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God Save the Fan: How Preening Sportscasters, Athletes Who Speak in the Third Person, and the Occasional Convicted Quarterback Have Taken the Fun Out of Sports (And How We Can Get It Back) Hardcover – January 22, 2008

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Will Leitch (Author)
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Will Leitch (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars 31 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Harper (January 22, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061351784
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061351785
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,865,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFunny and accurate take on today's spoiled sports world
By Timothy R. Sullivan on April 16, 2008
Format: Hardcover
Will Leitch's book is a nice blend of laugh-out-loud satire, spoofs, and funny truth in the ridiculous, over-priced, ego-maniacal world of sports. The editor of the popular "Deadspin" blog is more than just funny, he's insightful.

I really don't read "Deadspin" very often, but the cover and title of this book -- not the blog -- was what drew me to it. I'm a huge sports fan, but I'm so tired of the overflow of cash and ego that if pro sports ended tomorrow, I wouldn't care. Sadly, Division I college sports now just mirrors professional sports, they're just less honest about the money. I'd wished Leitch would've addressed the greed of college sports, but what the heck, he lives in New York City, the worst college sports city in America. He's a pro guy ... though his take on interviewing a former University of Michigan basketball player was a complete riot.

Fans can be pretty dumb, too, as Leitch points out in his take on Barbaro. The article and hilarious drawing of the horse was very funny.

Some of Leitch's takes don't work -- does Scott Van Pelt's rejection of a date really need to be posted, is that news? Leitch found Van Pelt's phone message "humanizing." I found it boring. But Leitch is more often on target than not. And yeah, Chris Berman's "YWML" episode isn't news either, but if anyone needed to be a victim of "gotcha" journalism, it's Berman, who has become a caricature of himself. Yes, ESPN needed to be taken down a few notches and Leitch is just the guy to do it.

A quick and funny read, I hope Leitch has another book on the way. Will there be a fan revolution? Nah, fans are too emotional and gullible. If the NY Giants said tomorrow that end zone seats were $5,000 apiece, they'd get sold. Will ESPN's egos shrink? Are you kidding me?Read more ›
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3.0 out of 5 starsToo much of a good thing
By Jason A. Miller VINE VOICE on February 20, 2009
Format: Paperback
The best part of "God Save the Fan" may be its introduction, in which the author explains how the mainstream media's suppression of the Michael Vick "Ron Mexico" story helped inspire the creation of Deadspin. Of course I can't tell if the essay was funny because of Leitch's writing, or because I still can't read about Ron Mexico without falling over laughing.

Deadspin as a sports blog works best in quick hits. They're equal parts gossip and investigative journalism; they're outsiders who often scoop the mainstream press. Leitch's book is basically a collection of themed essays describing everything that's wrong with sports today: the players, the owners, the media, and the fans. Most of the individual chapters are worthwhile. However, the media section is largely a series of decreasingly funny put-downs of ESPN's on-air talent; many other essays are self-serving attempts to explain why the entire sports experience would be better if the blogosphere were in charge. Read all at once, "Fan" just seems bitter and frivolous.

"God Save the Fan" does have a ton of hilarious moments, as well as some genuine insight. The annotated reprint of an interview with John Rocker may well be the highlight of the book, and Leitch's musings on fantasy football will probably be a classic someday.

Unfortunately, when read all at once, Leitch's humor tends to grate, and it eventually becomes hard to figure out whether his put-downs are intended to be lightly mocking, or just plain mean-spirited. The odd essay about Leitch's appearance on Bob Costas's HBO program (exclusive to the paperback edition) is particuarly confusing.

Best thing to do is set aside "God Save the Fan" for another five years.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsMore serious than you'd think
By WDX2BB on December 20, 2013
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
We start with the sports Web site, "Deadspin."

It's a little difficult to describe, but worth a try. It's a collection of items from the sports world, some from other sources, some original.

Taking a typical day in the life, items were posted at the time of this book's publication on the NCAA basketball tournament, Ichiro's hitting problems, Bob Knight's TV debut, and an error on George Mason's conference championship T-shirts that puts the team on the road to New Orleans ... although the Final Four is in San Antonio. Oops.

In other words, there's a lot of material that's not exactly in the daily newspaper. But it's still of interest to many sports fans.

Will Leitch was the first creative mind behind Deadspin. You has managed to make a living out of this, no doubt surprising him a bit. It's an obvious jump from Web site to book, and Leitch pulled it off. He's written "God Save the Fan."

This is subtitled (I hope the Internet is big enough for this), "How Preening Sportscasters, Athletes Who Speak in the Third Person, and the Occasional Convicted Quarterback Have Taken the Fun Out of Sports (and How We Can Get It Back)." Wow. I've read shorter books than that.

While this is billed as a fan's manifesto of some sort, it's basically Leitch sitting down and writing about various topics in sports. He's good enough to make it work, too.

The surprising part, perhaps, is that Leitch is surprisingly thoughtful in portions of this book. Ever think about the nature of rooting for a team after it moves? The purity of fantasy sports? Athletes who talk about religion after victories? Leitch has. He even sat down and has a relatively serious conversation with John Rocker.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsPlease Read

It's not all brilliance and whatever, but it is funny and it is true. And the title of the book is exactly true that the fan is always the person getting screwed over. Read more

Published on April 22, 2013 by Kocese
4.0 out of 5 starsGood Book

I meant to read this a year or so ago, but I was distracted by laundry and drinking. Regardless, it was a quick and easy read, enjoyable for any sports fan, unless they're employed... Read more

Published on December 28, 2010 by Burnsy
5.0 out of 5 starsThrowing Sports Writing A Curve

I had read Will Leitch on his blog, [...] and was very impressed (it's worth noting that there's a ton of new material here, and an unfamiliarity with deadspin in no way inhibits... Read more

Published on December 6, 2009 by Johnson Clancy
4.0 out of 5 starsInsightful Sports Commentary Mixed With Warped Opinions

This is a fun book to read--filled with insightful (often sarcastic) comments on athletes, the media and sports fan. Read more

Published on July 30, 2009 by Mediaman
3.0 out of 5 starsFunny but snarky

This blogger will never be confused with the immortals of sports writing such as Jim Murray, Tex Maul or Ray Blount. Read more

Published on September 5, 2008
3.0 out of 5 starsA Primer on a Notorious Blogger

Will Leitch recently gained national fame through an appearance on (Bob) Costas Now and a failed debate on sports blogging with the boorish Buzz Bissinger. Read more

Published on May 22, 2008 by Best Of All
2.0 out of 5 starsfive wrongs don't make a right

An astute author, editor or publisher knows that while factual errors may mildly tarnish the credibility of a memoir, they can destroy the credibility of an expose'. Read more

Published on May 18, 2008 by W. C. Bonner
1.0 out of 5 starsPoorly written....

This is a poorly written work. It is the "stereotypical work of a blogger" ranting without producing useful information and facts. Read more

Published on May 6, 2008 by J. B. O'Donnell
2.0 out of 5 stars"You're with me, Leather!"[Two-and-a-half out of four stars] Sadly,...

A very good cover but the book loses much
steam as it goes, but timely nevertheless!

I give it two-and-a-half stars out of four. Read more

Published on April 26, 2008 by Rich The Reviewer
3.0 out of 5 starsFunny, but frustrating

I'm a fan of Leitch's Deadspin, but this book suffers from what most blogs-to-books do: namely what's funny in doses doesn't quite work over 300 pages. Read more

Published on April 14, 2008 by Aaron Harris

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