Customer Reviews

Rose Bowl Dreams: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Football

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Although football is a thread in this story, it's really somewhat of a prop for a much bigger story about faith and family. Even though I am a card-carrying member of the orangeblood "Cult of '69," what moved me in Rose Bowl Dreams and kept me reading are the stories of grandparents, parents, children, and the perfect spouse bound up in a tale about a growing faith.

Where else can you mix Shakespeare and football, Bloody Caesars and longnecks, playbooks and hymnals? Adam Jones weaves a lyrical tapestry out of what is essentially many large men fighting over a pigskin, and you don't even notice when the action moves from the kitchen to the stadium to the church and back again. That God is a pretty funny guy, too.

Whether or not you come from a family of fans steeped in the often curious traditions of Texas (the state not the Team) football, which I don't, or whether or not you love college football with a passion that passes all understanding, which I don't, or whether or not you've buried your mother, which I haven't, or whether or not you can explain, must less interpret the actions of any number of college football coaches, which I can't, you need to READ THIS BOOK. Because, simply put, if you like great writing, which I do, and if you love books that are a joy to read because reading brings you joy, which I do because it does, then this book is for you. By way of full disclosure, Adam Jones is a friend, a great guy to break bread with, a hell of a lot of fun to swap stories with, and he's also managed to marry pretty well and produce some great kids. That's real nice and all, but this book goes way beyond nice. How many authors can write, and not offend "he fit in like a Hasidic Jew at a Southern Baptist Convention"? Jones pulls that one off, and many, many more. If you love football or you love to read, you need to read Rose Bowl Dreams.

I'm a Texan. I'm a Longhorn. I love the culture of both, but I'm not a rabid football fan as we Texans are expected to be. If you are, you will definitely love this book. If you aren't, don't pass it up just for that reason.

Jones uses football as a framework for the passage of time and a touchstone for important events in his life. He clearly loves the game, but his book is about so much more than that. It's about growing up, living in Texas, the extraordinary women and men in his family who shaped the man he has become, the relationship between his faith and reality, the power of friends and the effect that all of these things had on his perspective upon the birth of his children.

Jones is an insightful writer whose humor reflects his intelligence and compassion. You can just tell he's a really good guy, and it's a pleasure to read his memoir and get to know him. I look forward to his next book!

Jones knows college football and writes it all so vividly you want to jump inside the book. It's like Jones plugs college football into life and it's in HD. My wife reads me Adam's "Top Ten" college football matchups and each week we'd cry with laughter. Rose Bowl Dreams is even better.

Adam Jones writes from his heart about a family, a hometown, a state and a football team that he has loved his entire life, and he does it with candor, compassion and a whip smart sense of timing and humor. His is a life well lived and he has no difficulty knowing Who to thank, and while I am on that subject, we can all thank God for this writer's unqualified talent. You do not have to be a Longhorn junkie to appreciate this book: anyone who has ever marked the Fall by Saturdays has a memorable read in store for him regardless of what conference he calls home. Adam Jones writes about family and football as well as Rick Bragg ever has, but without the requisite "writer's chip" on his shoulder, and in the doing he shows that a grateful man can definitely go home again.

Rose Bowl Dreams is the story of a man, his love for football and his life growing up in Texas. More specifically, it's the story of a man and his love for the Texas Long Horns football team. Not only does Adam Jones love football, he comes from a family that all loves football.

He loves football so much that he intertwines it with his faith in God. Throughout the story, you will see funny conversations with God about football. Rose Bowl Dreams is not only a story about football, it's a story about life, friends, family and faith and how they relate to football.

Adam Jones has a wonderful writing style that will keep you smiling throughout the book. The memories he shares bring this book to life even for someone who isn't a football fan. For someone who is a football fan, this book is everything you'd want.

I jokingly tell my friends I am the product of a mixed marriage. My mother was a Texas Longhorns fan through and through...my father bled crimson for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Saturday afternoons could be a raucous affair if the two teams were playing and my parents had not managed to get tickets to the game. The eight siblings went on to cheer for various colleges...but always kept a soft spot for Texas.

Adam Jones is the writer behind the popular blog, The Truth About College Football. He was raised in west Texas and his whole family followed football. From a grandfather who coached, to his mother whose cheers could be heard above the crowds, Adam Jones was raised to follow football. Every fall the new football season would mark the true beginning of a new year. Every year the loyal Texas fans would be certain that THIS would be the year, that the coaching, or personal changes, or new recruits or whatever would be the answer and the Longhorns would once again be restored to a National Championship. Any Longhorn fan, any college football fan will enjoy the look back at the greats and the near greats (Earl Campbell and James Street my personal favorites).

Rose Bowl Dreams, A Memoir of Faith , Family and Football is as much about the traditions and hopes that bind a family as it is the game of football. The writing is a reader's delight...written with a keen eye for football and everyday life, this book is well researched (or rather well lived) and a delight to read. The Faith mentioned in the title is not only faith in the possibility that your team would once again prevail; it was the bedrock faith that bound families and kept them on the right path. Reading this returned me to my teenage years in Texas when the fall air was crisp and cool and the band was playing and we waited with growing excitement to see if OUR team would win. Football is the touchstone and one of the ties that bind.

The way Adam describes his life growing up around football could be any one of our stories. I related to many stories he told, and many others brought back fond memories. This is truly a great, well written book that everyone can enjoy. His allegiance to Texas is apparent (just like mine) and this is a must have for all University of Texas students/alumni/fans, but the beauty of the book lies in Adams ability to convey the message of how intertwined football, life, and faith can become to anyone.

Adam Jones can write, and he has had a life worth writing about. The promised intertwining of faith, family, and football works, as the book left me, in turn, contemplating, crying, and cheering. Rose Bowl Dreams is definitely worth skipping a Saturday afternoon of College Football to read.