Customer Reviews

Last Call: Memoirs of an NFL Referee

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

 

 

Jerry Markbreit is not only a veteran NFL official but an insightful author who knows how to make the game (and the rules) a wonderful read. So many "bios" are filled with fluff, but this one tells grat stories, the kind you wish you'd hear from the so-calld expert talking heads on TV. I loved this book as much as his first one, which is now rightfully a collctor's item. Anyone who considers themselves and NFL fan will enjoy this book as well as his feature "Ask Jerry Markbreit" on the Chicago Tribune's web site...Great stuf. Thank you, Mr. Markbreit.

At one point in Markbreit's book, he mentions being surprised when someone recognized him on the street. This shocked me. Does he not know he's the best ref in the league?

I remember my dad first learning to recognize Markbreit (though at that time we thought his name was Markwright), and knowing that if he was officiating the game, the calls would be accurate and fair. In this book, you find out why - because he cared deeply about learning his job and performing at the absolute top level. As my dad says, "Quality of officiating usually exceeds quality of play" - this in response to the occasional bad call by a well-meaning official. When Markbreit was in charge, the truth was that "quality of officiating ALWAYS exceeds quality of play".

This book takes you through Markbreit's entire career as a ref, beginning with covering intramural football at his college, and through the NFL and multiple Super Bowls. You'll also learn the basics about how officating works, how the NFL works to ensure accurate, consistent officiating (hint: if you saw an error on TV Sunday, they'll see it on tape on Monday), and how Markbreit made it to the top of his field.

If you're a Markbreit fan, this is probably already on your bookshelf. If you're a football fan at all, and have ever even thought about what it takes to ref an NFL game, this book is for you.

Markbreit is a five-star ref. This is a four-star book for the kinds of things that make a co-written autobiography not five-star fare. It's no worse than any other co-written autobiography, and better than most, but not quite five-star material. Still, the book is excellent and will be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates the game.

This book picks up where "Born to Referee" left off. If you are a fan of NFL football (especially football from the 70s, 80s, and 90s) you MUST have this book!

If you are a football official at any level, this book belongs on the night stand right next to the rule book!!

THIS BOOK BY JERRY MARKBREIT FORMER NFL REFEREE WILL HOLD YOUR INTEREST FROM COVER TO COVER. HE TELLS US OF SOME OF THE GAMES HE HASBEEN IN ALONG WITH MANY OTHER INTERESTING TIDBITS. SOME OF WHICH ARE GAME PREPARATION, HOW TO WEAR THE UNIFORM, OFF SEASON TRAINING AND MANY MANY MORE. HE ALSO HAS SOME STORIES ABOUT WOODY HAYES, HOWIE LONG AND MANY MORE. ANOTHER THING I LIKED ABOUT THIS WAS THAT JERRY COULD ALSO POKE FUN AT HIMSELF ALONG THE WAY. HIS USE OF JEWISH WORDS IS ALSO AMUSING ALONG WITH THE STORY OF HIS FAMOUS COIN FLIP AT THE SUPER BOWL. ALL IN ALL THIS IS A GREAT READ AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

I'm not crazy about most Pro Ref's in any sport but Jerry Markbreit is one of the few that I always respected the way He called a game.nothing out of the ordinary when He was ref of a Game or a big game.I enjoyed the way He takes you too the field.

While parts of this book are fun and entertaining (eg: recalling Ben Dreith's "giving him the business" call), my overall reaction to this book was annoyance at Markbreit's mammoth ego. Yeah, you gotta have self-confidence to be an NFL ref (and Markbreit was one of the best ever). But the book is really just a long string of anecdotes in which Markbreit tells you how this scrappy undersize guy overcame the odds thru his strength of will. And it gets old quick, which is why I give it 3 stars.
Football fans of the same era would be much happier reading John Madden's "Hey, wait a minute (I wrote a book)!" which if full of the happy fun stuff that made Madden famous.

You may like it but it wasn't for me. I wanted to know more about the inside game information and it's players. Good book if all you wanted to know about was Jerry and understand all the Jewish slang (which is provided in the back of the book if you want to keep flipping back and forth 50 times). Like I said, may be a good book for you but not if you're looking for things you've always wandered about that you thought you wouldn't ever know. Earl Strom's book would do that for you. This is more "all about Jerry" which....it is a memoir but I got terribly bored with him tooting his own horn so often in this book.

The ref could have put in more interesting stories. I did watch him referee many National football games and thought he did a good job. But the book was boring! He could have gotten a better ghost writer to liven it up. He really is not a very interesting person. Not worth the price I paid. Earl Strom, a former NBA ref who passed away years ago had a book that was twice as good as this one.