Trojan Football History
923323
An entertaining review of the glory times in USC football history.  Interesting for any college football fan and a must for Trojan fans.
1329829
I live in Brazil and less than one year I started getting interested in the NFL championship. Finding statistics from the NFL, I was very interested in knowing more about some teams, including the San Diego Chargers. The two discs of the History of the San Diego Chargers fully met my expectations. The film was very well produced, provides an adequate level of knowledge about the team, has the right time duration, neither too long nor too short, and presents some very interesting extras content.  I began to understand the commotion caused by the tragic death of Junior Seau, who was a great linebacker of the Chargers. I liked the product and point to the fans of San Diego and NFL football.
303756
As the Captain of the 1960 Michigan football team I still take pride in being a Michigan Man. That being said I feel that the author has captured the essence of college football past and present and let there be no mistake I am of the past. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend to people who enjoy college football.
1387625
Walking through the halls of Permian High School in Odessa, Texas on a Friday during the football season is a sight high school football players wish they could live. What happens that night under the lights is a whole different story. High school football in Texas is considered a religion. For the town of Odessa, football is all they got.

Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger brings you back when the Permian High School Panthers were the most hyped football team in the state of Texas. They had everything going for them, untill their star, Boobie Miles, went down with a faital injury. The team was then on senior quarterback Mike Winchell's shoulders. The author does a great job of showing how a single-minded town with a devotion to their football team shapes the community and inspires -sometimes shatters- the teenagers who put on the black and silver uniforms. I enjoyed the way this author wrote. He went into great detail to tell the reader how much football means to the community. I recommend this book to all football lovers and a reader who wants to learn about how teenage football stars live their life.
4973650
This book explains how not just football plays came about, but how the coaches intertwined with each other.  It's a multi read book
4892440
I give Robert R. Sands a lot of credit for risking his health to go play football for the San Barbara City College Vaqueros back in the mid 1990s. Sands was in his late 30s when he suited up for the Vaqueros from 1994-1995, and he was playing with guys who were in their athletic prime.

In this book, Sands provided a 320-page inside look at what he went through as a JC football player and resident of Santa Barbara.

I really enjoyed this book. And seeing as how I am a HUGE football fan, I enjoyed his analysis of the Vaqueros football team from 1994-1995 as well as his deep thoughts on his teammates from those teams.

He got his butt kicked on the practice field (I believe he only played in one game in two years) by linebackers and defensive backs and he still kept on going.

Thank you Robert R. Sands.
3860127
Alabama had already recruited a black who was on the team that night however he was a freshman named Wilbur Jackson and at the time freshman were ineligible to play. The following year when Alabama played USC they won with a black player John Mitchell who was a junior college transfer who started. I think Wilbur may have played but he did not start. It is crazy to say this game caused Alabama to integrate when they already had integrated before this game was played although he was a freshman and not able to play. Now it may have helped ease the process the following years but Coach Bryant was born dirt poor and he related well with many of the black players he recruited as he grew up around blacks. John Mitchell was a wonderful player for Alabama and he was well received. Coach Bryant was wise to select him as the first to play and Wilbur as the first recruit the year before. Both represented Alabama well and both went on to win All-American honors before they would leave. What people forget is Alabama won the following year with almost all of the same players. Alabama changed from the Pro Style offense it ran in Birmingham that night in 1970 that So Cal contained so well. Alabama changed in 1971 to a much more physical wishbone attack that worked so well Alabama had the winningest decade in it's storied history. The main change was to the option QB and adding John Mitchell on the defense. He became the first black to play and start for Alabama. That is lost in history just as the fact Alabama had a black on the sideline that night that Sam Cunningham was credited with changing Alabama. Like I said it would be a Hollywood story if it was true but the fact is it is not.
4200683
As part of my elective course in business school I was allowed to write a paper on the financial implications of a changed to the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). One of the biggest arguments my paper made (see May 11th post here:[...]/) was a college football playoff was actually financially superior to the BCS for all colleges involved. Keith Dunnavant's book played an integral part in my preparation to write this research paper.

I believe that this book is worth the read especially for you die-hard college football fans out there! It will give you a deep insight into how television money has forever changed/shaped the Lancaster of the sport we all love so much.

With that I leave you with my favorite quote from the book:

"The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was devised outside the structure of the NCAA. It was a creation not just of the big six leagues but of the free market, of television. Since television made the BCS possible, television will ultimately have the final say on whether a larger and more inclusive BCS will work financially."
2614204
This comprehensive account of Tiger football history ranging from 1893 to 1992 Louisiana State University (LSU) offers stories about past players and games as well as a complete listing of lettermen and scores.
3761366
USC golf balls - the perfect, no-brainer gift for the Trojan fan in your family. I got these for mom for Christmas this year, as she'd asked for them specifically. It's a very fair price for a very fun gift that will (hopefully) last for more than a few rounds of 18 holes. Just wish mom didn't hit so many of them in the water hazards :)
3902723
Well written book with a lot of inside the lockerroom information on why Michigan Football became such a disaster after RichRod changed the whole damned offense around without having the players in place to do it.  Of course, then Hoke didn't have the right kind of players to run a traditional pro offense.  Between the two of them, they pretty much wrecked the enjoyment that I used to get from watching Michigan Football for 40 years.  Bacon pretty well sums up the details of how this all happened.
530466
This was a good book to read about the 2006 College football season.  It was a good glimpse of what college football is like.  It was a good smooth read and it really kept your attention.  This was a good account of the behind the scenes of what goes on from week to week in the life of college football.  The writer being a Sports Illustrated writer made it even more interesting.  I wish they would have dove a little deeper in to certain parts of the book, but all in all it was a good read.
4516804
This brief history of California State University Long Beach captures the rough and tumble beginnings of a 66-year-old California university with charm and good reporting. Barbara Kingsley-Wilson's background as a journalist and as a journalism instructor shows. Dozens of interviews with folks from the campus' early days or their descendants, combined with careful mining of oral histories and archives bring the campus' history to life. Particularly strong is the history of the athletic struggles and successes, and how presidents of the former state college overcame the minuscule budgets for buildings and grounds and library books at the beginning to give birth to today's university with tis beautiful landscaping, accomplished faculty, a million-book library and 35,000 students. There is a story behind every accomplishment, and Barbara Kingsley-Wilson tells some of the best tales.
1504203
The author tells a great story of this epic rivalry by intertwining historical events that provide perspective. If you are a college football fan, this is an enjoyable read. The book almost reads like fiction, but is well documented and completely factual. A great inside look at the coaches, players, the rivalry itself, and the characters that made up the roaring twenties.
2498907
As a native San Franciscan who grew up hearing stories of the fabled 1951 University of San Francisco (U.S.F.) football team, it was a special treat to be able to hear the whole story of that legendary  team.

The way in which the story was presented was also unique. Instead of being a "typical biography," the author utilizes newspaper clippings and other such media items to help covey the story of one of the finest, and the classiest, football teams in College football history
1747222
A great read for anyone interested in recent history of the dominant football program in the state of Alabama. You may be surprised too learn that it''s not about that "other school across the state."
2845147
The American Football League (AFL) accomplished something that no other rival league in American pro sports history ever has -- a merger with the established league that preserved all its members. Every AFL franchise forced its way into the NFL -- with Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cleveland joining the 10 AFL clubs to form the newly-configured American Football Conference (AFC), starting with the 1970 season.

This book traces the origins of the AFL in the late 1950s by examining each of the eight original franchises. If you are a Dolphins or Bengals fan, be advised your team is not in this book as they were AFL expansion franchises that started play in 1966, and 1968, respectively.

If you remember the AFL you'll love this book. If you are merely AFL-curious, go ahead and give it a shot. Of all the books about the early days of the AFL, this has to be in the top five.