The Code: Football's Unwritten Rules and Its Ignore-at-Your-Own-Risk Code of Honor

by Ross Bernstein

Football is a sport steeped in a culture of violence, intimidation, and brutality, but players have learned to navigate through the minefield of its physical demands by adhering to an honor code of sportsmanship known simply as "the code." As mysterious as it is sacred, the code is an unwritten set of rules that has been handed down from generation to generation. While the code has been around since the early days of the National Football League, it remains a taboo subject shrouded in secrecy. Under the threat of penalties, fines, and suspensions, players have to use stealth and ingenuity when retaliating against dirty players out on the field. Sure, bench clearing brawls will occur from time to time, but most of the revenge that goes on is behind the scenes. Patience must be exercised when settling old scores, and the veterans will wait until the time is right to exact the justice they feel fits the crime. While the game has changed immensely over the years, one thing remains the same-the players still police themselves.

Genres: Sports, Football, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Jess Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, though a bit redundant, take on the alleged code, actually codes, in the NFL. It's good to know that there are understood codes of sportsmanship and respect, though the numerous in violations mentioned makes me wonder how embedded the codes are. Hearing from many players was helpful and interesting, until it became redundant hearing basically the same thing from each player.

[Jacob Rothstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ross Bernstein interviewed more than 100 NFL players and coaches before writing this book. The Code is the unwriiten set of rules of Football. These rules or the code have been around since the beginning of football. Many players will not talk about the code. If another player does not follow the code of football, he is dealt with secretly by other players. As Bernstein, "Players must be accountable for their actions, the code says so." I really liked this book because I never knew what the code was about. I also love football so I really enjoys reading about the "secret" code.
I would recommend this book to anyone that loves football. If you are a football fan, you will like this book. If you are not a football fan, this book is not for you.

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author states early in the book that he is going to let the players/coaches/referees speak for themselves. This is fine, but a LITTLE editing would have helped. The entire book was basically one- or two-paragraph quotes loosely arranged into chapters. The redundancy was out of control. If the author had cut out all the redundant quotes he would probably have reduced this book to a pamphlet. The chapter on kickers seemed the most tedious. There were 4 or 5 quotes in a row that said almost excatly the same thing.

There were a few interesting anecdotes, but very few that I haven't read in better football books. Pass on this one.

[Dustin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unlike the baseball version of 'The Code', this book only deals with the football code in a few chapters. Other chapters deal with football issues, but not with the unwritten rules that is supposed to be the foundation of the book. It also contains the same annoying sidebars that make continuity difficult. And the editing was just piss poor. There were so many grammatical errors that I had a very hard time understanding if the good was actually read through. If it was, the person responsible needs to find a new line of work. All criticism aside, the stories and anecdotes in the book are fun, and worth reading reading. You just have to get past everything else.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe this book is a great read for older football fanatics!!! it covers many of the NFL's and Canadian Football League's [CFL:] darkest secrets from secrets about steroids to locker rooms. It also interviews some of footballs oldest iron men. Its a true page turner and it blows your mind away from the players confessions to coaches pep talks... I would recomend this book to anyone. (This is not Sean it is Dylan)

[Neil White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting take on the so-called "unspoken" rules and codes of football. Bernstein isn't the best author, though, and too many times he simply quotes at length from interviews and sources instead of crafting a coherent narrative, so there ends up being a lot of repetition. Still a good read if you're interested in the subject.

[Raving Redcoat · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at what actually goes on during football games, and the codes the players live by. A little repetitive at times, but fans of the game will still enjoy this peek inside the huddle.

[Paul Pisani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book about the unwritten rules of the NFL.