Review of "Seventeen and Oh"

What is more appropriate than writing a review on a great football team during NFL playoff time?  Even better, the book is about the only perfect team during the Super Bowl era, the 1972 Miami Dolphins - and the book is just about as perfect as the subject.  Here is my review of "Seventeen and Oh."

Title/Author: “Seventeen and Oh: Miami, 1972, and the NFL’s Only Perfect Season” by Marshall Jon Fisher

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: As of the writing of this review, there has been only one perfect season in the NFL during the Super Bowl era.  The 1972 Miami Dolphins completed the regular season with a perfect 14-0 record, then defeated the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington to complete their perfect year. 50 years later, Marshall Jon Fisher has written a book about that team that is almost as perfect as the 1972 Dolphins. Just about anything you would want to know about the team is in the book.

Fisher grew up in the Miami era and he shares some stories of his fandom as a child that tie in nicely with the particular subject in the chapter where a story would appear.  As do many sports books about a bygone era, he also ties in some social and political commentary as he includes updates on the presidential election (especially since both major political parties held their convention in Miami that year), the Vietnam war and the peace talks taking place in 1972 and even some talk about the last mission to the moon, Apollo 17.  Just like with his personal stories, Fisher does a nice job of weaving these topics into the book without them being a distraction or a lecture. 

As good as those stories are, his writing about the team and personnel is even better.  While many books on great teams or seasons will focus on a small number of key people, this one has small bios or information on nearly everyone associated with the team.  There is plenty of material on the Hall of Fame people on the team – Bob Griese, Nick Buoniconti, Larry Csonka and head coach Don Shula for starters.  But just as prominent in the book are others who because of the position or role they played may not be as familiar to casual readers.  These include people like Jim Langer, Larry Little, Vern Den Herder and Jake Scott.  By including information on so many people, the reader will understand much more about how the Dolphins truly came together as a team that year.

The book’s chapters are divided up by each game played, plus one chapter on the previous off-season in which coach Shula reminded them of their loss in the previous Super Bowl, one chapter for the 1972 pre-season and one for what became of the people after the perfect year.  That one does include mentioning the “celebration” that takes place every year after the last undefeated NFL suffers its first loss.  The football writing, especially the description of each game and the information on key people involved in that particular win, was excellent.  It was detailed enough for hard-core football fans to enjoy, yet easy enough that more casual fans won’t be confused by too much detail.  That was what made this book one of the better football books I have read.

Any football fan at any level, whether they were around to see that outstanding Dolphins team, will enjoy reading about the best season any NFL team has ever had.  As the 50^th anniversary of that season approaches, it is a great way to spend time either reliving or learning about a truly great team.

I wish to thank Abrams Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Link:  Seventeen and Oh: Miami, 1972, and the NFL's Only Perfect Season: Fisher, Marshall Jon: 9781419748509: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "Undefeated"

I am always up for a good reading challenge and this book about the 1972 Miami Dolphins' perfect season helped me with two challenges I have going - one to finally read books that have been sitting on my shelf or e-reader for a while (this one nearly five years) and to gain extra points in a monthly challenge by reading a book on football.  Here is my review of "Undefeated"

Title/Author:

“Undefeated: Inside the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ Perfect Season” by Mike Freeman

Tags:

Football (American), history, championship, Dolphins

Publish date:

August 21, 2012

Length:

463 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Only one team has completed an entire NFL season, including playoffs, undefeated since the 1970 merger between the NFL and AFL. That team, the 1972 Miami Dolphins, is the subject of this interesting book by Mike Freeman.

Just about everything and everybody associated with the Dolphins during that historic season is covered in the book. Whether a reader wants to learn about the penny-pinching ways of owner Joe Robbie, the brilliance of general manager Joe Thomas in putting the team together (he was fired before the season ended by Robbie), the intensity of head coach Don Shula or more about many of the star players on that team, there is excellent material about these topics. 

The players’ stories are some of the best in the book. Two of them who played key roles in the success of the 1972 Dolphins were running back Mercury Morris and defensive lineman Manny Fernandez.  These two were chosen to be mentioned in this review because the combination of their stories on how they became key components to the undefeated season combined with their interesting personal stories make for excellent reading.  Of course, this isn’t to shortchange other players highlighted such as Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield, Bob Griese, Jake Scott and so many others. Morris and Fernandez are merely two examples of the players who are portrayed in a complete manner in this book.

Of course, the actual game on the field plays an important role in the book.  However, this is not a simple recap of each game, rehashing of important plays or wins, nor does it follow a chronological, orderly history lesson about the season.  Instead, everything that played a factor in the team’s historic run was mentioned.  That begins with in the locker room after Super Bowl VI, a crushing loss to the Dallas Cowboys.  Shula tells the team they will be back to the big game with a different result.  The journey ends with Miami proving their coach right by ending a perfect 17-0 season by defeating the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.  That game is the one that is described with the most detail.  Even if a reader knows little else about the game, team or season, he or she will get a good sense of just how dominant this Dolphins team was in the game and over the entire year.

Every year the surviving members of this team celebrate whenever the last unbeaten NFL team loses its first game of the season.  They have good reason to do so, and readers who want to learn more about this special team should add this book to their libraries to find out why they have been celebrating for over 45 years.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Undefeated-Inside-Dolphins-Perfect-Season-ebook/dp/B007ED713U/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/undefeated-mike-freeman/1111397997?ean=9780062201546

Review of "Dead Line"

Just a bit different here - another review on another football book.  However, this time it's a fictional book and a very different type of story.  One that is gripping and a very quick read. Here is my review of "Dead Line" by Jack Patterson.

Title/Author:

“Dead Line” by Jack Patterson

Tags:

Football (American), fiction, drama, Seahawks, Dolphins, audio book

Publish date:

August 28, 2014

Length:

258 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good) 

Review:

This story of kidnapping, gambling, greed, drug cartels - and oh, yeah a little football game called the Super Bowl was a great story.  Cal Murphy, an up-and-coming sportswriter for the Seattle Times, gets the dream assignment of every sportswriter - to cover the Super Bowl.  To make it even sweeter, the game pits the Miami Dolphins against Murphy's team he has followed since childhood, the Seattle Seahawks.

However, there is trouble.  Veteran Seattle quarterback Noah Larson, who will retire after the game, receives a call telling him that his six year old son Jake has been kidnapped and the only way Noah will see Jake alive is if he fixes the game so that his team loses.   Murphy, instead of writing about the game, will work with photographer Kelly Mendoza (who worked with Cal in the first book of the series as well) and the FBI to rescue little Jake. 

While the story is compelling, fast paced and fun to read, I was mildly disappointed in the lack of true suspense.  Every possible time that there was some kind of twist or unexpected development, it was one that I had predicted - even the one at the end which was the closest to a true surprise.  That, however, doesn't stop me from recommending this book for fans of football or drama.  The characters are all believable and well-developed, from the protagonists Cal and Kelly (for whom the reader can't help but cheer for) to the ruthless drug cartel hit men.

Note that this is the second book in a series.  The book can be read as a stand alone, as I did not read the first one previously and had no trouble connecting with Cal and Kelly or following the story.  The end does leave room for a third book, and it is one that I want to add to my list, along with going back to read #1.

Book Format Read:

Audio book

Buying Links:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dead-line-jack-patterson/1120252098?ean=9781938848544

https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Line-Murphy-Thriller-Book-ebook/dp/B00AA49Y2Q/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1501893397&sr=1-2&keywords=dead+line