Customer Reviews

The Catch: One Play, Two Dynasties, and the Game That Changed the NFL

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(33)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This isn't a book, but an extended (and padded and repetitious) magazine article that would have made a good Sports Illustrated cover story. I lost count of how many times author Myers repeated that "The Catch" marked the end of the Cowboys dynasty and the beginning of the rise of the 49ers, but after 8-10 times, just stop! Myers interleaves player interviews with the game action, but he returns to the game at different times making for a disjointed and confusing story flow. Myers has participants from both teams speak on their memories and thoughts on the game's significance, but this is still only a puffed up magazine article, not a full length book.

I read THE CATCH with three distinct perspectives in mind: 1) As someone who personally doesn't follow sports but 2) Operates a book club that reads a little of everything and 3) even has a book club chapter for those that are avid sports lovers. Honestly, the book had something for all three.

What impressed me the most about the book is that even though it's central theme is the historic game that was played in the early 80s, that wasn't really what the book was about. THE CATCH takes you into the lives of the players, humanizing them in a way that many don't take the time to do. It tells of the family that exists on the field and how their commitment to each other can affect their blood family off the field.

Many of the players that were a part of that historic game were seen as celebrities, but had to deal with their mortality each time they took the field. Whether it was the wear and tear on their bodies, the threats on their lives and even the consequences of their actions, there was a price to play that was bigger than whether they won or lost a game.

Gary Myers was at Candlestick Park for The Catch on January 10, 1982, but even he admits that he didn't know the full impact of what it took to get to that point---and the chain of events that would follow. By writing this book, he was taken into the fold as it were into the behind the scenes magic that produced the masterpiece that would become history. Now through him we can all take a piece of that moment in time along with us to learn from and treasure as we move forward to fulfil our own destinies.

Having been in the end zone with Dwight Clark running at me after making the "Catch", I was intrigued about a book that would really capture that moment and the ensuing path of both teams and players involved. I remember thinking that the game was over by the time the 49ers got the ball for that last drive. I remember holding my breath after the touchdown and thinking we (the Niners) had left too much time on the clock. I think the book did a great job of giving us a peek at the aftermath.

However, this is a writer from Dallas and it shows. There is definitely more about the demise of the Cowboys than the rise of the 49ers. He is also very opinionated and doesn't hide his disdain for Cowboys ownership, and their treatment of Landry, players, etc.

I would have liked to have heard from more of the former 49ers, especially some of the veterans that had toiled in obscurity before that game. "Hacksaw" Reynolds anyone?

If you remember this play, like I do, you will enjoy this book. I wouldn't recommend it based on the title, as I think the changes in franchise fortunes are much deeper than one play. Although some of the authors insights into Cowboys leadership were very informative and do a good job of explaining the ousting of an old coach (Landry) who grew out of touch with his players. And in turn, a new coach that brought out the best in every player.

I loved the format of this book. Instead of reading a football playbook, The Catch, by Gary Myers, goes way beyond what happened on the field the day of the game. I so enjoyed reading about players and their human side, which we don't get to see very often. It is obvious that Mr. Myers did his research and evidently the players felt comfortable opening up to him. He has a reputation as one of the best football writers in the country and it was a pleasure to read a full length book by him. He takes the reader behind the scenes, and whether you are a 49ers, Cowboys or just plain sports fan, you should absolutely read this!

With some disappointment, I'll summarize my thoughts on what turned out to be a lukewarm reception of THE CATCH. My expectations of this book were met to some degree (I'd hoped for insider info on the machinations that make the NFL tick), but this book would have been better suited to have been condensed into a fantastic magazine cover story.

It's a fantastic premise: History essentially culminates in one play that, whatever the outcome, lives and destinies would be changed. While this may be true to some extent, I think the author exaggerates the play's importance. In the grand scheme of things, if Dwight Clark hadn't made his spectacular catch, the 49'ers probably would have still risen to the top echelons of the game, and Dallas would probably have continued its decline (only to rise again in the 90s, mind you).

Ultimately, there just isn't enough hard facts and analysis to compulsively carry an entire book. The author falls into dreaded repetition, taking for granted that his readers might have been paying attention the first time. There are some informational behind-the-scenes gems here (especially the insights into the human side of the players), but not quite enough to justify the page count.

I would recommend this book for fans of the 49'ers, Cowboys, or hardcore NFL'ers. Most more casual NFL fans might find this read a bit dry for their taste.

While The Catch has some interesting interviews with players and others involved with NFL, the way the book was set up seemed confusing and almost annoying. The author would mention The Catch, which he considered the reason the Dallas Cowboys football dynasty ended and the San Francisco 49er's began. He would begin describing what actually happened in the end zone with seconds remaining in the game, and then switch to a long, long flashback. I started thinking, "Stop toying with me and tell me what happened." Instead I'd be taken back to a time years before when this or that player was recruited or a coach was hired. Then back to the game. The beginning of the game. The end. Back to the beginning. Another flashback.
If the author had written in some kind of order I could easily follow, I would have enjoyed The Catch much more. And despite the repetition and the author's returning again and again to mention of that one moment in the end zone, I didn't feel he truly made his case that this one play changed the NFL. After all the buildup, I was left at the end of the book wondering what all the fuss was about.

For long-time fans of the San Francisco 49ers, one play stands out as one of the most thrilling and exciting in their long history, "The Catch". This was the pass that Hall-of-Fame quarterback Montana threw to Dwight Clark, putting the 49ers on top in the NFC championship game against the hated Dallas Cowboys (speciously termed 'America's Team'). As the forward by Joe Montana himself states, "It was exhilarating. It was unforgettable. It was history."

Author Gary Myers posits that this was the one play that put the 49ers on top of the football heap for the decade of the 1980s, and propelled the Cowboys to just another football team. While that may be a stretch (others note that 'The Tackle' made by the 49ers when they had to kick the ball to the Cowboys after their almost miraculous score was the defining moment. But let's face facts; without the catch, there would be no tackle to save the game for the Niners. And, the photo of the catch is spectacular, whereas a photo of the tackle is, well, just a photo of another tackle.

I watched the game on television as it unfolded in real time, back in 1982. I can attest that it was absolutely thrilling, but I knew the game wasn't over with the catch. The talented Cowboys had plenty of time to win the game, so it was nerve-racking until the end.

Of course, Myers couldn't write a 242 page book on just one play. Instead, he weaves a history of the teams, the coaches, the owners, and the players backwards and forwards from that play, covering dozens of years in the process. He interviews most of the relevant players (many Cowboy players insist that Montana was throwing the football away, which I have heard for years, but Montana insists that the play, 'sprint right option' was a designed play, designed to go to the wide receiver Freddie Solomon, with Clark as the outlet. It had never worked in a game or in practice, going to Clark, but it worked on the one day, the one moment, that it was vital it worked.

The book is an interesting read about football, about draft strategy (the Cowboys passed on Montana believing he could be a wasted pick), about personalities, about corporate interests, and above all, about the coaches and the players involved in the game. We read that 'the genius', Bill Walsh, who recently passed away from leukemia, regretted his decision to retire from the 49ers until his dying day. 49er fans share in his regret. It seemed like a career only 2/3 done.

I strongly recommend this book, primarily to sports fans, to fans interested in the history of pro football, the personalities involved, and to pivotal plays that change the trajectory of multimillion dollar teams. I enjoyed it a lot.

The Catch was a one of those magical moments that define sports. This book took a subject that required perhaps 20 pages of writing and blew it up into 200+ pages of sports writing which at times can be a little well..less exciting than the original Catch this book is about.

I give the author 3 stars for really trying to keep interest and for providing details that probably would be hard to find elsewhere. However, the book doesn't flow really well and it is as I said, kind of tedious and drawn out. Perhaps shortening it up a bit and putting in some photos?

I've read a lot of books about the 49ers, and remember watching this game. It's difficult not to want to read this book as a big fan of the 49ers and the Montana/Walsh era. While there are some interesting anecdotes about a few of the 49er and Cowboy players, the author repeats exact phrases and scenes in the book multiple times. The first time I thought, "Didn't I just read that a few chapters back?" By the end I was tiring of the repetitiveness of it all. Kind of surprising since this was written by a former beat writer for the Cowboys. But one of the problems with this book might be exactly that--this author was much more familiar with the Cowboys than the 49ers, and let's face it--the audience for this is 49ers fans, not Cowboy fans. I can't imagine Cowboy fans wanting to suffer through an expanded analysis of how their football team went downhill for a decade as a direct result of The Catch. Minor details not being correct also led me to wonder about the facts of other parts of the book. The author tells us the 49ers practice facility was located near the Great AmeriCAN theme park, when in fact, the amusement park was called Mariott's Great AmeriCA (no N). Minor detail, yes, but as someone who grew up in the Bay Area, that little mistake made me realize, wait, this guy isn't even from the Bay Area and had no first-hand knowledge of the 49ers beyond this one game. I agree with another reviewer that the writing was somewhat pedestrian and could have been so much better.

I don't read a lot of sports books, but when I do I tend towards football (NFL - American style). This particular book appealed to me because I was always a Joe Montana fan. I was old enough when Montana was playing to appreciate the art of what he was doing. When I was little, Sonny Jurgensen, Bart Star and Billy Kilmer were big, but I was too young to really appreciate the game and the talent it took to play it. With Montana it was different. And the man was truly an artist - the best QB bar none I have ever seen. You literally believed he could do anything he wanted to do. He was, to me, the football version of baseball's "The Natural." And I remember "The Catch." Like the Immaculate Reception, a play like that sticks in your mind, captures your imagination. I wanted to know the story behind it.

"The Catch" is a great book. It provides all the background information I expected and looked for but it does not limit itself to the Catch or even to the game in which it took place, but uses it as a backdrop to discuss the changing of the guard, the collapse of one football dynasty and the rise of another. We learn not only about the individual players, but also the owners and the GMs and the coaches. Gray Myers makes the case that the result of that one play changed the fortunes of the Cowboys and the 49ers. It cannot be proven, of course, that Danny White would have been the guy to lead the Cowboys to greatness had he not choked at the end of the game, when he had a chance to be Roger Staubach, and I think some of the other things said about White mitigate against it. White was not Roger Staubach; he was not Troy Aikman. I think Myer undermines his thesis a bit by demonstrating this so forcefully.

Joe Montana was, however, great. Perhaps the greatest ever. I find it difficult to believe that a loss in that one game would have substantially changed the future with regards to the 49ers. If not that year, then the next. Either way, the Cowboys were in decline, a team aging, a coach aging and increasingly out of touch with today's players, and a GM who had apparently lost whatever touch he once had. The 49ers, on the other hand, were on the way up, a young team, a talented head coach (again, perhaps the best ever) and an owner willing to let his coach do what he needed to do to win without trying to micromanage the franchise. On this level, Myers book should function as a cautionary tale - one that should be headed by Al Davis, Jerry Jones and Daniel Snyder.

There are a few rough spots, though these might be fixed (I was reading an uncorrected proof). There is some repetition - "he said," "he said," "he said..." - Myers doesn't mix it up enough. Then on p. 24 Myers tells us what Montana said to Ed Jones, and on p. 48 goes through the motions again as though he hadn't just told us, and on this second occasion Myers leaves it at Montana using "some x-rated language" (on p. 24 he gives us the uncensored version).

I have some problem with how rapidly scenes shift as well, though it's not a deal-breaker. They shift frequently and without warning. It can be disconcerting at times and perhaps I should be blaming MTV. There will be a long excursus on a career and you'll suddenly find yourself in the '82 playoff game. It isn't the shifting itself, an established literary technique, but the abruptness and frequency of it that threw me off. It was like a movie about 30 seconds of time padded out to two hours with flashbacks. And I think it would have worked better had it been organized a little differently. I'll give a brief example of what I'm talking about below:

p. 127 About Danny White
p. 129 Half-time '82 playoff game
p. 130 About Tony Dorsett
p. 131 Back to the '82 playoff game, at 51 seconds remaining on the clock
p. 133 About Roger Staubach
p. 138 Back to the final 51 seconds of the '82 playoff game

At that point, we've seen how the game ends and there are 100 pages to go. It's not as though we don't know how it ends (most of us) but I would have enjoyed it more if the end would have been kept for the end. The rest seemed anti-climactic.

Still, it's a great book as sports books go, and these are not generally literary masterpieces. It's readable, informative, and tells a compelling story about a momentous play in NFL history, one that does demarcate the rise of one dynasty and the fall of another, even if it is not proven that The Catch was the deciding play in that rise and fall.