Bloody Sundays: Inside the Rough-and-Tumble World of the NFL (Paperback)

by Mike Freeman (Author) "When the alarm clock sounds, Cindy Gruden usually gives her husband, Jon, the turbulent and talented Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach, a shove out of..." (more)
Key Phrases: gay player, sack record, salary cap, Super Bowl, New York, Tampa Bay (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Using a structure similar to George Will's Men at Work, Freeman dedicates sections of his new book to coaches, players and executives, employing their stories as jumping off points to discuss the inner working of the NFL. Employing his insider connections and investigative journalism skills, Freeman, who covers football for the New York Times, doesn't shy away from the critical issues facing the league, such as a financial system that can leave players with little money and tenuous job security or the high-profile domestic abuse cases that have become all too common among the league's players in recent years. He explores not only the health risks to players who use their bodies as battering rams but also the health issues facing workaholic NFL coaches. Given America's obsession with celebrities' personal lives, the book's most stunning revelation comes from Steven Thompson (an alias), a gay NFL player who claims there are currently "100 to 200 gay and bisexual" players in the league. Freeman reports on all these issues with passion and compassion, almost always giving thoughtful consideration to both sides of the story while also suggesting viable solutions to the league's problems. Freeman's only fumble is his "99 Reasons Why Football Is Better Than Baseball," an indication that ubiquitous list journalism has made the jump from magazines to books. Still, Freeman's courage to tackle the sport's biggest issues and his insider's expertise make this a must read for football fanatics coast to coast.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
"A must-read for fans." (Maxim )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (October 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060739312
• ISBN-13: 978-0060739317
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #948,137 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This guy works for the New York Times?, January 24, 2005

By	D. Sandler - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Bloody Sundays: Inside the Dazzling, Rough-and-Tumble World of the NFL (Hardcover)

I bought this book hoping for a solid piece of investigative reporting regarding the most successful sports league in America, if not the world. Sadly, this book failed to live up to expectations. Parts of the book were interesting, but just about all of Freeman's pronouncements are now seriously out of date. Would anyone out there take John Gruden over Bill Belichick as coach of their football team? Freeman would. Does anyone consider the Browns to be in the top 5 of all teams in the league? Freeman also throws out serious pronouncements casually and then fails to explain. He does this with Wellington Mara, saying he is the best owner in the league. Only towards the very end of the book do we find out why.

The typographical and factual errors detract significantly from this work. As a reporter for the New York Times, how can he not possibly know where Fort Bragg is? Mike, I can tell you it ain't in Georgia. Care to guess again? Where were his editors and proofreaders? Additionally, parts of his introduction are repeated exactly word for word in other chapters, most notably the chapter on the gay player. All of this plus his atrocious grammar adds up to a book that exhibits some serious bush-league writing. It makes you wonder how this guy made it to such a prestigious newspaper such as the Times. This book leaves me scratching my head.

If that weren't enough, his last few chapters are absolutely horrendous. What was he thinking when he decided to compare football and baseball in such a juvenile way? And his list of changes he would make were he commissioner of the league are stunning in their profundity--he would welcome dogs into the press box but ban cats. Well, that is the mark of a truly great commissioner, let me tell you. His worst gaffe comes in his list of the greatest players by position. He tells you that Marshall Faulk is the best kick returner the league has ever seen. Only Faulk doesn't return kicks. But those kinds of trivialities do not matter to Freeman. Faulk is too good to be left out, so he had to include him somewhere. Such deft reasoning makes for a highly disappointing read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Big League Issues, Midget League Writing, October 5, 2004

By	doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Bloody Sundays: Inside the Dazzling, Rough-and-Tumble World of the NFL (Hardcover)

The modern NFL faces many very important issues, which are rarely covered amid the fandom and sensationalism of the mainstream sports press. Here Mike Freeman digs up some much-needed dirt on the poor mental and physical health of workaholic coaches and banged-up veteran players, racial matters and discrimination in the league, and drug use and domestic violence among trouble-prone players. Freeman also offers plenty of coverage about why the NFL is so successful, from great team owners and general managers, brilliant business practices at the league level, and many mature and charitable players. These are all things that both the fans and critics of the NFL should know more about, and Freeman is providing a valuable service by giving us both the great and not-so-great of the NFL.

Unfortunately, Freeman's writing style doesn't always measure up to the challenge, resulting in a book that often seems more like a jumble of mashed-up sports-page columns rather than the strong reporting that these subjects require. Chapters and vignettes on important issues end abruptly with few authoritative conclusions. Freeman's command of language leaves something to be desired, with unfocused run-on sentences and unimaginative word choice. Early on he criticizes the modern sports press for hyper-analyzing every single move and miniscule statistic of NFL games, but then does the same thing at several spots in the book. And the end the book deteriorates into lists of Freeman's favorite players and silly reasons why he thinks football is better than baseball. These are fan-style opinions that can be found by the thousands in chat rooms and fantasy football sites, and sadly detract from the seriousness of the issues Freeman is trying to bring to light. [~doomsdayer520~]

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not that good, September 2, 2005

By	Tijiki Mojo (Green Bay, Wisconson) - See all my reviews

At first I started reading this book and I was impressed.

I was quickly dissenchanted.

The guy spends forever talking on each individual topic, and for each topic he talks only about one player. He spends time talking about defense, but instead of actually talking about schemes, strategies, etc., he only talks about Mike Strahan. He spends about fifty pages on Mike Strahan. He also spends sixty-five pages talking about John Gruden. Because of all this, this book is already outdated. I don't really recommend it.