Dennis Rodman. Powinienem być już martwy

by Dennis Rodman

Dennis Rodman zawsze wyróżniał się jako jedna z najbardziej kontrowersyjnych osobowości w świecie sportu - niezależnie od tego, czy chodzi o udział w zdobyciu trzech tytułów mistrzowskich przez Michaela Jordana i Chicago Bulls, czy o występ na promocji książki w sukni ślubnej (i pełnym makijażu)? Ekstrawagancki gwiazdor koszykówki nieustannie wzbudza emocje i regularnie gości na pierwszych stronach gazet.

Powinienem być już martwy to kronika wzlotów i upadków Dennisa Rodmana. Od myśli samobójczych i wewnętrznej przemiany na parkingu pod halą Detroit Pistons, przez szaleństwa w San Antonio Spurs, najlepsze lata kariery w Chicago Bulls, nieudane epizody w Los Angeles Lakers i Dallas Mavericks, aż po marzenia o powrocie do NBA. Od złych relacji z matką i siostrami, przez romans z Madonną, nieudane małżeństwo z Carmen Electrą, po trudny związek z Michelle Rodman? Powinienem być już martwy to historia walki z rywalami na parkiecie i zmagań z uzależnieniem poza nim. Unikalne spojrzenie na życie jednej z najbardziej niezwykłych gwiazd sportu.


Dennis był zdecydowanie tym typem człowieka, którego w walce chciało się mieć po swojej stronie.
- Michael Jordan

Kiedy myślę o Dennisie, przychodzą mi do głowy określenia: lojalny, inteligentny, doskonale przystosowany. Był prawdopodobnie najbardziej swobodnym graczem, jakiego trenowałem. Prawdziwy zwycięzca!
- Chuck Daily

Robak jest jedynym bezkręgowcem, który ma więcej sprzętu niż Home Depot i więcej atramentu niż kałamarnica. Dzięki Bogu, Dennis Rodman jest tylko jeden!
- Richard Johnson, "New York Post"

Bardziej znany z paradowania w sukni ślubnej, niż ze zrównoważonych umiejętności koszykarskich. Jasne, był impulsywny i niemądry. Tak, nie cierpiał treningów i pracy zgodnie z harmonogramem. Kiedy jednak rozpoczynała się gra, nikt nie rywalizował z większą zaciętością. Ostatecznie Rodman zakończył karierę z pięcioma mistrzowskimi pierścieniami.
- Charley Rosen, FoxSports.com

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Collections, Basketball

255 pages, ebook

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[Christian Touhey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dennis Rodman, was a very historical basketball player that was in the NBA for over 20 years, and played for multiple teams, including the Bulls and the Spurs. But Rodman was very different from others. Outside of basketball, Rodman had a very twisted, weird lifestyle. In "I Should Be Dead by Now," Dennis Rodman looks back at his life outside of basketball, and also looks into other aspects of his career. This book shows why Dennis Rodman was not only a major impact in basketball, but also in America.
It is hard for me to say if I truly enjoyed this book or not. There were many parts that I enjoyed, but I think there were more parts that I disliked. For example, I think Rodman looks in too many bad parts of his life, instead of focusing on the good. Also, Dennis Rodman could've made the title for the book a bit more appealing to others. For that reason, I am giving the book a three out of five stars for that reason. Why three? Well, I did enjoy some parts of Dennis Rodman, himself, and felt connections. One connection I felt is that Rodman is mostly an all defense player, which I am. However, I wouldn't recommend this book to a friend, because of the vulgar and crude content.

[Glenn]

Dennis Rodman is one of my guilty pleasures but he's better to look at than read it seems... Might try it again but got bored after two chapters.

[Klega50 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty much a whole book of him saying he didn't care what other people thought. I can honestly say that this is a book I got nothing out of. Blah.

[ORACLE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lets start of with how bad ass the cover for this book. D.R as the Grim Reaper. A perfect depiction of him. I cant help but feel like a disappointed parent, i love Dennis as a basketball player but i really wish he would have found the perfect balance of partying/playing in the NBA. He had so much left to give to this game.you cant help but think about a what if ? scenario with him.
What if he stayed cleaned while playing with the Lakers in 99? The very next season was the start of the 3 peat dynasty . He would have won 3 more rings bringing him up to 8 rings total. I would have loved to see him Play with a rookie Lebron or maybe even finish out his career in Detroit. But sadly he burned too many bridges that it was impossible to backtrack. Regardless of the What if ? Scenarios. Rodman will go down as the best rebounder to ever play the game and my all time favorite player , no one since he left the game has put up crazy stats like that. He is truly a unique player.

[Jon FK · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rodman has always had odd things in his books to increase his pages, where text changes font and size for "emphasis" or these "reality checks". But they're just disruptive and redundant.

The majority of the book is just a big HumbleBrag - again. If all unnecessary components were taken out, this book could have been about a quarter of the size. With every book he writes it seems he has more and more control and less editing is occurring. This is just a mess.

The things I like about Rodman this book didn't ruin for me although it sure as hell tried hard. The writing is atrocious but the character of Dennis Rodman is still intriguing albeit for more reasons than before; I think he showed more of his hand than he intended to here.

[Brian C. Green · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never followed Dennis Rodmans NBA career or put too much interest in his high jinks over the years so I went into this one blind.This book offers alot of insight on the life of a celebrity sports figure,Alcoholic,party hound all straight from the man himself.Very Real and Insightfull.I'm now a fan.

[Megan Spooner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is pretty self explanatory. If you want to read about his insane life then read this book.

[Kristin Dell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of course I had to read this one too...

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think anyone who thinks they want to be famous should read this cautionary tale. What a sad life.

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. So-so. Some good stories and funny tidbits and quotes here and there. But they were kinda few and far between and most of the stories got a bit old after awhile.
Not bad though.

[Paweł Labe · Rating 2 out of 5]

5/10. It wasn't a bad reading, but from the uncompromising autobiography of one of the most colorful characters in the history of sport, I expected more. I absolutely understand that Rodman didn't want to focus on his NBA career - although I'd love to hear some stories with him and Robinson / Popovich or about his relationship with Pippen (with whom he played for the team and injured him a few years before). He wrote that 3 years in Chicago were the best 3 years in his life - but we will not find details about this period in the book either. There are a lot of general descriptions of partying and drinking, no funny details, something like: we went there and I drank this and that. Then we went to Vegas. I have read some previously known stories that were thoroughly reported in the press.
The biggest advantage of the book is the thread about Dennis's guards - it turns out, which is not obvious for a typical, die-hard NBA fan (especially in the 90s), that star guards are one of their closest people, having a huge impact on their lives. I was laughing at the penne story, I had a moment of reflection about him saying he was one of the top 50 players ever, I was a little bored reading the fairly obvious chapters on what fame is.
Dennis Rodman reminds me of a cool, cheeky guy who just says what he thinks. He's not polite, but he's honest in his opinions. Unfortunately, his autobiography does not live up to this image. I would prefer there were fewer general bar stories and descriptions of what Dennis was wearing that particular day, and more honest, detailed stories.
Bottom line: It's like Dennis collects 9 balls in a match. Everyone else should be happy, but in his case it is twice not enough.

[M K · Rating 1 out of 5]

I recommend his book Rebound instead.

This one is candy, but not for kids. I wonder if it's a shot at a "Postcards from the Edge" movie deal.

IMHO The first 26 chapters are written to be shock-value stories on partying, drinking, women, etc. mingled with some self awareness of alcohol abuse. I already know people like this so the stories weren't shocking. On the plus side, I guess I could relate to him.

I got frustrated when he couldn't understand why NBA team management had concerns hiring him again to play. He admits he's out of shape, can't show up anywhere on time, can't stop drinking but doesn't understand why others don't put their careers/reputations at risk to rehire him to play if (when) it doesn't work out. He feels it's unfair to him - but shows no internal locus of control.

Chapter 27 shows some introspection, and helps redeem himself and the book a bit at the very end

In summary, you can cruise through this bag of candy in a few hours, not lose much of your life.

I almost never write reviews but this is more a warning label on junk food. Similar addiction but more rewarding books (funnier or insightful or...): Wishful Drinking, Guts...

[Godowd · Rating 1 out of 5]

This has just made it to the top of my worst books list - it is even hard to describe it as such.

The book comes across like a guy drunk at the bar telling you stories of how bad they were. There are so many pages devoted to how much he could drink and still function as a basketball player and sexually. If you are reading this book for the insight to a basketball players life - this ain't it.

I was bored after about 20 pages, but I persevered as I thought it must improve .. it didn't .. could not recommend this book less.

[Kasey S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad but Real

This was a side of Dennis I rarely read or heard about. In this memoir about his struggle with alcohol, Dennis gets extremely vulnerable. In true Rodman fashion, he doesn’t water anything down, or gloss over it. It is what it is, and he doesn’t care if it offends you or makes him look bad. I enjoyed this book more than Bad As I Wanna Be.

[Mark B · Rating 3 out of 5]

See saw

[jula · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Brock Pedersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of the book says it all. Dennis felt there was more to life than just Ball.

[Elizabeth Judd Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

(For what it’s worth I read the 2021 edition—it has a new epilogue)
Going through the crazy, the bad, and the good, this is a well told autobiography.

[James Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating look inside the complex and often contradictory life of Dennis Rodman, one of the finest defensive basketball player ps and member of the multi-championship Chicago Bulls of the 90s.

Rodman achieved much on the basketball court, but is playing style and off-court persona seems to have deprived him of the extended career that he craved. Much of the book chronicles how he filled the lacuna in his life, and how he pulled himself out of the life of alcohol abuse.