Glory for Sale: Fans, Dollars and the New NFL [Paperback]

Jon Morgan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997

Go behind-the-scenes of the most surprising and controversial franchise move in NFL history!

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Morgan, a sports business writer for the Baltimore Sun, believes the major factor behind the flight of professional football franchises from city to city is stadium economics. Items such as skyboxes, retractable roofs, concession contracts, and scoreboard advertising have replaced fan allegiance and municipal loyalty as the deciding issues in the relocation of teams. To illustrate his case, he chronicles in dollar-by-dollar detail the recent move of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, an event determined in the end by the highest bidder. Like the league he targets, this study is more business than sport and thus is likely to frustrate traditional fans who cringe at the commingling of the two. Though the message he delivers may be depressing, it is also necessary for developing an understanding of today's NFL. For comprehensive collections.?William H. Hoffman, Ft. Myers-Lee Cty. P.L., Fla.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bancroft Pr; 1 edition (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096312465X
• ISBN-13: 978-0963124654
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #689,217 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Praise for "Glory for Sale", January 23, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glory for Sale: Fans, Dollars and the New NFL (Paperback)

If you have any interest in sports, you have to read Glory for Sale. Jon Morgan has written a fascinating and carefully crafted book about the inner workings of professional sports. Few of us have ever been privy to the secret meetings, the betrayal, the calculated lies, and the greed at work whenever a professional sports franchise tears free from a city. This book is more than the tale of Art Modell's apostasy, it is the frightening blueprint for a society whose religion sports is founded on a single commandment: Thou shalt win. -- Tim Green, author of The Dark Side of the Game and sports commentator for ABC's "Good Morning America," "NFL on Fox," and NPR's "Morning Edition

Glory for Sale is a fascinating read. Morgan manages to penetrate the personalities and structures of the NFL in a lucid and compelling fashion while providing a probing and critical analysis of city stadium subsidies, franchise movements and the business of football. -- Andrew Zimbalist, author of Baseball & Billions: A Probing Look Inside the Big Business of Our National Pastime and co-author of Sports Jobs and Tax: Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Facilities

. . . a detailed, engrossing and fast-paced account of am increasingly volatile aspect of sports. -- Bortz & Co., Sports and Media Consultants

Team relocation is a controversial and complex issue that hotly divides avid sports fans. Jon Morgan's Glory for Sale insightfully lays out the importance of stadium economics in building a competitive team, and it clearly, easily explains why teams move. It is one of the best analyses I've read. --Paul J. Much, Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin (financial advisor on sports economics to teams, leagues, stadiums, and governmental agencies)

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Browns Fan, November 5, 2009

By 

Browns Fan (Anaheim, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Glory for Sale: Fans, Dollars and the New NFL (Paperback)

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, the first time and am re-reading it again, now. Seems to be a very thorough, researched and un-biased account of what happened to two of the most storied franchises in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Colts. Politics, greed, money and moronic owners who used the passions of both cities NFL fan bases to coerce their way into a new stadium and big money, despite the thousands of lives affected by the moves. The NFL is no longer a friend of the fans, it's a venue for egos.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tale of Two Cities; NFL-style!!!, November 19, 1998

By 

Ed Bell ([e-mail]) (Wilkes-Barre, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glory for Sale: Fans, Dollars and the New NFL (Paperback)

Morgan goes through excruciating detail as to how the cities of Cleveland and Baltimore will now be forever conjoined. The book gives the reader a true perspective of the shenanigans by owners who are looking for the "easy money" of professional sports and how they will stoop to breaking the hearts of thousands of loyal fans just to fatten their wallets. Not only does it cut to the quick about the move of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore; it also touches off on that fateful winter's night when Bob Irsay packed the beloved Colts onto the Mayflower trucks and stole away the heart of a city. A great read for Clevelanders and Baltimoreans alike; both of which can take small consolation that the heartbreaks of '84 and '95 will finally be resolved when the Browns return next August.