The Diehard Football Fan's Bucket List Blitz, by Steve Greenberg

Summer is waning, a sad fact that is tempered by the knowledge that the end of summer means that football season is about to begin!  If you are someone who counts the days to kickoff, you will enjoy counting up the list in Steve Greenberg's The Diehard Football Fan's Bucket List Blitz: 101 Rivalries, Tailgates, and Gridiron Traditions to See & Do Before You're Sacked.

Greenberg, a journalist who has covered football far and wide, definitely loves the game.  He covers the top stadiums, rivalries, and sites around the country, as well as some "things to do."  Most of the book is split between college and pros, but a few high school teams get some of his love.

As a Baylor fan, I was pleased to see the inclusion of McLane Stadium, a fantastic place to see a football game.  (In just a few weeks, I will see my son marching at McLane in the drumline of the Baylor University Golden Wave Band!)  Greenberg writes, "Battles on the Brazos are as pleasing as any, anywhere."  Second the motion!

Many of the college stadiums Greenberg includes are notable for their sheer capacity, like Michigan's "The Big House," and Baylor's in-state neighbors, Texas and Texas A&M.  I'm not a fan of these monster stadiums, but I have to agree with Greenberg's assessment: "Huge college games are, in many ways, better than anything else in football, including the NFL.  The passion and pageantry of the college game at its highest level exists on its own plane. . . . There's something about the biggest college games that grips at the heart like nothing else."  In context, he's talking about the College Football Playoff, but I thing it applies to big games in terms of numbers and rivalries as well.  College football is just better.

Inevitably, some fans will feel slighted that their team was not included in Greenberg's bucket list.  I think he does an admirable job of including some of the best rivalries and stadiums in the country.  At the very least, his book will get you fired up for football season, just a few weeks away!


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!