It's Only a Game

by Terry Bradshaw, David Fisher

The legendary quarterback and TV personality describes his Louisiana youth, record-breaking college and professional football careers, post-Super Bowl acclaim, and dedication to family, faith, and the game of football.

Genres: Sports, Football, Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography, Memoir, Humor

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 31, 2001

Reviews

[Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

On entertainment value alone I give this book five stars. I read the majority of this book in the cafeteria of my employer, and I found myself constantly trying to stifle my laughter.

The only reason I'm not giving five stars is because it comes across as a little disjointed. It's in basic chronological order - childhood, college, NFL, broadcaster, speaker - but Bradshaw does have the tendency to jump back and forth between subjects and does often get off track. He actually references this exact problem when writing about his speaking career. I truly don’t know how the publisher decided where to break the narrative up into chapters, because it reads as one huge rambling email from one friend to another.

But overall the book is a blast, and if you're already a Bradshaw fan this will certainly do nothing to change your opinion of him. If you don't like him already, it would be tough not to after reading "It's Only a Game."

[David Geschke · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT book. Loved it. Full disclosure: I'm a Terry Bradshaw fan, have been ever since I saw him give a motivational speech several years ago. Also on the docket that day were Rudy Giuliani, Collin Powell, Zig Ziglar and several other well known speakers. Terry Bradshaw was the best speaker of the day (IMO), one of the best public speakers I have ever seen. This book is like his public speaking, full of emotion and funny. Many parts are laugh out loud funny. I'm going to buy the follow up book (Keep It Simple) now. If you're any kind of Terry Bradshaw fan at all, you'll love this book.

[Clifton Rankin]

Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson once said that Terry Bradshaw couldn’t spell “cat” if you spotted him the “c” and the “a.” Well, apparently David Fisher is a good speller, because his and Terry Bradshaw’s book, “It’s Only a Game,” is a nice way to reminisce about the “good old days,” and read about the Hall of Fame quarterback’s victories and losses in life. I must say it was very entertaining. In talking about life at Louisiana Tech, he reminded his readers that it was a small college with limited funds; they could only offer second aid when someone got hurt. Yes, it is true that he only scored a 15 on his ACT (I assume that was the test he was talking about) so he couldn’t go to LSU (Of course, now they only require a pulse), so he ended up at Tech. His stories of dealing with Chuck Noll, partnering with Verne Lundquist at CBS, and then his time with Fox had some hilarious stories. His narrative of his time in the cattle business is worth the price of the book. It is only 257 pages, and cost $9.99 on Kindle; so, it is worth the time and expense. Also, “cat” is spelled correctly in the book.

[Jason Hallmark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I waffled between giving this 3 or 4 stars. It was a good read...entertaining and enjoyable...but it was very loose in its organization, and lacking any real substance. Having said that, there were a number of times that I chuckled out loud. Bradshaw is a great story teller, weaving his brand of self-deprecating humor throughout the book. I would recommend this book for any Steelers fan who is looking for a book to read on a long airplane flight.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked out this because I have seeing Terry Bradshaw in various things and I wanted to know more about him. I hate football but I love his personality. He has played football, got injured and then did sports broadcasting, he has been in several movies I have seen. Currently I have been seeing in a program called Better Late Than Never where he travels the world and does nutty stuff with William Shatner, George Forman, and Henry Winkler. He is so funny and entertaining.

[Chris Dean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fair. I've often wondered if books like this are written to keep a celebrity's name fresh. Nothing of note as much of the book details TB's celebrity, broadcasting career, marriages and family. If you are looking to gain insight on the Steeler dynasty, you won't find much here, other than the running joke that Bradshaw called his own plays

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve had this for a while, and I finally read it. Some of the stories are really LOL FUNNY. There are other times he seems like a complete jerk. He mentions his faith often, but his actions don’t really show he’s all that kind. Other times I wondered how much of this is made up?? He claims he’s not really dumb, but where’s the proof? He wants to be taken seriously, but always acts like a clown.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny book, entertaining from a funny man. It’s a quick “read”. 3 hours in audio format.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very entertaining. It's like Pat McManus wrote a book about football.

[Kevin · Rating 1 out of 5]

He's far more obnoxious in this than he is on tv.

[Stephanie Mangini · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a lot of fun to read. I love football and Terry Bradshaw quickly became my favorite pregame host because of his laid back, fun personality. He just seems like the type of person you want to hang out with because you know he will be a good time. Being a fan of sports memoirs, it’s been on my list to read more about his life, football career, and how he got to where he is today. The thing I loved most about the book was the timeline. It followed the basic timeline of childhood, high school, college, career, but I love how he scattered in side stories that took you to random times in his life. It made the book more conversational, as if you were sitting down and talking to Terry and he was personally telling you all his stories.

[Mike Langford · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few laugh out loud moments, but I wish he'd gone deeper into his relationship with Chuck Noll, his teammates, etc.

[Daniel Wszolek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty scattered and talks about his life post football mostly, was expecting more steeler and behind the scenes football talk

[George Rebar · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a great book if you're a Steelers fan.

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

good, funny

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me laughing and grinning. Terry Bradshaw is comical to say the least. The author covers specific events during Terry's life starting with his upbringing to his football career and post football career.

[Kaytlin Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

I really enjoyed this book. Terry Bradshaw is a wonderful story teller. I loved his story on how to get rid of a guest who may have stayed too long. He is quite the rascal, but I’m glad to learn that he really can spell cat!! I loved this book and would definitely recommend it to my friends.

[Justin Tapp · Rating 1 out of 5]

We drove on the Terry Bradshaw Passway through Shreveport, so it was only fitting that we listen to Terry's book. He reads the book himself, so it's filled with his own excitement and laughing at his own stories and jokes. That's what makes it fun.

A short book, filled mostly with off-the-field stories. Bradshaw opens with a very honest look at the broken marriages in his life and the things he's ashamed of. But, his faith is important to him as a sinner saved only by grace. Some of his stories are boneheaded, others are kind of interesting, most are humorous. The story of how he almost came to Baylor was one I didn't know. He came here thinking it was a place where everyone was God-fearing. Then, one of the members of the football team offered him a beer from a six-pack he kept under his bed. That turned Bradshaw off.

Rating: 1.5 stars

[Austin Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book that I read is It's only a game by sports anaylist Terry Bradshaw. Terry Bradshaw wrote this book to tell people how difficult it was to be in the NFL, therefore I think that the theme of this book is to tell people that you can do anything if you try to do that thing. The style of this book is narration because he told us how he started as a farm boy and went through a small college to become a NFL quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I thought that this book was very good. The reason I liked this book was because I watch Fox NFL Sunday which has Terry Bradshaw on it. Also playing football this year for school helped me realize how hard it really was for him and as he always said,"Did I mention that I called my own plays.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terry Bradshaw is a 4-time Super Bowl champion of the Pittsburgh Steelers as their starting quarterback in the NFL before becoming an Emmy-Award winning sports broadcaster, Bradshaw worked for CBS Sports as a color commentator and later became a co-host of the NFL Today, he moved to the Fox television network after acquiring the right to air the National Football Conference from CBS and he is now served as co-host and analyst for the Fox NFL Sunday pregame show, game-breaks and The OT postgame show. When I watch Terry every Sunday, he's a funny man and he's love to do providing NFL highlights on TV other than playing the game. Hey...it's just a game!!!

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of funny stories, not really much about his time with the steelers. Seemed like he had more stories about his T.V. shows and got a long better with those folks than some of his team mates. Kept repeating that he called his own plays, most QB's back then did except for Dallas and Paul Brown's teams, not really a big deal. Would have liked more about steelers games and some stories of some of those games put in. He is still a funny guy and a great QB, also he thru the javelin in high school for a national record at the time.

[Brooke (i blog 4 books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I think Terry Bradshaw is funny. I love college football, but I've never cared for the NFL—but I love some of the personalities that develop in professional sports. Parts of this book were really funny. Other parts were more "history" than "story," which (for me) made it a little tedious. I wish he would have stuck to the funny stories rather than giving so much time to the vast number of details surrounding his football career. If you're a fan, though, definitely give this book a shot.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terry Bradshaw writes like he talks. What more can I say? Seriously, if you are a Steeler fan kickback and enjoy. If you hate the Steelers, you'll probably hate them more after reading this book. It's not a literary classic by any means, but if you remember the Steelers of the 1970's and 80's you'll enjoy what Mr. Bradshaw has to say. By the way, did I mention he called ALL his own plays...

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am probably biased because I grew up during the glory days of the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty and I bleed black and gold but I really enjoyed this book. Bradshaw was as funny and self-deprecating in this book as he is on TV. There were probably a half dozen times that I blurted out laughing while reading this book!

[Victor Claar · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a guy who grew up in Western Pennsylvania, I couldn't resist this one when I saw it in one of my favorite bookstores in Michigan. The fellow really is funny. Part humor, and part motivational talk, this book is a pleasure worth checking out.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this one over a week and enjoyed it all except for the missing pages (20 in all). Never got a response from the publisher about that either. Other than that, the book was a good read about Bradshaw and how he thinks and what is driving him to succeed. I use some of the quotes in my class.

[Lee Tyner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty enjoyable read but poorly edited. Great stories, often funny, but doesn't follow any particular timeline nor topic per chapter. Really want to give it 5 stars because I have really enjoyed it but it does have problems.

[Mr. Fields · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, down-home, country boy read. Forgot what humor was without a little political in it! Good book that reiterates be yourself and be truthful!

[Judy Wyndham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is hilarious but I strongly recommend the audio version read by the author