fan. If you are though, you will enjoy the historical tidbits about the game and some of the author's journalistic panache. If you are not a fan you will merely scoff at the far-fetched analogies and wonder at how anyone could care about the minutiae of a game that can seem so complicated, but at bottom is pretty simple.
April 3, 2009
Sal Paolantonio is a prolific sports reporter/writer who has also been in the military and an officer in the Philadelphia police department. When I saw he had this book out, I read it because I am a fan of his and of the subject matter. He has a real reverence for football history and American history. His writing is intelligent and the chapters tell separate stories but everything ties together as well.
December 6, 2009
Sal P. does a great job of connecting the dots (so to speak) between American history & culture and the rise of professional football. I don't think the book actually EXPLAINS America... but I do think you can see why modern American football has such amazing cultural resonance.
I'd recommend to anyone who's a pro football fan - the philosophical stuff is well-written and doesn't bog down the narrative of the development of football.
I'd recommend to anyone who's a pro football fan - the philosophical stuff is well-written and doesn't bog down the narrative of the development of football.
January 18, 2016
Very interesting book including the history of how football came to be America’s sport, why it’s not popular outside America, how it is uniquely American, how the its relationship with the media supported its popularity. Lots of good stories of players and games but also quite philosophical as well. I didn’t intend to read this to Justin, just got it for myself, but we needed something to read and once I started it, Justin was interested enough to keep listening.
November 28, 2013
This was a good book with lots of interesting football facts. I enjoyed learning more about the history of the NFL and of football. It seemed a bit of stretch, some of the connections he tried to make, but he interviewed a lot of famous players, coaches, and announcers, so it was full of good quotes from well-known people. A good, light read for people who like football.
December 22, 2008
It was alright. Quick read, interesting perspective. He was kind of reaching a little sometimes. However, it was very interesting to think about why football is so wildly popular and everything else isn't in America.
March 9, 2009
I thought this was okay, not as gripping as I expected. I found it difficult to follow because he kept going from the present to the past, and my knowledge of the history of football wasn't good enough to follow....
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