Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: True Believers: The Tragic Inner Life of Sports Fans by Joe Queenan ISBN: 0-8050-6979-8 Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc. Pub. Date: 03 June, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (14 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: What do you do when you're team's 50 games back?
Comment: Joe Queenan has written the ultimate sports fan book. True Believers is dedicated to the real sports fan. Not fans of the Los Angeles Lakers or the New York Yankees, but the fans of downtrodden teams like the Phillies, the Blackhawks, and the Eagles. Fans who know what it's like to suffer through years of torment, wondering if your team was ever going to be good enough to win it all. Queenan grew up in Philadelphia, and he has a life-long commitment to all of his hometown teams. He says that fan support must be based either on where you grew up, or who your father rooted for. No other form of fandom is acceptable to him. Thus, he has had to live through the Phillies blowing a 6.5 game lead with 12 games to go in 1964, the Flyers blowing a 3-1 lead in the playoffs to the New Jersey Devils (with two of the last three games at home), and other heartbreaks. Loving Philadelphia teams is the epitome of heartbreak, the ultimate love-hate relationship.
Why should this matter to the rest of us? I will tell you right now that, if you have never followed any sports and think that to do so is the ultimate waste of time, then this book is not for you. First, you will not understand it. Secondly, what little you do understand will only reinforce your already formed beliefs. Unless you have experienced the common bond of watching your team blow the big game, or the big series, or just stink up the league in general, you will not get a lot out of this book. (Ok, maybe if you're a Yankee fan, you'll be able to laugh at these idiots he's talking about).
What does this book consist of? Queenan discusses the psychology behind rooting for a team of also-rans. He explores what makes the true sports fan tick. He does this among chapters discussing fair weather fans (those fans who only follow a team when they are good), sports movies (and how most of them are horrible and don't even come close to reflecting reality), sports announcers (both the good and the bad), and misbehaving fans (those idiots in the stands who do the stupidest things and generally annoy the people around them). Some of these chapters are universal, even to Yankees fans, and thus may be enjoyed by everybody. Some (like an entire chapter on the sorry-looking New York Jets) will only mean something to the fan who has been through something similar. All of these chapters, however, share Queenan's sarcastic wit and his extreme commentary. I love the language that Queenan uses and the way he writes, even if sometimes it seems he's using words just to see whether people understand them or not. At times he sounds pompous, but even then he's entertaining.
The fair-weather fan chapter is probably the best, as he itemizes all the different types of front-runners there are, from celebrities who must be seen at courtside of Lakers games, to the mainstream folk who just can't bear to suffer along with the true fan, and thus change their favourite team on the drop of a quarter. As he says, suffering is what makes success taste so sweet. If you haven't been through the dark times, then when they finally do win a championship, you can't truly appreciate it. He loathes front-runners with a passion, and he's not afraid to say it. He certainly takes no prisoners in this chapter, heaping scorn on every type of front-runner there is.
If there is any fault in the book, it is the fact that some of the references are very obscure (though as Queenan would say, if you don't know it, you're probably not a true fan). I love sports and follow a lot of them, but some of the references are so old that even I didn't get them. You could figure them out from the context, but I think some of the humour value is lost there. Sometimes he explains them, or at least gives a year that it happened, but other times he goes on like we should be able to keep up with him. I had no trouble skipping the reference, assuming that it was supposed to illustrate some point, and moving on. However, it is a strike against the book. One other thing I would like to know is what he thinks of fans like me. I grew up in Iowa, where there are no professional sports teams, and my father was not a huge fan of anything either. I have my allegiances that have never died since childhood, but they certainly don't seem to fit his criteria. What does that make me? Unfortunately, Queenan doesn't address that, so it feels like something's missing.
Even so, this book is definitely a winner. At times it's hilarious, at times it's touching (like when he talks about when his father's last days and how they affected Queenan's spectatorship). You may see yourself reflected in it. You may just find other fans to ridicule. Maybe you're not a sports fan but you're trying to understand a husband (or wife???) who is. If so, get this book. You will either laugh at or along with Queenan as he continues his odyssey. And you might even learn something along the way. Yes, even you Yankees fans.
David Roy
Rating: 4
Summary: Great book for sports fans
Comment: I am a die hard sports fan. This book was a great read because I was able to identify so much with what I was reading about. The chapter about "front runner fans," fans that cheer for whatever team is doing well at the time, was my favorite. I hate fans who do that, for example, someone that currently is a Angels, Devils, Bucs, and Spurs fan would be a good example. There was also a chapter on how a favorite team losing can put you into a bad mood, again something that I have experienced. As a Sacramento Kings fan I have experienced many years of underperforming and recently the agony of getting oh so close but not being quite able to finish it off. Queenan talks of his same experience of being a Philadelphia fan and not having any titles in the last 20 or so years from any of the professional sports teams in his city. This was a book that was fun to read and not easy to put down.
Rating: 4
Summary: Another Queenan Triumph...
Comment: I love Joe Queenan's books, this the fourth of his that I have read. He is usually hilarious and always on the mark. This book lacks (and that is not a bad thing) has usual trademark razor wit that causes bleeding when touched. However, he goes after fair weather fans and Yankee fans quite well. With the exception the extended chapter on Notre Dame (I still hate Notre Dame and can't enjoy even Queenan's wise commentary), the book is terrific. Parts are moving. Queenan's life, as many of ours have, been shaped by sports. Friendships, family, etc. The book is funny; but it also honest and a bit moving. The end, taking place at Wrigley Field (of course) may move you to tears. Great stuff.
 |
Title: Confessions of a Cineplex Heckler : Celluloid Tirades and Escapades by Joe Queenan ISBN: 0786884649 Publisher: Hyperion Pub. Date: 02 February, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
 |
Title: Red Lobster, White Trash, & the Blue Lagoon : Joe Queenan's America by Joe Queenan ISBN: 0786884088 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 14 April, 1999 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
 |
Title: My Goodness : A Cynic's Short-Lived Search for Sainthood by Joe Queenan ISBN: 0786884665 Publisher: Hyperion Pub. Date: 11 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: The Great Philadelphia Fan Book by Glen Macnow, Anthony L. Gargano ISBN: 0970580444 Publisher: Middle Atlantic Press Pub. Date: November, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
 |
Title: The Malcontents: The Best Bitter, Cynical, and Satirical Writing in the World by Joe Queenan ISBN: 0762413441 Publisher: Running Press Pub. Date: August, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
