Done watching Tiger King? Bored with beating down friends and strangers on 2K?
Here is a novel idea – read a book.
With the wonders of technology, you don’t need to go to the library or a book store to read. Digitally check out or buy on of these football books, recommended personally by your favorite cartoon bear.
My Conference Can Beat Your Conference: Why the SEC Still Rules College Football – by Paul Finebaum
One of the better pure-college football reads that Blitz has enjoyed in quite some time. If you are a hater of the SEC, steer clear of this one, which centers on Alabama, Auburn and why everyone else sucks in college football outside of the deep South.
The book is a little dated, but it is still an entertaining and reasonably quick read. And it truly hammers home the concept that SEC football is just…different, whether you agree that it is the best conference in CFB or not.
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream – by Buzz Bissinger
A lot of us have seen the movie and/or the TV show, but how many of you have actually read the book?
This is one of those cases in which the book is better than any type of on-screen media depicting West Texas. Football is life in the Lone Star State, with high school football at the crest of that obsession.
Odessa and Permian High School football takes center stage while magnifying social and racial divisions that are more common throughout the country than you think.
Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football – by Rich Cohen
With Blitz being the species that he is, of course his favorite NFL franchise has to be the Chicago Bears.
This recent release (2014) not only delves deep into the 1985 Chicago Bears, but also the socioeconomic constructs of a city that was starved for a champion amidst the struggles of political corruption and other issues.
“Monsters” is exceptional in getting into the heads of players, coaches and the front office personalities that brought a Super Bowl title to the Windy City, written by someone who experienced the run as a Chicagoan.
The Education of a Coach – by David Halberstam
Yes, this is about Bill Belichick, which means that many of you will scoff and immediately not consider picking up this one. But consider that it is written by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, one who mostly wrote about politics with the exception of a single book about football.
Following New England’s third Super Bowl title in four years last decade, Halberstam went about looking to tell the story about how a disgraced Belichick after being fired from Cleveland in 1995 transformed into arguably the greatest coach in the history of the NFL.
It is a riveting read if you can get past the Belichick thing.
Boise State of Mind: The Emergence of College Football’s Grittiest Underdog – by Joel Gunderson
From the blue field to the epic 2007 Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma, we all have memories that immediately pop into our head when thinking about Boise State football.
This 2018 book chronicles Boise State’s rise from a simple junior college program into one of the bastions of college football. It not only gives details on the rise of the Broncos, but also lays a greater plan that knows no bounds – of how seemingly small, insignificant football programs can become one of the biggest players of the sport based on hard work, tenacity, drive and, of course, money.
These opinions represent those of Bounce and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Blitz on Twitter at Blitz_OTH
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