15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
RICK GOLDSTEIN: "LOMBARDI BEGAN A POWERFUL, PROFANE TIRADE. IN LOUD & UGLY TERMS, HE QUESTIONED OUR MANHOOD, DESIRE & COURAGE!", August 15, 2008
This autobiography of "OLD-SCHOOL" college and NFL player and Coach Bill Curry, is a must read for every "OLD-SCHOOL" fan of football. It also provides an important link to the past for younger fans, who only know the name Vince Lombardi, because his name is emblazoned on the Super Bowl trophy. Bill's credentials include ten years in the NFL playing for multiple teams, the most impressive of them, being two world championship teams that were part of, perhaps the greatest dynasty in the history of the NFL - "LOMBARDI'S PACKER'S", and part of a third world championship team, as a member of the Baltimore Colts. He has also held multiple coaching jobs, including the head coaching position at Georgia Tech, Alabama, Kentucky, and currently is employed as the head coach of Georgia State University.
What the author has done quite uniquely... and creatively... is "wrap" his life story around the "mileposts" of ten men who had a tremendous influence on his life. Eight of these men are infamous in the mythology of college and professional football: Bobby Dodd (one of only three men to be elected to the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame as a player AND a coach), Vince Lombardi (perhaps the greatest coach in the history of professional football), Bart Starr (Hall of Fame quarterback), Willie Davis (Hall of Fame defensive end), Ray Nitschke (Hall of Fame linebacker... and perhaps one of the most intimidating and feared players in NFL history), Don Shula (winningest coach in NFL history and of course in the Hall of Fame), Johnny Unitas (Hall of Fame quarterback), Bubba Smith (former massive NFL defensive end)... and two others... not in the aforementioned, rarefied air of athletic pantheon... but still an important part of the author's life and success. Bill Badgett his high school football coach, who was the first coach that pushed the pre-pubescent youngster on to the football field, despite the fact that the author's youthful dream, was of pitching for the New York Yankees. Coach Badgett dragged... shoved... and led... a young Curry to find the winner within... which could only be found... by facing oneself... at the inner wall that a young boy had never faced before. It was the first time that Curry's inner "soul", had ever been to the crossroads of physical and mental exhaustion... one road was called "quit"... the other road was called becoming a "man"... and Coach Badgett was instrumental in forging the youngster that would become a man. There is also a chapter on friend and author George Plimpton... and a final short homage to his "twelfth man" and Father.
There are numerous elements that contribute to the "beauty" of this book to the eyes of a sports fan. The writing is always honest and direct, even when the author knows the truth isn't pretty... especially in the harsh light of modern days. When the author recounts his teenage years in 1950's Georgia, he doesn't shy away from the ugly racism that existed in those days. It's a minor epiphany, when his dream of playing football for the greatest team on earth, the Green Bay Packers in 1965, when they were about to win - *THREE-STRAIGHT-WORLD-CHAMPIONSHIPS* - and he first stepped into the huddle... he realized this was the first huddle he'd ever been part of, that wasn't "all-white."
** AND THEN... THERE WAS... VINCE LOMBARDI!!! **
Vince Lombardi has been quoted through the annals of football... more than any coach in history... posthumously he has had the greatest trophy in the entire world of football named after him... calendar's with his quotes are sold everywhere... motivational books with his quotes are still top sellers today... TV commercials with his image and voice are everywhere... and any true football fan can never get enough... as well as Fortune 500 executives. One of the greatest gifts this book provides to the reader, is the up close and personal... no holds barred... interaction between Bill Curry and "The-Great-Lombardi"... and all of it isn't pretty. The quotes that you live for abound... such as...
"THE SWEEPS OUR BASIC PLAY. EVERYBODY KNOWS IT. EVERYBODY EXPECTS IT. EVERYBODY THINKS THEY CAN DEFEND AGAINST IT. TO PROVE THEM WRONG, WE HAVE TO EXECUTE... **PERFECTLY!**
"YOUR RELIGION, YOUR FAMILY, AND THE GREEN BAY PACKERS WILL BE YOUR PRIORITIES AS LONG AS YOU ARE HERE! AND IN THAT ORDER!"
"I WILL PUT THE FEAR OF G-D IN YOU! I WILL MAKE YOU AFRAID OF ME! I WILL USE FEAR TO GET WHAT I WANT FROM YOU! I WILL MAKE YOU INTO A FOOTBALL PLAYER!"
"YOU HAVE TO HATE YOUR OPPONENTS! HATE THEM! SHOW NO MERCY! HELL!... HERE WE ARE WITH THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO BE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD, AND YOU DON'T CARE ENOUGH TO LEARN THE AUDIBLES OR STEP WITH THE RIGHT FOOT. YOU LOOK LIKE A BUNCH OF CATTLE OUT "HEAH"! YOU DON'T HATE ENOUGH!"
"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, GENTLEMEN! IF YOU DON'T SHOW ME BY THURSDAY THAT YOU HATE THE COLTS TO MY SATISFACTION, I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL HATE ME SO MUCH BY SUNDAY YOU WILL WANT TO KILL THOSE OTHER GUYS ACROSS FROM YOU"
The rookie Bill Curry quickly surmised: "This was not Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech football was a petting zoo. THIS WAS THE JUNGLE!"
This book is an opportunity for a current, living and breathing, football fan, to go back in time to when football was still football... and the quarterback didn't wear a dress! The author writes in such a style that you won't want to put this gem down.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An enjoyable window into the past, November 19, 2008
In reading Bill Curry's book, you not only have the chance to get a glimpse at the football legends he played for and with, you learn a lot about the men they were behind their public personas. Whether he intended it or not, you also learn about Bill Curry. He and they were not gods, but men, and he doesn't make them or himself perfect in the book.
For me, the most moving point in the book is when he learns he has put off setting things straight with his former teammate, Ray Nitschke, too long, when he reads of Nitschke's death. His simple statement, "I am so sorry," says more than paragraphs could.
This book is a great read for any football fan and anyone who wants to learn about leadership and character, both from the men he writes about and from Bill Curry himself.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
hard to put down, October 5, 2008
Hard to put down, and not just because it's well written. If you're old enough to remember the players and coaches in this book, you probably need the wonderfully readable typeface and font seen here. Would that more publishers were as sensitive to boomer eyestrain. Thank you, ESPN Books!
Along with Mark Bowden's "The Best Game Ever", Bill Curry's "Ten Men..." reminds us of an era when football players came from everyday life. Both offer terrific snapshots of Vince Lombardi and John Unitas, and of an era fondly remembered.
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