Customer Reviews

Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot: The Life and Times of a Sportscaster Dad

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I really enjoy listening to Mike Greenberg on the radio and looked forward to reading this book quite a bit. I enjoyed it thoroughly, though it was not exactly what I expected.

The book consists of journal entries he wrote while struggling through some difficult times in his life, mostly revolving around his wife and children. He is very open about his personal life and his feelings about the people that populate it. I found myself often thinking, "He's going to get in trouble when his wife/aunt/neighbor reads this." And I can't help wondering if he did!

This book, I think, is more geared toward parents-to-be and married couples than to hard-core sports fans. There is some discussion of sports, but it is more in the sense of how it affects his personal life. Still, the book is entertaining, Greenberg writes well, and I had a hard time putting it down.

This is a good read for "Mike and Mike" fans, but be prepared to learn a lot more about Greeny's wife and kids than about his radio show and Golic.

As an avid sports fan that listens to Mike & Mike show, I found myself hooked on the witty banter both bring to the radio. I found myself agreeing with Greeny on many different issues but also was happy to have someone representing the 'every man' point of view in dealing with sports. Greeny is not the former player turned sportscaster and that was something most listeners could relate to. It was with these thougths in mind that I looked forward to reading his new book. This is not the Mike Greenberg I know...

Whomever came up with the notion that publishing a bunch of journal postings was a good idea should be fired on the spot. Everything was loosely tied together and most were just ramblings of a man trying to come to grips with his priviledged life. The readers should feel sorry for you because your nanny/maid took the same week off as your wife??!! Suck it up and change a freakin' diaper!

This book is not for fans of the Mike & Mike show, it will ruin the broadcast. Leave the book on the shelf and DO NOT BUY IT FOR THE SPORTS DAD ON FATHER'S DAY. While they can get through it quickly enough, they'll be worse off having read it.

I truly wish I had not read this book. I used to love "Mike and Mike in the Morning," but my view of Greenberg has been so damaged by this superficial, shallow, clueless piece of garbage that I have found myself unable to stomach listening to him anymore.

Greenberg obviously plays up the apparently oxymoronic "metrosexual sportscaster" angle, setting a defensive tone early regarding his abilities to discuss sports despite having fabulous taste in clothing, travel, and fine dining. Fine, this is a play on his on-air persona, no problem.

But when he tries to become "everyman," Greenberg demonstrates that he is as out of touch with the common populace as the athletes he covers are (or as Paris Hilton is, hence the title of this review). This is also why his Seinfeldian approach fails: Seinfeld found the common irritants we all face, whereas Greenberg complains that his wife left him alone for a week to raise his children...with their nanny. Excuse me? Are we supposed to chuckle knowingly that he now has to parent two small children with professional assistance? Sorry Greenberg, most of us would actually be single parents in that situation, not pretending. Similarly, he tells a "funny story" about his son's first word being a curse, but it is set up by sharing that this happened in Aspen, in a chalet with cathedral ceilings and chandeliers ("How do they change the lightbulbs in those things" he wonders increduously, as we all do when vacationing in Aspen in gorgeous chalets). Oh, and what used to be six people is now "three couples, three nannies, and seven children." This kind of unnecessary, extraneous detail--which is prevalent throughout the book--reinforces how different he is from me, how unrelatable his experiences are to mine, and breaks any sense of community that good writers are able to develop. For example, he also repeatedly discusses his neighbors--billionaires who throw lavish parties, give him cases of his favorite Vodka, and fly him to Florida in a private jet. Greenberg shares that, if given the option, there is no better way to fly than on a private jet. Thanks for the tip, Greeny, I'll get right on that.

Coupled with his repeated references to $100 ties, Prada backpacks, and expensive clothing, Greenberg comes off as an arrogant, superficial, spoiled little rich brat. His obvious lack of appreciation for what he has, coupled with his assumption that he has anything of relevance to teach a larger audience about parenting ("You cannot get snot off a cashmere sweater" as but one example), makes me view him as completely undeserving of his success and not wanting to contribute to it in anyway. You think your life is hard because your daughter threw up on the tile floor in your spacious kitchen? Try wondering whether you'll have money to pay your bills next month. THAT'S stress.

The title of his book references his belief that ALL women think their husbands are idiots; it's his grand insight into relationships that I guess is supposed to convince us he is thoughtful and has some depth of character. Sorry Greenberg, most women I know--including my wife--have respect for their husbands. Your wife thinks you're an idiot because you are one.

Just like Paris Hilton.

I enjoy the Mike & Mike show and expected to be at least amused by Greenberg's book. Unfortunately for me, my experience was quite the opposite. I walked away feeling annoyed and not the least bit amused. What should be the most important comment -- how well the book is written -- has hardly been mentioned. And probably with good reason: it is horribly written. Awful, really. I don't know if that's more of an indictment of his editors or him. Much as he tries to impress with his stories, he tries to impress with his diction, and it just fails. There even are instances when he's obviously using the wrong word, though it apparently was close enough for Greenberg and his editors. Relatedly, there is absolutely no connection between his premise and the text. Sure, he works in the concept of him being an idiot (as he does at every opportunity now on the show, unfortunately), but if he hadn't used the phrase, I wouldn't know what the book really was supposed to be about. It's a disjointed collection of overplayed stories that aren't even original coupled with radio segments that, having listened to the show since 2000 or so, don't seem like they happened in the way/at the time Greenberg says. It just seemed phony -- the book and, by the end, Greenberg. There's nothing really underpinning the "idiot" concept. His stories have been told by everydad in the states. Unlike other reviewers' experiences, his book has caused me to be less inclined to listen to his radio show, and that's disappointing. He used to come across as genuine, but now he's just slick. A vanilla sportscaster who grew up privileged who writes his memoirs before the age of 40 has to have some level of ego, but the book was dripping with it. Unfortunately, even his ego is boring and fake. A real disappointment.

Boring, superficial, meaningless.
That about sums this snoozer of a "book." Another ESPN media type who thinks people actually are transfixed by his life.

While I enjoy Greenberg's radio show, I was extremely disappointed in this book. Throughout the book, Greenberg relays the same banal stories he repeats ad nauseum on the radio. Unfortunately, unlike on the radio, when Mike Golic is always available to slap some sense into Greenberg, this book is purely 100% Greenberg.

I am always amazed by those people who have lived extremely privileged lives, yet try to act like they have "struggled" in life. Greenberg has had to "struggle" thru a cushy upbringing, going to exclusive schools such as Northwestern and eventually landing his gig at ESPN.

For those of you in the Chicago area, I hope that you caught Debra Pickett's article on Greenberg in the Chicago Sun-Times. While Greenberg professes to be a family man, the article notes how he spent 2-1/2 hours talking about his favorite topic, himself, while forgoing the opportunity to meet his wife and children at the pool. Keeping with his privileged existence, the pool was located at the East Bank Club in Chicago, yet another privileged club to which Greenberg belongs.

I should receive a refund for slopping thru this "book." Hopefully, this review will prevent other people from making the mistake I did. ESPN should fire this wimpy "meterosexual" for writing this book.

Mike Greenberg, half of ESPN radio's Mike and Mike in the morning, does here what he does so well every morning on the radio with his partner Mike Golic - he says what we are thinking about sports, relationships and life, BUT in a much more fully realized way than we would ever have mustered. The wit, the sarcasm, the desire to believe in sports and heroes and in Greeny's case the New York Jets is all here along with a terrific cast of characters including Mike's wife (who if this book is any indication should produce her own tome). If you are a dad, heck, if you are a parent, you'll enjoy this book. If your wife makes you help select what shoes to wear even though you haven't a clue and don't want to have a clue, this book is for you. If you love sports and find something deeply essential in what very often appears to be meaningless fun and games, this book is for you. If you listen to Greeny and Golic in the morning and find yourself coming back for more, you'll find yourself turning page after page in an all too quick sprint to the end of this book. Thanks Mike Greenberg for the book and for the daily dose of sanity.

I enjoyed this book a hell of alot more than almost anything I've read the past year, fiction or non-fiction.

The title of the book is a bit misleading. There is no overarching theme here, it is not a treatise on why Greeny's wife thinks he's an idiot. Nor is it a collection of essays. It purports to be a journal that Greenberg kept over the past few years. I'm not entirely sure if that's true, particularly because of one blurb on page 133, but it really doesn't matter.

What you basically get is a series of humorous but relevant anecdotes from Greenberg. Sometimes the topic is serious, sometimes it isn't. Sometimes the story has a point, sometimes it doesn't. But it's always written with a ton of wit and a rich personality. You never forget that this is Greenberg writing, and not some faceless author with stories to tell.

Greenberg's stories of trying to impregnate his wife, the absolute worst thing to say in a room full of women, trying to decide on a name for his first child, the staff at his favorite restaurant expressing their hatred for him, his worst fears almost being realized as his daughter is born, his deck furniture salesman being offended that "Mr. Big-Shot Sportscaster" doesn't remember him, his rationale for buying his son a giant Clifford doll, and many other stories, not all of them pleasant(the sixty-five year old Billionaire in a Speedo stands out as one of the least appealing), are sure to keep you entertained for as long as you can go without turning the last page.

Well done Greeny, my only complaint is that your book tour isn't coming to California.

Mike Greenberg hits the nail directly on the head with his book. It is a wonderful book with witty, smart and insightful passages. I laughed outloud. Every married woman should read it, as well as their husbands! Greenberg is a combination of Jon Stewart and Jerry Seinfeld. While he may be an idiot, we should all have such an idiot in our lives!

I used to listen to his show every day, but after reading the book, I can't bring myself to hear his voice... I for one was disappointed that the "book" was a compilation of his therapy journals. I had always considered Greenie a sort of 'everyman' sportscaster... a real fan with a real fan's perspective. Now, I consider him to be a self serving pompous sportscaster like the rest of them. "everyman" would never refer to himself continuously as "a little famous," and a neighbor of billionaires, and certainly would never have the unmitigated gall to compare an internet rumor about himself to the fan adulation received by Bo Jackson! If you really want to read this, get on the waiting list at your library, borrow it from a friend or at least wait until the paperback.