Why We Love Football: A History in 100 Moments

Nobody writes about baseball the way Joe Posnanski writes about baseball.If you love baseball, you know there’s a *feeling* you get when you walk into a major or minor league baseball stadium on a Sunday afternoon. The sun is shining. The grass is impossibly green. You take your seat. You know there’s a good chance you’ll sit through a scoreless, listless game. It might take hours to complete. But you also know what every baseball fan knows, which is this: *something* could happen. Something unfathomable that’s never happened before. It's something unforgettable that you’ll recall decades later with a kind of perfect clarity that’s also a bit hazy around the edges.Baseball fans often have trouble describing what *Something* is. We can’t define it, but we know it when we feel it. It’s why most of us fell in love with the game in the first place. If you forced us to give you a real word to describe it, there’s a good chance we’d tell you it’s something like magic. Beyond that, we’re at a loss for words.But Joe Posnanski *can* describe it. He can make you *feel* it. When Joe writes about baseball, you are transported to another time. He is a baseball encyclopedia made human. And because he knows more about the sport than anyone has ever known, Joe’s writing drops you in the middle of a memory so vivid that it feels less like remembering and more like living it for the first time.Now, you might be wondering why I spent four paragraphs at the top of a football book review talking about baseball writing.I did so because I’m pretty sure Joe Posnanski just wrote the best football book I’ve ever read.*Why We Love Football* is similar to *Why We Love Baseball.* This is obvious.In both books, Joe drops you into the beginning (or middle) of an incredible story, which might take an unexpected detour into a different, smaller story or anecdote before returning to the main story. A single story entry in the book—one of the 100, let’s call them—might feature 2, 3, 5 of these detours. What you are getting, then, is far more than 100 stories; you are also getting a live tour of Joe’s remarkable brain as it works to unspool fascinating, funny, and often downright strange stories.I loved *Why We Love Baseball* because I am a lifelong baseball fan. I don’t have the same relationship with football. I enjoyed football a great deal as a kid. But my fandom took a critical hit when the Oilers collapsed in the playoffs against Buffalo. And when the Oilers left town for Tennessee, well, that was the end of it. When the NFL gave us the Texans, I had no interest. For over 25 years, I rarely watched anything but the Super Bowl, and those days were more about funny commercials, get-togethers with friends and seeing how many queso-covered chips I could consume before my innards exploded.Over the past few years, I’ve found myself watching and enjoying football because of my job, which requires at least a working knowledge of the football world. And, fine. It’s also because of Taylor Swift. I can admit it. The sport itself is a little fun to watch—and I understand absolutely nothing about plays, formations, *or* tactics—but the *stories* deepen my interest in the game. Reading about the real people under the helmets, about their struggles and fears and hopes? That’s my happy place. That is what will keep me around.That’s *Why We Love Football.* It’s a collection of stories about the sort of astounding feats, unforgettable moments and often strange coincidences that fans love about football. Football fans will *love* this book. Love it. If you enjoy football on any level, this is a must-read.But this is *also* the sort of book that will intrigue people who *aren’t* football fans. That’s because Joe Posnanski, it turns out, is not the best baseball writer on the planet. No. He is the best *sportswriter* on the planet, period. And what he has written here can be read, enjoyed, and even *loved* by people who have never watched a *single second o*f a football game.Why? Because a story well told is a story well told. And Joe Posnanski? He can tell a story with the best of them.

Joe Posnanski is one of America's most successful, talented and prolific writers. I gave his last book, the #1 Bestseller, "Why We Love Baseball", a five star review last year and anticipate this one will receive the same accolades. As a long-time aficionado of both sports and rabid fan of the Chiefs and Red Sox, I appreciate his recognition of the essential differences between the two sports just as did the late comedian, George Carlin, in his classic bit which compared them. Posnanski uses short vignettes in both books to illustrate his appreciation for both sports and the books can be read episodically, although I found each book difficult to put down. He also manages to allocate his ten greatest players their own "moments". I will not spoil the fun by describing any of the games, players, or incidents he has chosen but will allow the reader to experience his unique approach to pop culture for themselves. Be prepared for laughter, tears, and flashes of recognition for personal sports memories. Now he needs to start working on a basketball follow-up.

A good argument can be made that Posnanski is our greatest living sports writer. The book is charmingly written as it chronicles the 100 "greatest" moments in football through 100 essays . While I wish there were more college football essays included, I think the book is a great read. For any football fan, especially, a pro football fan, I would high recommend it.

My boyfriend loves it.

this guy is one of the best sport writers around!