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Bowls, Polls, and Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy that Reign Over College Football Paperback – August 1, 2008

by Stewart Mandel (Author)

29

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SI.com ""College Football Mailbag"" author Stewart Mandel tackles the ten issues that confound college football fans--with a new chapter on the 2007 season
""An intricate tour through the ills of the college football world (and there are many), but still manages to take on a breezy, airy tone.""
----The Quad, NYTimes.com
""Stewart Mandel writes about college football's major controversies with a wit and depth of knowledge that will impress even the most obsessed fans. And because he's both fair and objective, there is something in this book to infuriate nearly everyone.""
----Warren St. John, author of the bestselling Rammer JammerYellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania
""In a book dripping with sarcasm, Stewart Mandel plays tour guide on an interesting ride through the college football nuthouse.""
----Bruce Feldman, author of Meat Market and senior writer for ESPN the Magazine
""If you're confused by the world of college football, particularly the BCS and how the present polls are conducted, then I will recommend to you Bowls, Polls & Tattered Souls.""
----Football Outsiders
""Presents history and insights on all aspects of the sport, from recruiting to the bowl system to why certain teams play in certain conferences. A great read for fans with thirty days or thirty years of experience.""
----Orlando Sentinel
If your heart beats faster on Saturday afternoons as your team takes the field, this book will give you new insight into the fanaticism and chaos that characterize college football today. Stewart Mandel takes a provocative, hard-hitting look at the hot-button issues: the controversial BCS; the polls and their largely arbitrary rankings; the ego-inflating recruiting craze; cheating and recent scandals; the huge pressures and salaries heaped on coaches; the Heisman hype-fest; the NFL draft; the clunky conference expansions; privileged Notre Dame, college football's greatest juggernaut; and the proliferation of bowl games. You'll get behind-the-scenes insights on how the issues evolved and why some are almost impossible to resolve in a book that's as entertaining, passionate, and thought-provoking as the game itself.

Print length

284 pages
Language

English
Publication date

August 1, 2008
Dimensions

5.72 x 0.8 x 8.16 inches
ISBN-10

0470373555
ISBN-13

978-0470373552
See all details

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

SI.com ""College Football Mailbag"" author Stewart Mandel tackles the ten issues that confound college football fans with a new chapter on the 2007 season

""An intricate tour through the ills of the college football world (and there are many), but still manages to take on a breezy, airy tone.""
The Quad, NYTimes.com

""Stewart Mandel writes about college football's major controversies with a wit and depth of knowledge that will impress even the most obsessed fans. And because he's both fair and objective, there is something in this book to infuriate nearly everyone.""
Warren St. John, author of the bestselling Rammer JammerYellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania

""In a book dripping with sarcasm, Stewart Mandel plays tour guide on an interesting ride through the college football nuthouse.""
Bruce Feldman, author of Meat Market and senior writer for ESPN the Magazine

""If you're confused by the world of college football, particularly the BCS and how the present polls are conducted, then I will recommend to you Bowls, Polls & Tattered Souls.""
Football Outsiders

""Presents history and insights on all aspects of the sport, from recruiting to the bowl system to why certain teams play in certain conferences. A great read for fans with thirty days or thirty years of experience.""
Orlando Sentinel

If your heart beats faster on Saturday afternoons as your team takes the field, this book will give you new insight into the fanaticism and chaos that characterize college football today. Stewart Mandel takes a provocative, hard-hitting look at the hot-button issues: the controversial BCS; the polls and their largely arbitrary rankings; the ego-inflating recruiting craze; cheating and recent scandals; the huge pressures and salaries heaped on coaches; the Heisman hype-fest; the NFL draft; the clunky conference expansions; privileged Notre Dame, college football's greatest juggernaut; and the proliferation of bowl games. You'll get behind-the-scenes insights on how the issues evolved and why some are almost impossible to resolve in a book that's as entertaining, passionate, and thought-provoking as the game itself.

About the Author

Stewart Mandel is a columnist for ""Sports Illustrated"" and the author of SI.com's highly popular ""College Football Mailbag."" He appears frequently on sports radio and television shows.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Trade Paper Press; Revised ed. edition (August 1, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 284 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0470373555
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0470373552
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.72 x 0.8 x 8.16 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,102,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5,619 in Football (Books)

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Arnav Desai

Good introductry book

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2009

Verified Purchase

I am a foreigner to the sport of Football but became a fan at my College when I was doing my grad studies. I used to read a lot of websites to keep up with what was happening in the world of College Football & the authors weekly column on SI.com is one of my favorites. However, after seeing his plugs one too many times in the Mailbag about this book I decided to buy it during the off season.

I have to be honest that it really helped me clear up some of the reasons on why the college football world is the way it is. To an outsider a lot of stuff in College Football just does not make sense especially a lack of playoff. [Personally, I dont care about a playoff cause my team does not figure in National Championship talks]

Anyway to cut a long story short, to someone new to the world of college football this serves as a good starting point in describing the history and traditions of the sport. It is written in a humorous & entertaining manner which is characteristic of the author in his Mailbag column on SI.com.

One person found this helpful

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Matthew Morine

A Little Outdated, but a Great Read

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2010

Verified Purchase

This was another book I read for fun. Everyone needs some of these titles, and it was read a little after college football season started. It just made the love for college ball even greater. The book is really good, though a little outdated, but most of the material is still relevant. It is interesting to see some of the predictions or the future not play out as the author describes. He states that Charley Weiss is going to bring the glory back to Notre Dome. As you all know, that was not the case. He talks about the BCS, and the alignment of the divisions, and even states that he did not see any more realignment happening in the near future. Once again, he was dead wrong as this summer, it seemed everything blow up again. The chapter about recruiting was great, as this is one of the areas I am most interested in, and his talk about the Heisman award was interesting. He mentioned the ESPN affect which robbed Peyton Manning of the award. If you love college ball, this is a fun read, and it is interesting after a few years to see how much things have changed, and how little we know about the shifting forces in this game. Great reading for relaxation.

One person found this helpful

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dougbq

Best explanation of college football.

Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2008

Verified Purchase

I read Stewart Mandel's stuff in Sports Illustrated. I like his take on college football. When he wrote this book, I knew that I had to have it. I was not disappointed.

He tackles all the weirdness that is college football. He makes as much sense of the BCS as a person can. He writes about rankings. He tells stories about the great programs and even delves a little bit into history.

All college football fans like to this that they are knowledgeable. Few of us are as knowledgeable as Stewart Mandel. After reading his book, I am a little closer.

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2007

Verified Purchase

This book is for the true college football fan.It is a rehash into the deeper issues that pertain to this sport. For someone not familiar with the recent bowl situations, the history of the game, or the nuances of college sports, i would not highly recommend this book. It can get a little tedious with numbers and poll rankings, but more than makes up with that with the insightful observations of the author.Mr.Mandel is an excellent journalist who has a very sarcastic tone, and doesn't take himself too seriously. Especially worthwhile were the stories pertaining to the holier-than-thou Notre Dame football factory. It was a pleasure to read an honest appraisal of the college sports climate from an astute observer.

2 people found this helpful

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Jon O

College football enthusiast learns a lot!

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2010

Verified Purchase

I have followed college football for about 10 years now, and enjoy watching it more than any other sports. This was recommended reading for one of my college courses, so I decided to pick it up from Amazon.com. I was surprised at how much I didn't know in regards to college football history, the BCS, and even Notre Dame (there was a chapter dedicated to them). Stewart Mandel is a very skilled writer, and makes this book a breeze to read through. I would definitely recommend this to an advocate of NCAA Football

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2014

Verified Purchase

Highly dated now and the author comes off as ridiculous at times making absolute statements that we all believed at the time but have now been proven completely false. Like the Big 10 and PAC 10 were the stabilizing forces that were going to prevent any more serious expansion from occurring.

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bioform01

Awesome read! Every chapter keeps you smiling.

Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2011

Verified Purchase

This book was great fun. Granted, I'm a fan of Mandel's SI mailbag but every chapter was a great snapshot on the current landscape of college football. This is a must read for any college football fan. The book will keep you laughing and nodding your head in agreement. Hope there is more to come.

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Joseph H. Brown

A must-read for all fans of college football, and its detractors as well.

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2008

Verified Purchase

Stewart Mandel draws on his many years of covering college football and lays out all of the sport's flaws as well as why it continues to endear so many of us Saturday after Saturday. His chapters on proliferation bowl games and the inact science of the NFL draft are classics. And it's fun reading.

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Top reviews from other countries

Mr. Matthew Sheen

Insightful, in-depth, riveting, appealing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 22, 2009

Verified Purchase

I bought this book seeking a better understanding of a sport i love and i have been left completely satisfied. This book is clever, witty, insightful, in-depth and at times shocking. Even when broaching the most difficult of subjects, Steve Mandel's writing remains lighthearted and gripping.

If you want to know about any aspect of college football read this book!!!

I am a massive American football fan but having been born and raised in England i had no concept of college gridiron. There just isn't anything comparable in the UK to the recruitment of high school athletes, the treatment of those young athletes as they progress through their education at their "chosen" (out of the colleges who offered a scholarship) institution or the transition from student athlete to fully fledged professional through.
Even the most difficult subjects such as the BCS (Bowl Championship Series). The arbitary way of ranking the 160 or so college football teams. Is broached with insight and humour.

This book explains such matters in a way that is simplistic enough for those. Like me. Who know little about college football but in-depth enough so even the most avid of college football fans could learn something about their beloved sport.

If only this book could be updated on an annual basis i would be content.

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