The Opening Kickoff: The Tumultuous Birth of a Football Nation

The Opening Kickoff: The Tumultuous Birth of a Football Nation

A New York Times Bestseller and Boston Globe Bestseller!

Itâ‚¬s Americaâ‚¬s most popular sport, played by thousands, watched by millions, and generating billions in revenues every year. Itâ‚¬s also Americaâ‚¬s most controversial sport, haunted by the specter of life-threatening injuries and plagued by scandal, even among its most venerable personalities and institutions. At the college level, we often tie footballâ‚¬s tales of corruption and greed to its current popularity and revenue potential, and we have vague notions of a halcyon timeâ‚¬"before the new College Football Playoff, power conferences, and huge TV contracts. Perhaps we conjure images of young Ivy Leaguers playing a gentlemanâ‚¬s game, exemplifying the collegial in collegiate. What we donâ‚¬t imagine is a game described in 1905 as â‚¬Å“a social obsessionâ‚¬"this boy-killing, man-mutilating, education-prostituting, gladiatorial sport.â‚¬Â

In The Opening Kickoff, Dave Revsine tells the riveting story of the formative period of American football between 1890 and 1915. In just a quarter century football spread across the nation, captivating people from coast to coast. It was a time that saw the gameâ‚¬s meteoric rise, fueled by overflow crowds, breathless newspaper coverage, and newfound superstarsâ‚¬"including one of the most thrilling and mysterious the sport has ever seen. But it was also a period racked by controversy in academics, recruiting, and physical brutality that, in combination, threatened footballâ‚¬s very existence. A vivid storyteller, Revsine brings it all to life in this captivating narrative.
Country USA
Brand Lyons Press
Manufacturer Lyons Press
Binding Hardcover
PartNumber 9780762791774
Height 9.24
Length 6.35
Weight 1.19931470528
Width 1.07
ReleaseDate 2014-07-29
NumberOfItems 1

Country	USA
Brand	Lyons Press
Manufacturer	Lyons Press
Binding	Hardcover
PartNumber	9780762791774
Height	9.24
Length	6.35
Weight	1.19931470528
Width	1.07
ReleaseDate	2014-07-29
NumberOfItems	1

The Opening Kickoff: The Tumultuous Birth of a Football Nation

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