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Rating: 
Summary: Take it from a Tigers Fan
Review: As a Detroit Tigers fan(and living in Cleveland, no less)I can understand exactly what Joe Queenan is going through. Yes, I've been alive to see the Tigers win a World Series, but they are and have been for quite a while the laughing stock of baseball. Like Queenan says, why do we like teams if they continually lose and are an embarassment to the sport? I have no idea, but I wear the Old English 'D' on my hat with pride, nonetheless. I was born and raised in Michigan, and three of my senior relatives were Tigers fans, so again, to paraphrase Queenan, I have the geographical acceptance, plus I'm 'carrying the torch'.
No matter how much your team infuriates you, you can't give up on them. You just CAN'T.
The best part of this overall excellent book is the story on the last page. That made me smile more than anything else he wrote. A perfect story and the embodiment of the idea that hope springs eternal, tomorrow's another day, even the Cubs may win the Series one year. Maybe even the Tigers.
Rating: 
Summary: Painfully Funny . . .
Review: As a long suffering fan of both the Philadelphia Eagles AND the Boston Red Sox (how this came to pass is too excruciating to recount - suffice it to say that despite the geography, the author would approve) - as well as being an afficiando of Queenan's scathing writing - I found "True Believers" to be both hilarious and disturbingly parallel to my own infatuation with sports, from the amount of time spent watching/obsessing, the lengths to which one will go to attend a crucial game (Queenan writes of returning to Philly from France to watch the Phillies ill-fated attempt at winning the National League pennant in 1976), and the superstitions and routines a fan resorts to in the midst of good fortune (Queenan cites his combined reliance on a statue of a toad with regular visits to a less than helpful psychiatrist to extend an unprecedented run by Philadelphia sports teams). Queenan is also dead on target with his assement of front-running fans. My only complaints about this book are minor: 1) I was not thrilled to learn about Queenan's infatuation with Notre Dame - he uses his father's Irish-Catholic influence as reason for his allegiance to the Fighting Irish while summarily trashing him elsewhere in the book. On the other hand, his description of South Bend as a never-ending strip of motels is dead-on. 2) After discussing the relative merits of various sports announcers, he concludes the chapter by stating, "And don't get me started on Brent Musberger." I really wish he had, as I would have loved to have heard Queenan tee off on The Man Who Would Be Brent. 3) If Queenan thinks the Red Sox are lovable losers, he hasn't sat in Fenway Park during a Sox-Yankees series. Those qualms aside, Queenan manages to simultaneously infuriate, entertain, and stimulate his intended audience with his laugh-out-loud observations. If you've suffered through indignities like the 1978 American League playoff game or the 2003 NFC Conference Championship, this book is "must" reading.
Rating:
Summary: Joe Queenan, Sports Fan
Review: Humorist Joe Queenan is a true sports fan. No writer could boil down what it means to be a true fan to its very essence, as he does in "True Believers," without having the years of hopes and disappointments of being a loyal follower burned into his very soul. In the book, Queenan puts his lifetime of sports fan agony to very good use, using it as the basis for what is essentially one long rant about fans, both good and bad. His pen is as sharp as ever, and it is delightful to see him use it on such deserving people as front-running fans and slobs who make spectacles of themselves at the stadium. Mostly, however, Queenan ruminates on what it is that can make an otherwise sane, rational person (such as himself) a hopeless maniac on game day. Though he's a Philadelphia fan (Phillies, Eagles, 76ers, Flyers) he speaks enough universal truth that his book can be enjoyed by anyone who is also hopelessly hooked on sports.
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Summary: Another Queenan Triumph...
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Must read for all true sports fan.
Review: Joe Queenan has written the most accurate and insightful book about sports fans that I've encountered. The anecdotes, stories, and life experiences of the author will give even non-sports fans insight into the psyche of the true sports fanatics. Every true sports fan should read this book. It also would make a great gift for all of the front-running, bandwagon jumping fans that every true sports fan knows.
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