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Course Title: Athletics 110, Introduction to
Football
Prerequisite: None
Credits: 4
Introduction to Football 110 is a course designed to introduce
to the student the world of football through the reading of classic and
contemporary literature.
Full Time students of Right Sarcasm University will no doubt
identify a number of favorite writers amongst the faculty and administration of the
school. Inside Professional Football 101 is coincidentally a course where four
of those favorite authors unwittingly converge.
Chosen reading material includes "Instant Replay" by Dick Schaap
and Jerry Kramer; "Next Man Up" by John Feinstein; "The Education of a Coach" by David
Halberstam; and "I hate the Dallas Cowboys" by Bert Sugar.
"Instant Replay" by Green Bay Packer offensive guard Jerry Kramer
and legendary sportswriter Dick Schaap was written after the 1967 season. This was
2 years before the classic "Ball Four", by Seattle Pilot
knuckle-ball reliever Jim Bouton.
The story is the 1967 Greenbay Packers from the inside, in diary
form. This particular season happens to be the last for Vince Lombardi as Packer Head
Coach and the last championship season in Greenbay for nearly 3 decades.
Chock full of the inside information one would expect from a diary of a player, this
is the perverbial "Great Read" for any sports fan.
"Next Man Up" by John Feinstein is another book by the author
that climbs deeply inside the people and structure of a sports team. This book covers
the 2004 Baltimore Ravens' team that includes Dion Sanders, Ray Lewis, and Jamal Lewis--superstar
players. A long book by Feinstein standards(512 pages), but one that is surely a great
read inside one of football's most modern and successful teams.
This book from Historian extradinare David Halberstam has the
makings of a classic. Focused on one of the most successful coach in recent history,
Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots, this books will delve into so much more
than just x's and o's. The psyche and nuance of the man, and his team, is explored
in up close detail like very few writers can.
"I Hate the Dallas Cowboy's" by Bert Sugar is suredly the greatest
title for a football book in the history of publication, and if for no other reason,
this book would be included in this course. Besides the terrific name, Bert Sugar
is a legendary sports columnist and author of sports related books. "I hate the Dallas
Cowboys," gosh what a great title, is actually a compilation of many articles and
chapters by various friends of Mr. Sugar, who hate the Dallas Cowboys as well.
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