<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: An education about collegiate football
Review: An extremely well written book that pulls no punches when dealing with College football. Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in intercollegiate football irrespective of the conference. The author has great command of the English language and a subtle sense of humor in writing about this controversial subject of big time college recruiting and the power that big time college football has over college administrators.
Rating: 
Summary: The author can`t BRAG about his SEC or geographic knowledge
Review: As an objective observor with no strong ties to any particular SEC school, I found this book very poorly written. He tries to write a Feinsteinesque account of a season in the SEC, but fails miserably. For one, he feels the need to constantly write about his own feelings about people- these are irrelevant in any well written book. Also, he makes Vandy coach Woody Widenhofer out to be the best coach in the SEC, a rather interesting thing to do considering the Commodores never had a winning season before he was fired this fall. But Ernsberger does this kind of thing a number of times- including a chapter where he ranks the abilities of the SEC coaches- begging one to wonder: what makes him qualified to do this. But the book's main problem is that it is boring- the chapters aren't connected to each other, and it keeps the book from flowing in any logical fashion. It was a good topic, but it was not a good job.
Rating:
Summary: An EMBARRASSING attempt
Review: Ernsberger might as well have written about women's volleyball in the SEC since he's got at the very least 10 factual errors that I uncovered. Calling Kevin Faulk "Marshall" Faulk twice and Nick Saban "Lou" is unforgivable and that is why he gets a big NEGATIVE from me. I am a big Bama supporter as well and I found his commentary regarding the Capstone to be orange-biased.
Maybe Mr. Ernsberger should be wearing convict orange on the cover? Don't bother folks. Save the $ for tickets.
Rating:
Summary: One of the worst
Review: I think I have read almost every book about football written, and I was excited to find a read about my favourite conference. Before I reached the third chapter, I knew I would be dissapointed..... I have never seen someone butcher a topic of such interest to me. Say what you like about Fienstein, but at least he can string two sentances together. Save your money and buy A Civil War. It ten times better.
Rating: 
Summary: A Trip off the Beaten Path in Southern Fried Football
Review: The author, and many others, will argue that the SEC is *the* conference for college football. It is a conference of strong rivalries and tough attitude. It's also, as Ernsberger looks at, a conference of athletes who happen to be students, rather than the collegiate student-athlete. He brings up the warts - problems with recruiting, low graduation rates, questionable ethics with athletic departments overseeing athlete tutoring. But these are more of a bookend to the story - a story of rivalry, of politics, of winning above everything else. This is where the heart of the book is, and where Ernsberger comes across as the privelaged observer, rather than someone with an axe to grind. He's not in awe of everything, but he's not out to rip back the veneer of college football either. Arguably, the book does have it's leanings. Only about half the conference is really explored with many of the schools getting the short shrift and barely a mention. But if you have never been to a big SEC rivalry game, he tries to capture the mood both inside and outside the stadium. You see the lead up to the Auburn-Alabama game (though strangely, he never seems to refer to it by it's common moniker of the Iron Bowl), and the Cocktail Party (Georgia vs. Florida). One of the strengths of the book is that he spends time with all level of participants in this spectacle - the players themselves, the caching staff, the boosters, the administration, the fans and the alumni. The picture drawn shows that everyone is partially to blame for the state the conference is in. As a passive spectator of the SEC especially after moving to Atlanta, Ernsberger drew together a lot of what swirls around into a coherent package. Everything you need to know? No. A damning expose? No. An interesting overview - yes. This is why you want to read the book.
Rating:
Summary: A good look into America's strongest football conference
Review: This is a rollicking, rip-roaring romp through America's toughest football conference. Even rabid fans will be interested in the author's access to off-the-beaten-path aspects of SEC football. There is little attempt to describe game action but instead Ernsberger goes into the locker rooms, film studies, and parking lots of conference schools. There is a little emphasis on Tennessee(the author is an alum) and Auburn(perhaps the best storyline) but even Bama fans will enjoy this book. The only real criticism is that Ernsberger makes too many factual errors. Dates, names, and scores are frequently wrong. If facts pertaining to your team are incorrectly reported; how can you trust the reports on other teams, players, or coaches?
Rating:
Summary: A good look into America's strongest football conference
Review: This is a rollicking, rip-roaring romp through America's toughest football conference. Even rabid fans will be interested in the author's access to off-the-beaten-path aspects of SEC football. There is little attempt to describe game action but instead Ernsberger goes into the locker rooms, film studies, and parking lots of conference schools. There is a little emphasis on Tennessee(the author is an alum) and Auburn(perhaps the best storyline) but even Bama fans will enjoy this book. The only real criticism is that Ernsberger makes too many factual errors. Dates, names, and scores are frequently wrong. If facts pertaining to your team are incorrectly reported; how can you trust the reports on other teams, players, or coaches?
Rating: 
Summary: Man is this bad
Review: What a disgrace to the country's finest football conference. Ernsberger may as well be cheeseburger...Calling Kevin Faulk "Marshall" doesn't give this book much credibility. Besides, it reads like a TN alum wrote it. If you're into the SEC like I am try "A Tailgater's Guide To SEC Football". It's a good read on the entire SEC. Again, Ernsbeger should be drawn and quartered for this sacrilege. Go Gamecocks!
Rating:
Summary: Man is this bad
Review: What a disgrace to the country's finest football conference. Ernsberger may as well be cheeseburger...Calling Kevin Faulk "Marshall" doesn't give this book much credibility. Besides, it reads like a TN alum wrote it. If you're into the SEC like I am try "A Tailgater's Guide To SEC Football". It's a good read on the entire SEC. Again, Ernsbeger should be drawn and quartered for this sacrilege. Go Gamecocks!
<< 1 >>
|
