book data
155 ratings, 4.08 average rating, 39 reviews
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published
May 31st 2005
by Three Rivers Press
binding
Paperback, 288 pages
isbn
0609807137
(isbn13: 9780609807132)
description
What is it about sports that turns otherwise sane people into raving lunatics? Why does winning compel people to tear down goal posts, and losing, to ...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 185)
Read in February, 2008
recommended to A. by:
Quick
Not only is this a love song to the eternal madness -- and it is a madness; I know I'm crazy about Carolina basketball, in a frequently awful way, and I am trying to change it, but it is hard, it is years of habit of being insane about Carolina basketball -- of the fan, but it had some fascinating tiny moments of vision about race issues in the American South. You can't really talk about football in the American South without talking about racial issues, and they crept into St. Jo...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
Alabama fans, not many others
If you like 'Bama football and RVs, this will be the perfect book for you. If you live in the northeast and don't understand the rest of the country's obsession with college football, this could also be a great book for you. Otherwise, there are better sports books on the market, like anything by David Halberstam or Roger Kahn to name a couple.
The framing device for this book is fairly standard, Warren St. John follows the Alabama football team through a season of ups and downs, hanging o...more
The framing device for this book is fairly standard, Warren St. John follows the Alabama football team through a season of ups and downs, hanging o...more
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A great book about what is like to be obsessed with Alabama football.
I am obsessed but the level of obsession I have begins and ends with only really caring about whether or not 'Bama wins it's next game in whatever sport is in season.
The people that travel and tail gate at Crimson Tide games are another story.
When I was in school at Tuscaloosa, it was amazing to see people begin gathering on Wednesday for a Saturday afternoon game.
I am no stranger to partying, but don't ...more
I am obsessed but the level of obsession I have begins and ends with only really caring about whether or not 'Bama wins it's next game in whatever sport is in season.
The people that travel and tail gate at Crimson Tide games are another story.
When I was in school at Tuscaloosa, it was amazing to see people begin gathering on Wednesday for a Saturday afternoon game.
I am no stranger to partying, but don't ...more
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Read in October, 2004
recommends it for:
Alabama fans
The author is from Birmingham and an major Alabama fan, so right off I was excited about this book. The author buys a used RV and spends a year tailgating Alabama games and making friends with other RVers. We learn an enormous amount about RVs: how expensive they are (as much as a real house!), the decor, maintenance, etc. One guy's RV is so proud of his expensive RV that he lets people come in and take a look. Although the author attends Alabama games, he is really studying fan culture in gener...more
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Read in November, 2008
Still not as good as Dixieland Delight, but enjoyable none the less.
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
SEC football fans
Two non-fiction books in a row might just be a record for me! As someone who grew up not just in Alabama, but as an Alabama fan, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I also related a lot to the author, who was born just 3 years before me. Many of his memories of Bama football growing up are mine. Like St. John, I was in college before I grasped that part of being a fan was weathering losses (I learned this lesson quickly at Vandy!)
This book is a great inside and in-depth look at what it means...more
This book is a great inside and in-depth look at what it means...more
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St. John managed to take a subject that many would roll their eyes at (Alabama football) and make it a very good read. He has an amazing ability to describe the people he meets and the situations he encounters. I have laughed so hard I cried while reading this. I have purposely not finished reading it because I can't stand the thought of having completed it. I am almost the end, so i hope that he writes something equally funny soon!
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An amazing work of nonfiction that reads, in part, like a novel (when Warren St. John is on the road, following the Tide) and in part like excellent socio-cultural analysis. St. John knows how to tell a story and how to offer compelling cultural critique--which makes the book both very smart and very readable at the same time. His pieces in the NYTimes Sunday Styles section always amaze me--looking forward to his new book.
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Read in October, 2006
I absolutely loved this book. This is my dream-come-true: following my team in a RV, tailgating, and meeting other football fanatics. Following the team around each week, we meet some really strange people that, under any other circumstances, we'd call lunatics. But, in the pre-game euphoria, they seem perfectly normal. This book is so entertaining, its a must read for those who love sports, especially college football!
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In the spirit of a complete bibliography coming out of the weekend, Don Davis recomended this book to me.
Suffers a bit from being a first book, but overall was a good read and had some interesting insights into the lives of those travel to Alabama football games in RVs. FYI, my wife shared my opinion of the book.
Chris Fritz
CCB Internet
Product Development & Reporting Manager
christopher.e.fritz@Chase.com
Suffers a bit from being a first book, but overall was a good read and had some interesting insights into the lives of those travel to Alabama football games in RVs. FYI, my wife shared my opinion of the book.
Chris Fritz
CCB Internet
Product Development & Reporting Manager
christopher.e.fritz@Chase.com
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Read in January, 2005
Hilarious. I called a friend to read aloud sections to her while I was reading it. Being a Vandy-fan (Nashville born and bred), I was especially tickeled by the Bama-Vandy game where the author and his fellow fans were taunted more driving through Knoxville than they were by the lackadaisical Vanderbilt fans. Excellent writing, but doesn't talk down to the SEC football fans. Perfect for the fall.
I'll admit it, I was being snooty and bought it because I heard about it on NPR. That being said, it became a delightful tale I enjoyed reading, you guessed it, on the toilet. I went to UK, so I know a bit about neurotic fans. Now I know a bit more. Its interesting, well written and a book you can enjoy while still reading your usual fare by the fireplace (and leaving it in the crapper).
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Fun look at the subculture of hardcore college football fans who travel in RVs from game to game. Looks at broader issues related to the insane furthest reaches of sports fandom as well as the more commonplace obsession with athletic games shared by most of the male world. "Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer" is part of the song sung by victorious Crimson Tide fans, if you were wondering.
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Read in August, 2008
recommended to Synova by:
Amy
Sports memoirs aren't normally my thing, but a friend of mine recommended this to me, and it was really good.
It follows the author through a season of Bama football. It's funny and really it explains so much about college football fans. and it kind of makes you want to cheer on the Crimson Tide, as long as your team isn't playing them or dependent on the outcome :)
It follows the author through a season of Bama football. It's funny and really it explains so much about college football fans. and it kind of makes you want to cheer on the Crimson Tide, as long as your team isn't playing them or dependent on the outcome :)
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What did I learn from this book? That I just may be a Alabama Crimson Tide fan! I dare you to read this book and NOT become a fan. This is a seriously funny memoir and being a fan. St. John tries to answer why, and the answer seems to be, "Why not? Its's fun!" Written in a gonzo journalism style, St. John throws himself into the proceedings with wild abandon. He is truly a fan!
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If you're not familiar with the South's football culture this is a very educational book. Besides, the 1999 season was my freshman year at UA and I only missed the Vandy game. The whole season was amazing! I'll never forget the chills I got when I marched into Bryant-Denny for the first time...and couldn't even hear myself think.
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone who likes sports (or sociology) even a little bit.
Of COURSE I love this book! Wish it had been my idea...
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I'm rereading RJYH for the third (I think?) time. It hasn't quite hit the level of comfort reading--it isn't a go-to when I'm stressed out or emotional. But it IS comfort reading when football season approaches, and that's been at the forefront of my mind lately.
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I'm rereading RJYH for the third (I think?) time. It hasn't quite hit the level of comfort reading--it isn't a go-to when I'm stressed out or emotional. But it IS comfort reading when football season approaches, and that's been at the forefront of my mind lately.
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8 comments
Read in January, 2005
Best book ever written about the craziness of college football fandom, specifically about Alabama football RV fans.
Ended up interviewing WSJ for my podcast, and then earlier this year went bar hopping with him in East Lansing. Fun guy who has a good knowledge of the social aspects of college sports and fandom.
Ended up interviewing WSJ for my podcast, and then earlier this year went bar hopping with him in East Lansing. Fun guy who has a good knowledge of the social aspects of college sports and fandom.
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Read in January, 2006
I grew up in Alabama. It is difficult to describe how college football is so intimately intertwined with the fabric of the social structure in Alabama, but Warren does a pretty darned good job in this book. It is a great story to boot. Anyone, football fan or no, can appreciate this work and be drawn into it.
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Read in January, 2008
Awesome. The author quits his job at the New Yorker, buys a crappy RV and joins the legion of University of Alabama football fans who drive their RV's all over the Southeast following the team. Very funny and a look into a crazy world where people actually miss their daughter's wedding to go to an Alabama game.
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