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NFL Unplugged: The Brutal, Brilliant World of Professional Football
Blood, guts, and glory-veteran players reveal the NFL you never see on TV Behind every glittering NFL game on television is a world of happy pain for a hundred men. NFL Unplugged lets you see that world through the eyes of the pros who live and sweat in it. Here are the places the cameras don't go: the locker room where coaches' speeches can deflate or motivate, the huddle where fart jokes vie with playcalling, the training camp where locusts and heat conspire to break the strongest bodies and shake the most determined minds. Now you can experience it all up close and unplugged.
- GenresSportsFootballNonfiction
288 pages, Hardcover
First published August 20, 2010
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55 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 10, 2011
The good: this book is surprisingly candid and revealing about the nature of the players in the league, in a way most of these types of books aren't. Usually ,the reporter gains access by promising to mythologize the players and whitewash the really negative sides of life in the league. Gargano sometimes seems to not quite get that most of the stuff the players are saying is kind of awful, and that, at best, most of these guys come across as complete idiots (not to mention sociopaths and homophobes). But still-- the book reveals this side of the players that the NFL is usually trying to hide, and so it succeeds in one of its main goals.
The bad: The prose is sometimes comically overwritten, to the point that it's not even clear exactly what he's trying to say (ie- "The back-in-the-day guys who sport their scars and crooked fingers and clicking bones like stickers of buckeye tree leaves on the Ohio State helmet would prefer to deem the current shift in the game permutation instead of, say, evolution, because of the connation, you know?" He really, really overuses "you know" in the book too). Another example: "They called him Zeus, and how fitting the nickname. You could envision him standing, striding forward, a thunderbolt leveled in his raised right hand. Mighty Zeus, ruler of the sky." It's a bad Bill Lyon impression, really. Even the dumbly inflated language of calling Peter King "the extraordinary football scribe" is a bit off-putting.
The book is at its worst when it tries to make connections between the game and Big Real Life Things, like comparing the line of scrimmage to the border fence between India and Pakistan, or like in this muddled line: "And basketball's expansion is reminiscient of the Roman Empire in its latter days, when global domination matterd more than life inside the kingdom." That kind of stuff is just ridiculous, and it's problematic because, as much as he says it doesn't make sense to compare football to war, he does it constantly.
The book needs an editor. I'm not one to harp on typos in books, but the number of copyediting errors in here is embarrassing.
Finally-- the organizational structure is totally incomprehensible, and leads to frequent redundancy. I mean, it's a total mess, and there's no logic behind the placement of anything, particularly beyond chapter 2, at which point he abandons his planned structure and just starts padding things out.
This is a really negative review, I guess. It's an interesting book for behind the scenes stuff on football, and getting a mostly unvarnished view of the players. It's not well-written at all, though.
The bad: The prose is sometimes comically overwritten, to the point that it's not even clear exactly what he's trying to say (ie- "The back-in-the-day guys who sport their scars and crooked fingers and clicking bones like stickers of buckeye tree leaves on the Ohio State helmet would prefer to deem the current shift in the game permutation instead of, say, evolution, because of the connation, you know?" He really, really overuses "you know" in the book too). Another example: "They called him Zeus, and how fitting the nickname. You could envision him standing, striding forward, a thunderbolt leveled in his raised right hand. Mighty Zeus, ruler of the sky." It's a bad Bill Lyon impression, really. Even the dumbly inflated language of calling Peter King "the extraordinary football scribe" is a bit off-putting.
The book is at its worst when it tries to make connections between the game and Big Real Life Things, like comparing the line of scrimmage to the border fence between India and Pakistan, or like in this muddled line: "And basketball's expansion is reminiscient of the Roman Empire in its latter days, when global domination matterd more than life inside the kingdom." That kind of stuff is just ridiculous, and it's problematic because, as much as he says it doesn't make sense to compare football to war, he does it constantly.
The book needs an editor. I'm not one to harp on typos in books, but the number of copyediting errors in here is embarrassing.
Finally-- the organizational structure is totally incomprehensible, and leads to frequent redundancy. I mean, it's a total mess, and there's no logic behind the placement of anything, particularly beyond chapter 2, at which point he abandons his planned structure and just starts padding things out.
This is a really negative review, I guess. It's an interesting book for behind the scenes stuff on football, and getting a mostly unvarnished view of the players. It's not well-written at all, though.
October 20, 2010
I have been a football fan for a long time and of course knew in theory that football can be a brutal game. Still, this book was jarring to me at many levels. It appears that there is a lot more pain to this game then I realized. Ironically I finished this book just before the James Harrison controversy this past Sunday.
The book is well written, and the author seems to stay out of it and let the people speak for themselves. It is not great 'drama' but still draws you in as a reader.
The book's weaknesses are --
1. His sample size appears to be the same 9-10 players throughout the book, and
2. The book is almost entirely anecdotal in approach. Of course this makes it an easier read, but I thought it could have been bolstered with more raw data from a larger sample of players.
Continuing with it's strengths - the book made me think about whether football should be more regulated or even allowed at all. At the very least, it will likely mean I sympathize with the players in the upcoming labor dispute.
After reading this I thought of the issue of the 18 game season, and in light of this book (and other factors) 18 games seems simply absurd. One local radio host suggested that players might simply sit out more games than they would normally, which I would completely understand. This would dilute the product, and leave the NFL open to what Paul Kennedy called 'Imperial Overstretch.' The sport's dominance is already starting, in my opinion, to work against them.
The book is well written, and the author seems to stay out of it and let the people speak for themselves. It is not great 'drama' but still draws you in as a reader.
The book's weaknesses are --
1. His sample size appears to be the same 9-10 players throughout the book, and
2. The book is almost entirely anecdotal in approach. Of course this makes it an easier read, but I thought it could have been bolstered with more raw data from a larger sample of players.
Continuing with it's strengths - the book made me think about whether football should be more regulated or even allowed at all. At the very least, it will likely mean I sympathize with the players in the upcoming labor dispute.
After reading this I thought of the issue of the 18 game season, and in light of this book (and other factors) 18 games seems simply absurd. One local radio host suggested that players might simply sit out more games than they would normally, which I would completely understand. This would dilute the product, and leave the NFL open to what Paul Kennedy called 'Imperial Overstretch.' The sport's dominance is already starting, in my opinion, to work against them.
October 25, 2019
The book NFL Unplugged by Anthony L. Gargano describes the life of an NFL football player and his career. It shows many historic moments inside and outside the game. With lawsuits, violence and struggles players went through. For example Gargano writes about a lawsuit between the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleading corps. and the New York Giants. Violence in the locker room with two Hall of Fame players Bill Romanowski and Shannon Sharpe. It shows the perception of the coaches side. With speeches that can motivate or deflate the team. It looks at brutal injuries, crushed dreams and the start of hazing. It shows bullying in the locker rooms of several people bullying against one person. With teams fighting because they're rivals and because the players have no respect for each other. It shows injuries never heal because players with CTE have a much greater chance of dying younger and they do it for the sport they love. Dying doing the thing they love most.
March 4, 2011
NFL Unplugged takes an unvarnished, unsentimental look at some of the uglier realities of professional football. The ugly, often racist taunting that goes on, the dirty, vicious things that happen at the bottom of those pileups, the pre-game puking. From players urinating in their pants on the sidelines, to coaches screaming insults at their players and players deliberately trying to hurt opponents, it's all here, in all it's vivid and gritty glory.
NFL Unplugged puts the spotlight on football's grunts, and all but ignores its on-field generals, the star quarterbacks. The reality is that few players are stars, few are readily recognized in public, and few have long careers. Gargano's book takes us from training camp, to game day, with a lot of stops in between. The chapters are discrete, which gives the book a somewhat choppy flow. It's more like a series of essays than a book, but it works. Perhaps that's because the broken narrative seems to mirror the violent world of professional football itself. And make no bones about it, this book unmasks that violent reality.
I would guess that the casual fan, and even a lot of serious fans, have no idea of what goes on behind the scenes of the finished product they see on their televisions on football Sundays. This book tells that story, from the grueling, incredibly painful pre-season practices, to the bone crunching collisions and concussions that all too frequently mar the game and sometimes end players' careers
There are a lot of anecdotes about the mentality of various types of players, dirty conduct on field, and the pain, the pain, the pain. I'll never look at Sunday football the same way again, and I doubt that almost anyone else who reads this book will either. For some fans, NFL Unplugged just might be the football equivalent of seeing how sausage is made, but I'll bet all its readers will turn the pages with one degree or another of morbid fascination.
NFL Unplugged puts the spotlight on football's grunts, and all but ignores its on-field generals, the star quarterbacks. The reality is that few players are stars, few are readily recognized in public, and few have long careers. Gargano's book takes us from training camp, to game day, with a lot of stops in between. The chapters are discrete, which gives the book a somewhat choppy flow. It's more like a series of essays than a book, but it works. Perhaps that's because the broken narrative seems to mirror the violent world of professional football itself. And make no bones about it, this book unmasks that violent reality.
I would guess that the casual fan, and even a lot of serious fans, have no idea of what goes on behind the scenes of the finished product they see on their televisions on football Sundays. This book tells that story, from the grueling, incredibly painful pre-season practices, to the bone crunching collisions and concussions that all too frequently mar the game and sometimes end players' careers
There are a lot of anecdotes about the mentality of various types of players, dirty conduct on field, and the pain, the pain, the pain. I'll never look at Sunday football the same way again, and I doubt that almost anyone else who reads this book will either. For some fans, NFL Unplugged just might be the football equivalent of seeing how sausage is made, but I'll bet all its readers will turn the pages with one degree or another of morbid fascination.
July 15, 2022
NFL Unplugged tries to take the reader into the nitty-gritty world of the National Football League. It primarily focuses on injuries, pain, and the locker room, male dominated hijinks of professional football players. In many instances it relies on the stories of unnamed players, usually not the superstars, and we get a glimpse of their life in the trenches.
Unfortunately, this book fails on many fronts. First, there really isn't anything new here. None of the stories told are surprising and many of them are the types of things we have heard from other sources. Second, the writing relies too heavily on Philadelphia Eagles players. While players from other teams are included, there isn't a lot of breadth in this book.
And finally, the writing is sometimes so over the top pretentious as to be laughable. The author tries to show off his erudite writing skills in a way that is frankly a little embarrassing. It made for long, unnecessary "literary" attempts to tell stories that were best left unadorned with unnecessary verbiage. It tried to describe the guts and sweat and pain of professional football with ill advised flowery language.
While overall I more or less enjoyed this book, being a football fan. But I would not recommend it, nor would I felt I had missed out anything had I quit halfway through.
Unfortunately, this book fails on many fronts. First, there really isn't anything new here. None of the stories told are surprising and many of them are the types of things we have heard from other sources. Second, the writing relies too heavily on Philadelphia Eagles players. While players from other teams are included, there isn't a lot of breadth in this book.
And finally, the writing is sometimes so over the top pretentious as to be laughable. The author tries to show off his erudite writing skills in a way that is frankly a little embarrassing. It made for long, unnecessary "literary" attempts to tell stories that were best left unadorned with unnecessary verbiage. It tried to describe the guts and sweat and pain of professional football with ill advised flowery language.
While overall I more or less enjoyed this book, being a football fan. But I would not recommend it, nor would I felt I had missed out anything had I quit halfway through.
Read
June 25, 2013This book gives an awesome insight into the unknown brutality that is called the National Football League. Anthony Gargano interviews all-time greats, the blue collar players, and players your never heard of. Each story gives the reader an inside look from training camp, to the final gun on Superbowl Sunday. I loved this book because of the brutality that I did not know existed in the game I love. As fans, all we can really do is watch the game, and read the injury report. After reading this, I bet you wont look at injury report the same way again.
August 8, 2011
I've been waiting for a book like NFL UNDERCOVER for a long time, but this writer is so intent on being "colorful" that I found it a very trying read. Just because you know a word, it doesn't mean you have to use it. Cut the flowery "prose" style by two thirds and it might have been pretty good. So many typos, I lost count. Could have used a good editor.
I have to give it two stars though, for the uniquely inside view of the NFL.
I have to give it two stars though, for the uniquely inside view of the NFL.
June 2, 2012
This book was fantastic for any NFL fan or sports fan in general because it takes you into the lives and on the field of actual NFL players. It gives you details of how NFL players deal with injuries and when they have to go through on and off the field to deal with these issues just to continue to play each Sunday. Really was a great book, but it does jump around some so that kind of writing isn't for everyone, however it really grabs your attention.
January 20, 2016
NFL Unplugged: The Brutal, Brilliant World of Professional Football by Anthony L. Gargano (John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2010) (796.332) is a brutal football book. It relishes the slobber-knocker side of the NFL and has enough war stories for any fan. Though extremely heavy on Philadelphia Eagle tales (the author is or was a Philly beat writer), this book bears reading. My rating: 6/10, finished 2/7/11.
October 22, 2010
Gargano gives an inside look at the real NFL - training camp, injuries, game day, life after football - through interviews with current and former coaches and players. Strong language is warned in the first few pages and the author wasn't kidding!
January 4, 2011
I really liked the content and the angle the book took to show the nature
of the players and the NFL "behind the scenes"
All though I am sure it was represented correctly I disliked all the strong
and offense language through the book.
of the players and the NFL "behind the scenes"
All though I am sure it was represented correctly I disliked all the strong
and offense language through the book.
July 20, 2016
This is a journey through the darker sides of the NFL. This book exposes the game's brutal sides in a very raw way. It lends insight into the men who are willing to subject themselves to the punishment to play the game as professionals.
January 30, 2011
Great idea, good concept, decent research and resources. Just didn't come together for me.
June 10, 2011
Highly recommend it if you're interested in of player dynamics in the NFL. It offers interesting insight into player perspective and experience.
March 25, 2011
in actuality its a 4 but since i did about 40 interviews for this book, im giving it a 5!
June 13, 2011
Slightly entertaining, but riddled with spelling mistakes. Plenty of good quotes though. Was it worth the read? Yes, if you are a NFL fan.
August 5, 2011
Absolutely awesome behind the scene look at the planet's best sport. Over the top. Crazy, crazy, crazy.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews