The Games Do Count: America's Best and Brightest on the Power of Sports – Life-Changing Lessons from Well-Known Leaders on Competition and Achievement

by Brian Kilmeade

What do Henry Kissinger, Jack Welch, Condoleezza Rice, and Jon Bon Jovi have in common? They have all reached the top of their respective professions, and they all credit sports for teaching them the lessons that were fundamental to their success. In his years spent interviewing and profiling celebrities, politicians, and top businesspeople, popular sportscaster and Fox & Friends cohost Brian Kilmeade has discovered that nearly everyone shares a love of sports and has a story about how a game, a coach, or a single moment of competition changed his or her life. These vignettes have entertained, surprised, and inspired readers nationwide with their insight into America's most respected and well-known personalities. Kilmeade presents more than seventy stories straight from the men and women themselves and those who were closest to them. From competition to camaraderie, individual achievement to teamwork, failure to success, the world of sports encompasses it all and enriches our lives. The Games Do Count reveals this simple and compelling America's best and brightest haven't just worked hard -- they've played hard -- and the results have been staggering!

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Nonfiction, History, Biography

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

As cohost of FOX & Friends, the number one rated morning program on cable television for the past nine years, Brian Kilmeade shares his unique perspective on the daily news. He has interviewed the biggest names in politics, sports and entertainment, often securing exclusive content.

Kilmeade played a large part in FOX ís coverage of September 11th, as well as coverage including reporting from war zones in the middle east and over a dozen military bases from coast to coast. In addition, he has contributed live coverage of both the Democratic and Republican Party Conventions.

Also serving as the networks sports anchor, Kilmeade has reported on or provided live coverage of every major American sport over the last twenty years.

Currently, he is the host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show on FOX News Radio, Kilmeade & Friends. The show is heard on 80 stations, as well as XM and Sirius Satellite Radio.

Kilmeade’s first book, The Games Do Count: America’s Best & Brightest On The Power Of Sports (2004), was The New York Times best-seller and presents more than seventy stories straight from America’s top leaders and those who were closest to them. Kilmeade reveals this simple and compelling truth: America’s best and brightest haven’t just worked hard—they’ve played hard, too.

His companion volume, It’s How You Play the Game: The Powerful Sports Moments That Taught Lasting Values to America’s Finest (2007), reveals personal stories of the defining sports moments in the lives of athletes, CEOs, actors, politicians, and historical figures—and how what they learned on the field prepared them to handle life and overcome adversity with courage, dignity, and sportsmanship. Sports Illustrated said of it, “This book taught me more about some of my favorite leaders than any profile of them I had ever read.”

A graduate of Long Island University, Kilmeade began his career as a correspondent on Channel One, a daily national high school television news program. He then served as an anchor and host for KHSC-TV in Ontario, California. Brian also hosted sports talk radio for top rated XTRA-AM 690 whose duties included co-hosting The Jim Brown Show.

Prior to joining FOX News Channel, Kilmeade served as a freelance sports anchor for NBC in Hartford, as well as a sideline reporter for the MSG Network, where he covered the New York/New Jersey Metro-Stars, a major league soccer team based in Giants Stadium. He worked as a feature reporter and anchor for Newsport TV, where he hosted Newsport Journal, a daily magazine show for the national sports network. He also anchored Scoreboard Central, a live half-hour general sports program.

In addition to his career in journalism, Kilmeade has 10 years of experience as a stand-up comedian. He lives in Massapequa with his family, where he still coaches soccer.

Reviews

[Lawrence Kao · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up "The Games Do Count" whilst browsing in the bargain books bin in a Border's in San Francisco. Being a huge sports fan and a relatively recent MBA grad, I really thought this book would be perfect. I mean think about it, it's about the US's most powerful leaders and their experiences and takeaways from the universal activity, sports! And for $3, he steals second! (Whoa, I am lame).

I cracked the book open immediately and realized I didn't really like it. In fact, the stories often times were short and didn't have too much meaning. Most of the time it felt like a person would write about random stories from different parts of their lives and tried to piece them together. Oftentimes, there didn't seem like a point to the story nor were there any clear takeaways. It was just a bunch of men and women recalling reliving their youths.

After plowing on, it actually started getting better. And as I got to the later chapters, I started empathizing more and more with these celebrities. The chapters featuring the heroes of United 93 were just absolutely tragic. I even found myself connecting with people I typically disagree with on a political or business level.

I'm going to classify this type of book as a good on-the-go book. It's good for those short 15 minute tube and bus rides.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

They are known for their accomplishments on stage, on screen, in the political arena, the newsroom, and the boardroom, not on the athletic field but that doesn’t mean they didn’t “suit up” as kids. The Games Do Count by Brian Kilmeade collects the reflections from over—or about—70 individuals, including the author, about their time playing sports as kids shaped their futures once their competitive time on the field came to an end.

Kilmeade’s inspiration for this book was a segment he began one Saturday afternoon for his shift on an all-sports radio station in Los Angeles for listeners to phone in and talk about their own sports experiences, resulting in a flood of calls for people reliving their memories growing up and more than a few saying how their time helped them later in life. A decade later, Kilmeade thought the concept would work by interviewing well-known actors, singers-musicians, politicians, and television personalities about how sports affected their non-playing professional careers. Published in the 00s, some of those interviewed aren’t well known today as they were then or whose time in the political spotlight is long gone as well as the fact that many had a connection with Fox News at the time due to Kilmeade co-hosting Fox and Friends, and a few from family or friends about those who had recently passed. Overall Kilmeade wrote some great early life sketches based on the interviews he conducted with Robin Williams and Bernie Mac standing out to me. Because it’s been almost twenty years since publication some of the individuals have passed away—the aforementioned Williams and Mac along with President George H.W. Bush—or some individuals have destroyed their own reputations and careers since along with some active athletes that were mentioned throughout the book namely Lance Armstrong.

The Games Do Count is a nice collection of briefs snapshots of the early years of famous individuals and how sports shaped who they became before they transitioned to their non-playing careers.

[SoulSurvivor · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 stars. The power of sports to build character and encourage teamwork. Essays of diverse personalities such as Henry Kissinger, Condoleezza Rice, Geraldo Rivera, Gerald Ford, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Burt Reynolds, James Brown, Oliver North, John Irving and a host of others. Very inspirational. I was particularly impressed with the story of Gerald Ford who stuck to it to become an All-American center, and part of the Michigan football team that were national college champions two years in a row. Worthwhile reading for people who enjoy sports and those interested in the stories of famous people.

[Ted Hinkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Began reading sometime ago; pulled off shelf recently to continue reading. These vignettes give insight into the influence of sport in a cross section of 74 American leaders and well-known personalities. Entertaining for those of comparable age to the personalities interviewed; could have an impact on our youthful readers if revised to include some contemporary personalities. I appreciated the memorial of Mark Bingham, Jeremy Glick, Todd Beamer, and Tom Burnett on Flight 93. I applaud Brian Kilmeade for helping us understand "The Games Do Count".

[Semi-Academic Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be necessary reading for educators that seem to want to cut out sports. Although I did not grow up with much of this in my earlier education, there seem to be lessons that are best learned while actively engaged in these types of activities. It made me more interested in playing these games that sometimes we have taken for granted. More importantly, it made me more interested in making sure to provide opportunities for our children to participate in sports.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a nice book. The chapters are pretty short and are quick reads.

For me, there are too many typos. For instance Tony Danza boxed in the Golden Gloves not the Golden Globes; Dr. J's name is Julius Erving, not Julius Irving. Those kind of errors, and they're all over the place, just detracted from my enjoyment of the book. In a book about sports, wouldn't you think that there wouldn't be so many sports reference errors?

[Judine]

I've only read 15 or 20 of these profiles, but I like that so many of the people talk about how their participation in sports influenced what they're doing now - and they're doing everything from acting to politics. I also appreciate that the sports include what many people in my part of the country consider "minor" sports - like soccer and horseback riding. It provides a good balance.

[John Desmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays written by some of the most famous people in America. They tell the story of how participation in sports influenced their lives, how they applied lessons of teamwork, dedication, etc. to their successes off the field. After a while, the stories begin to sound the same, however.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The people I found interesting had a few nice stories. But, albeit it could be my issue, I didn't care about most of these people. And the ones I wanted to read were super short. An easy book to read a chapter if you have a few minutes here and there but I skipped quite a few due to lack of interest.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories were not that remarkable but it was interesting to see what value sports played in these lives.

Same old theme for me... great theme but not that great of a book.

The author is one of the anchors on Fox and Friends on morning TV. Smart guy.

[Reid Corcoran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Their stories illustrate what the games are supposed to mean to our kids. NOWHERE in the book does it talk about the importance of the games to the guy pacing the siadelines, veins bulging, living vicariously through his offspring!

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The overall intention of this book, to show that sports are an important part of character development, was really appealing to me. I agree that participation in sports helps to shape a person and influence them all their life. However, there were lots of typos. Worth a casual read.

[Glenn Liguori]

X

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. From the perspective of leaders, sports figures, CEO's and others, it's a great way to see how organized sports and coaches affected/changed their lives.

[Nick Lloyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Famous people played sports too? The hell you say. Some crack reporting there, third-smartest host of Fox and Friends.

[Louis Picone · Rating 4 out of 5]

great concept for a book - it just got a little long & repetitive. I would have preferred cutting about 10 of the stories

[Raymond Bial · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful book. Kilmeade did a very good job of assembling an interesting array of well-known people who share their experiences in a variety of sports.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides insight into the part that sports have played in the lives of an interesting assortment of successful people.

[Annie McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever felt like a loser? In the book, The Games Do Matter, by Brian Kilmeade, you will learn to overcome those feelings. One great thing was how Brian gave small details which added much more to the story. For example, he wrote about the small changes in the people's lives and how they overcame feeling like a loser to being on top of the world. The conflicts made it interesting because we got to see each step of the way they took to be the best they could be. John was always bullied in high school, but he got a new person in his life and that changed everything about him. The dialogue was great because it showed the relations and how the character's personality was. Like when Tony didn't believe in himself and then his new dad came in and said he could do it, that dialogue was great because it was very uplifting and inspiring. Overall, many people would like this book, but mainly it would be for sportspeople or people who want to hear a story about an underdog or someone who had a bad childhood but pushed themselves to get to the top.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

This mini-series comes in two parts: The Games Do Count and It's How You Play the Game. Not knowing any better, I read the books in reverse order. Ha ha! Even though both books were incredible reads, I enjoyed The Games Do Count a lot better than the second one. I believe it was because the subjects of the little vignettes were more familiar and recognizable. There were still quite a few whom I didn't know. Nonetheless, I enjoyed and appreciated all the stories hearing how sports carried someone forward in life from the lessons learned. This is at least the third book of the author's I have read and will continue on with his other books. Don't let how easy of a read these books are fool you. They will still impact your life by the content. The only negative takeaway from the books came from less-than-ideal editing: occasional poor grammer, syntax, and punctuation to name a few. Other than that, please read!

[Marlena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up years ago because I saw Condoleeza Rice was one of the folks featured in it. I finally got to read it only to discover Hannah Storm (I looked up to her so much as a kid) was in it too. Great takeaways from celebrities, politicians and others. I did not play sports (two left feet) but I covered sports and have worked in sports for a very long time so the stories resonated with me.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does a great job explaining the importance of sports participation, and how both successes and failures in sports can directly influence the rest of your life. However, it eventually became repetitive, which detracted from its important messages. It would be much better read in spurts, to prevent that from happening. I really wish I'd read it that way, because I would have appreciated it more.

[Jonathan Bechtel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this book a 3.5 if I could.

[Scott Goodwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an interesting compilation of quite a variety of people who all used sports in their future (non-sport) careers. Each entry was short (2-5 pages). At times it was interesting, but many people had the same "started as a kid, had a hard time, was determined" type of story, so it got a little repetitive. I found myself skimming over a few sections because of the repetitiveness. Fortunately, the way the book was written enables you to do just that, move on from the less interesting people to the more intriguing people. I especially liked reading of actors (aka Kurt Russell) paths through the sports experiences in their early lives. An interesting read mostly, a little stale in parts too...

[Tom Sparrenberger · Rating 1 out of 5]

A short story format of many celebrities who share their childhood/younger experiences in playing sports. Some stories better than others but overall the book is unmemorable.