Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times
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Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times
Mark Leibovich
From the No.1 bestselling author of This Town comes a thrillingly raw and hysterical account of the billionaires, crooks, charlatans and scoundrels that own and run the NFL.American Football – with its celebrity players, billionaire owners, and cheerleaders with flawless teeth – is more American than apple pie. Which is why the celebrated New York Times journalist, Mark Leibovich, has chosen football as the vehicle through which to examine the troubled state of Trump’s America.Big Game chronicles a four-year odyssey that has taken Leibovich deeper inside the NFL than anyone has gone before. From the owners' meeting to the draft to the sidelines of crucial games, he takes in the show at the elbow of everyone from Tom Brady to big-name owners to the cordially despised NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell.Ultimately, this is a story of what may come to be seen as ‘peak football’ – the high point of the sport’s economic success and cultural dominance, but also the moment when the dark side began to show. It is an era of explosive revenue growth, as deluxe new stadiums spring up all over the country, but also one of creeping existential fear. Football was never thought to be easy on the body – players joke darkly that the NFL stands for ‘not for long’ for good reason – but as the true impact of concussions become inescapable background noise, it’s become increasingly difficult to enjoy the simple glory of football without the buzzkill of its obvious consequences.And that was before Donald Trump. In 2016, the NFL slammed headlong into America's culture wars. Big Game is a journey through an epic storm. Through it all, Leibovich always keeps one eye on Tom Brady and his beloved Patriots, through to the 2018 Super Bowl. Pro football, this hilarious and enthralling book proves, may not be the sport America needs, but it is most definitely the sport it deserves.
Copyright (#u02949727-9071-5445-a7ea-f753761c36b9)
HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published in the US by Penguin Press 2018
This UK edition published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2018
FIRST EDITION
Text © Mark Leibovich 2018
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018
Cover photographs © Kwangmooza/Getty Images (background); Darren Haggar (badge)
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
Mark Leibovich asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
Brief portions of this work, some in slightly different form, first appeared in The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine
NFL and the NFL shield design are registered trademarks of the National Football League
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Find out about HarperCollins and the environment at www.harpercollins.co.uk/green (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/green)
Source ISBN: 9780008317614
Ebook Edition © September 2018 ISBN: 9780008317645
Version 2018-08-17
In loving memory of great friends:
my father, Miguel Leibovich,
and brother, Phil Leibovich
Contents
Cover (#uf3409cff-29cb-5a1b-ad18-4e58939a1a43)
Title Page (#u0e8e4183-e4ad-527b-821d-99c674caf82e)
Copyright (#u9966cbdb-1b8e-59a6-a32e-780b1ab3a97a)
Dedication (#ufcdbc8fd-1284-5c2d-9b11-c229bee0e896)
Introduction FOOTBALL, IN SPITE OF ITSELF (#u1dfba51e-6d09-5980-a579-1f0c4d19cb02)
Prologue RESPITE (#udc56ad86-4647-51e2-9983-14247908eac1)
Chapter 1 THE SUPER BOWL WITHOUT JOCK STRAPS (#u2a2958a7-7662-53ab-9a88-3cfc3b8c2ac7)
Chapter 2 THE MONKEY’S ASS (#u616d98b1-8c71-5077-b0fb-4bd016c75548)
Chapter 3 NUGGETS (#u06bdac38-4145-57f7-a71b-97cf3894904b)
Chapter 4 “TOM BRADY HERE” (#u05c9afe5-0cff-5ba8-80db-8d56a31e7e7c)
Chapter 5 “BEWARE THE PISSED OFF PRETTY BOY” (#u0270890d-0be2-58af-8a2f-6b6b75470354)
Chapter 6 GARISH FIST ORNAMENTS (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 7 BALLGHAZI (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 CHEATER (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 NO ONE BUYS TICKETS TO WATCH A MORALITY PLAY (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 DINGS? (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 WHUPPINGS (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 “WE PAY HIM DAMN WELL TO BE NEUTRAL” (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 NO BROKE DICKS (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 ROGER AND ME (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 THE BIG SPLAT (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 IMMORTALITY GETS OLD (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 “START BLOW- DRYING TEDDY KOPPEL’S HAIR ’CAUSE THIS ONE’S DONE” (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 AMERICAN CARNAGE (#litres_trial_promo)
Mark Leibovich
From the No.1 bestselling author of This Town comes a thrillingly raw and hysterical account of the billionaires, crooks, charlatans and scoundrels that own and run the NFL.American Football – with its celebrity players, billionaire owners, and cheerleaders with flawless teeth – is more American than apple pie. Which is why the celebrated New York Times journalist, Mark Leibovich, has chosen football as the vehicle through which to examine the troubled state of Trump’s America.Big Game chronicles a four-year odyssey that has taken Leibovich deeper inside the NFL than anyone has gone before. From the owners' meeting to the draft to the sidelines of crucial games, he takes in the show at the elbow of everyone from Tom Brady to big-name owners to the cordially despised NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell.Ultimately, this is a story of what may come to be seen as ‘peak football’ – the high point of the sport’s economic success and cultural dominance, but also the moment when the dark side began to show. It is an era of explosive revenue growth, as deluxe new stadiums spring up all over the country, but also one of creeping existential fear. Football was never thought to be easy on the body – players joke darkly that the NFL stands for ‘not for long’ for good reason – but as the true impact of concussions become inescapable background noise, it’s become increasingly difficult to enjoy the simple glory of football without the buzzkill of its obvious consequences.And that was before Donald Trump. In 2016, the NFL slammed headlong into America's culture wars. Big Game is a journey through an epic storm. Through it all, Leibovich always keeps one eye on Tom Brady and his beloved Patriots, through to the 2018 Super Bowl. Pro football, this hilarious and enthralling book proves, may not be the sport America needs, but it is most definitely the sport it deserves.
Copyright (#u02949727-9071-5445-a7ea-f753761c36b9)
HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published in the US by Penguin Press 2018
This UK edition published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2018
FIRST EDITION
Text © Mark Leibovich 2018
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018
Cover photographs © Kwangmooza/Getty Images (background); Darren Haggar (badge)
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
Mark Leibovich asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
Brief portions of this work, some in slightly different form, first appeared in The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine
NFL and the NFL shield design are registered trademarks of the National Football League
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Find out about HarperCollins and the environment at www.harpercollins.co.uk/green (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/green)
Source ISBN: 9780008317614
Ebook Edition © September 2018 ISBN: 9780008317645
Version 2018-08-17
In loving memory of great friends:
my father, Miguel Leibovich,
and brother, Phil Leibovich
Contents
Cover (#uf3409cff-29cb-5a1b-ad18-4e58939a1a43)
Title Page (#u0e8e4183-e4ad-527b-821d-99c674caf82e)
Copyright (#u9966cbdb-1b8e-59a6-a32e-780b1ab3a97a)
Dedication (#ufcdbc8fd-1284-5c2d-9b11-c229bee0e896)
Introduction FOOTBALL, IN SPITE OF ITSELF (#u1dfba51e-6d09-5980-a579-1f0c4d19cb02)
Prologue RESPITE (#udc56ad86-4647-51e2-9983-14247908eac1)
Chapter 1 THE SUPER BOWL WITHOUT JOCK STRAPS (#u2a2958a7-7662-53ab-9a88-3cfc3b8c2ac7)
Chapter 2 THE MONKEY’S ASS (#u616d98b1-8c71-5077-b0fb-4bd016c75548)
Chapter 3 NUGGETS (#u06bdac38-4145-57f7-a71b-97cf3894904b)
Chapter 4 “TOM BRADY HERE” (#u05c9afe5-0cff-5ba8-80db-8d56a31e7e7c)
Chapter 5 “BEWARE THE PISSED OFF PRETTY BOY” (#u0270890d-0be2-58af-8a2f-6b6b75470354)
Chapter 6 GARISH FIST ORNAMENTS (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 7 BALLGHAZI (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 CHEATER (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 NO ONE BUYS TICKETS TO WATCH A MORALITY PLAY (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 DINGS? (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 WHUPPINGS (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 “WE PAY HIM DAMN WELL TO BE NEUTRAL” (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 NO BROKE DICKS (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 ROGER AND ME (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 THE BIG SPLAT (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 IMMORTALITY GETS OLD (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 “START BLOW- DRYING TEDDY KOPPEL’S HAIR ’CAUSE THIS ONE’S DONE” (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 AMERICAN CARNAGE (#litres_trial_promo)