Bigger Than the Game: Bo, Boz, the Punky QB, and How the '80s Created the Celebrity AthleteA mesmerizing look at the year when American athletics went corporate, villains replaced heroes, and sports stars became superstars. Greed and excess defined the 1980s, and the sports world was no exception. Shifting from the love of the game to the love of money, athletes made the transition from representing honor and humility to becoming brash and branded. Capturing the stories of headliners who capitalized on this trend, Bigger Than the Game charts the rise (and sometimes spectacular fall) of four athletes over the span of one of the most dramatic eras in sports. Meticulously researched, with stirring, you-are-there reporting, Bigger Than the Game assembles a cast that includes Jim McMahon, who took the Chicago Bears to Super Bowl glory despite his penchant for partying and his aversion to following the game plan; Brian Boswoth, the university of Oklahoma linebacker who mugged for the cameras while calling the NCAA a communist organization; Bo Jackson, who pursued promising careers in both pro football and baseball; and Len Bias, poised to ensure the Boston Celtics' dominance but died of a cocaine overdose just one day after the draft. Also packed with portraits of folk heroes such as "Refrigerator" Perry and Michael Jordan, Bigger Than the Game offers a riveting ride for every sports fan. |
Contents
CHAPTER TWO I Am Superman | |
INTERLUDE Greenwood South Carolina | |
CHAPTER FOUR Were Not Here to Start No Trouble | |
INTERLUDE Summit New Jersey | |
CHAPTER SIX A Major Malfunction | |
CHAPTER SEVEN Greed Is Healthy | |
INTERLUDETwo Commonly Told Elements of the Len Bias Narrative That | |
CHAPTER NINE What a Performance | |
CHAPTER ELEVEN A Casual Defiance | |
CHAPTER TWELVE The Old College | |
Epilogue | |
Acknowledgements | |
Bibliography | |
Other editions - View all
Bigger Than the Game: Bo, Boz, the Punky QB, and How the '80s Created the ... Michael Weinreb No preview available - 2011 |
Bigger Than the Game: Bo, Boz, the Punky QB, and how the '80s Created the ... Michael Weinreb No preview available - 2010 |
Common terms and phrases
AIJim Air Jordan American asked athletes Auburn ball baseball basketball Bears became become began Bias’s Bo Jackson Bo’s Bob Verdi Bosworth Brian Tribble called career championship Chicago coach cocaine college football crack cultural Culverhouse death decade defense Ditka dollars Don Pierson draft Driesell drug ESPN Fiesta Bowl Flutie Football League Fridge friends going headbands Heisman Heisman Trophy high school interviews Jim McMahon John Shaffer Johnson knew later Lefty Len Bias Leonard Bias linebacker Lonise Bias Maryland Miami Michael Jordan Mike Namath named NCAA never night Nike Orange Bowl Paterno Payton percent play players president quarterback question Reagan reporters Rick Telander Riswold Rozelle season seemed shoes Sports Illustrated Statter steroids story Super Bowl Shuffle Switzer team’s teammates television things told took touchdown University USFL wanted Washington week wrote York young