Customer Reviews

Inside the Helmet: My Life as a Sunday Afternoon Warrior

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is for those football fans, especially Giants fans, that want to read what a star football player thinks and what he goes through. It's not a book that you should expect to break any new ground in inside sports writing (like Jim Bouton's Ball Four), or have tremendous insights that knock you off the couch. It shouldn't be. I wanted to read this book because I wanted to know what goes through a football player's mind. All we see and read about in sports is through the eyes of the media. Even if the thoughts Strahan talks about are obvious or sometimes embellished, its nice to know that that is what Strahan really thinks and goes through. I like how each chapter clearly discusses an aspect of his football life, ... like all the things they worry about, all the boring things they go through, all the short and long term health effects, the lack of privacy, the lack of independence, the rookie life, the emotional ups and downs of wins and losses. It was also interesting to read about his thoughs on other players and the player relationships. Not every chapter is great, but I think it's to show that football life is not so glamorous. The chapter on what players go through with the football playbook might be boring, but it's precisely the point.

What I took from this book was that I would never want to be a football player. To go through everything he goes through for the money, the three hours on Sunday and the chance for a ring? No thanks. As I am reading this book while the Giants are losing to Dallas, I can't help but think that Strahan knows he is on the doorsteps of retirement, with mixed feelings.

Read the book for what it's for, a fun read about life in football from a football player's mind. If you go in like that, you'll enjoy the book!

(Background: I'm a huge Giants fan, a Strahan fan, and I usually don't read sports books. But after reading this book, I will definitely be reading more sports books)

He gets into great detail when explaining the ups and downs of the game, personal life, and the lifestyle of an NFL athlete.

Wow this guy was an all pro for the SuperBowl champ Giants for years.Great story if you're a New York Giants fan.Love football.?? Love New York, you'll love this book.

This is a really interesting and exciting book. The audience for this book is people who admire the sport of football and wish to learn more about what goes on in the National Football League. I am personally a die-hard Giants fan and Michael Strahan my favorite player of all time, so I highly enjoyed reading this book. This book talks about what goes on in the NFL on and off the field. Most of this book is in Michael Strahan's perspective of issues between the coaches and players and sometimes the grudges between two or more players. He also talks about what happens during a game and what he thinks during a game. There are many things that happen in the NFL that are surprising, and this book explains what happens. I highly recommend this book if you like football and you dream of being in the NFL.

Reasonably well done with not much actual content! Some enlightening viewpoints for a casual observer, but not much "meat" for a real hard-core football fan.

As my title states, there are good and bad parts of this book, and some that to me go past bad to ugly. Let me get to what is to me, the biggest affront in this book. I am a sports fanatic as well as a Viet Nam era veteran, and I believe I speak for a high percentage of veterans when I say: I find it offensive when athletes "over-use" war analogies in describing their job as athletes. As much as I love sports, and played and competed my whole life; in no way does a ball game compare to real war. Don't get me wrong, I have accepted "he's a warrior", or "it's a battle out there." But when Michael states on page 3: "IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE THE MOMENT BEFORE WE ARE ABOUT TO STRAP IT UP, ASK A SOLDIER WHAT HE FEELS THE MOMENT BEFORE HE KNOWS GUNFIRE IS ABOUT TO ERUPT. HOW DO YOU CONTAIN YOURSELF?" That is an insult to every veteran who has ever served, and every active duty service man and woman in a war zone today!

Now to some good: Strahan isn't afraid to talk straight from his gut about opposing players and teammates. He pulls no punches in describing his blow up with teammates Tiki Barber and Plaxico Burress, with or without a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his mouth. He openly lists his "all-time-cheap-shotters", John Runyan, Steve Wisniewski, Jumbo Elliott, Erik Williams and Kevin Gogan.

Some bad: Fans throughout the world are tired of players saying "it's all about the rings", and then signing with the team that offers the most money, so when Michael says things such as: "Today's player has the money to be more vocal. When I first came into the league, when a coach said something, you swallowed it. But as free agency swept through and changed our game, players attitudes changed." (Note: That's exactly what every red-blooded American sports fan says with disgust from coast to coast!) "Today's player doesn't do much without knowing what kind of security he has. (He) knew the salary-cap ramifications of being cut. If a guy has a cap hit that makes it impossible to cut him, what's a coach going to do to him." And my favorite "spoiled-quote" regarding today's players is: "We are a conglomeration of six-, seven- and eight-figure corporations."

In summary, there are some good tid-bits for the true fan, such as what really happens "under the pile", but there are two chapters, that to get through without falling asleep, you need to be either a division one or professional coach: Chapter 12 "Chess On The Gridiron" and Chapter 14 "Meetings, Monotony, Playbooks and How To Sleep Through It All." (He definitely proves his point in chapter 14!)

I really enjoyed this book. Strahan was very honest throughout the whole book as he told about what life is like as a professional football player. Some parts were stunning while other parts were hilarious. If you're a football fan, especially a fan of Michael Strahan, you will enjoy this book.

Its a very revealing book. Gave interesting insight into the life of a football player

After reading this book, I feel like an insider. The behind-the-scenes action will simply amaze you. Strayhan has provided a fascinating peak into this sport/industry, one that is sure to earn him grief on and off the field.

This book took several weeks to arrive. I wasn't able to locate the book in area book stores, which was why I chose to order it through amazon. By the time the book arrived I had found it at all the area book stores and could have saved money on shipping. Very disappointing.