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If These Walls Could Talk: Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Stories from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sideline, Locker Room, and Press Box
A behind-the-scenes perspective on Fighting Irish history
After making his mark in the Notre Dame record books as a running back and later joining the school's athletic department, Reggie Brooks knows what it means to live and breathe Fighting Irish football.
In If These Walls Could Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Brooks provides insight into the inner sanctum of one of the most iconic college football programs, from The Snow Bowl under legendary coach Lou Holtz to the modern rosters guided by Brian Kelly.
Featuring conversations with players and coaches past and present as well as off-the-wall anecdotes only Brooks can tell, this indispensable volume is your ticket to Notre Dame history.
Triumph Books' If These Walls Could Talk series takes fans behind the scenes with their favorite college and pro teams.
After making his mark in the Notre Dame record books as a running back and later joining the school's athletic department, Reggie Brooks knows what it means to live and breathe Fighting Irish football.
In If These Walls Could Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Brooks provides insight into the inner sanctum of one of the most iconic college football programs, from The Snow Bowl under legendary coach Lou Holtz to the modern rosters guided by Brian Kelly.
Featuring conversations with players and coaches past and present as well as off-the-wall anecdotes only Brooks can tell, this indispensable volume is your ticket to Notre Dame history.
Triumph Books' If These Walls Could Talk series takes fans behind the scenes with their favorite college and pro teams.
352 pages, Paperback
Published September 14, 2021
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June 29, 2022
Former Notre Dame and NFL running back Reggie Brooks was pretty shrewd with the way he did this book. He gave readers some history on Notre Dame football from his perspective as well as some candid analysis of his own football career.
This book was like a therapeutic exercise for Brooks, as he was able to express his true feelings about his own personal life on and off the football field as well as describe the state of Notre Dame football these days.
My favorite parts of this book were when Brooks described how he truly felt about his being a background player or footnote at Notre Dame from 1989 to 1991, a period in which he was buried on the Irish depth chart at running back and he also was a backup defensive back. My other favorite part was when he discussed his ascension from being a footnote in Irish football history to an All-American and Heisman Trophy candidate at running back in 1992. That year he gained 1,372 yards and scored 13 times.
Plus, I liked the part where he gave former Notre Dame recruiting coordinator Vinny Cerrato his due on pages 290 to 292. On those three pages, Brooks passionately talked about how much Cerrato helped Notre Dame get where they were in the 1988 to 1993 period. Some of the best talent in college history played on Notre Dame's home field partly because of Cerrato's hard work. I bet Cerrato would have appreciated those three pages that described his hard work.
Pros of the book: Brooks earned a gold star from me on how he described his career at Notre Dame and in his short career in the NFL. He still is hurt by the way he was treated by the Washington Redskins as a player and person in the 1994 to 1995 period. You can feel his triumphs and pain with the Redskins by reading chapters 20 through 25.
Cons of the book: Even though Brooks gave readers an objective look at Notre Dame football, this book was more of a safe look at Irish football partly because Brooks is an employee of Notre Dame athletics. You could tell by reading this book that he didn't want to ruffle much or any feathers in the ND football community, and that's because this book was sanitized in many ways in how it looked at ND football after the Lou Holtz era.
In conclusion, this book is not among the many definitive readings on Notre Dame football history. But what this book did do was give you some things to ponder about Irish football history which included the author's own career at Notre Dame. I enjoyed the book, and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Notre Dame football or who wants to analyze how hard it is to make in the NFL and how much that league is a business.
This book was like a therapeutic exercise for Brooks, as he was able to express his true feelings about his own personal life on and off the football field as well as describe the state of Notre Dame football these days.
My favorite parts of this book were when Brooks described how he truly felt about his being a background player or footnote at Notre Dame from 1989 to 1991, a period in which he was buried on the Irish depth chart at running back and he also was a backup defensive back. My other favorite part was when he discussed his ascension from being a footnote in Irish football history to an All-American and Heisman Trophy candidate at running back in 1992. That year he gained 1,372 yards and scored 13 times.
Plus, I liked the part where he gave former Notre Dame recruiting coordinator Vinny Cerrato his due on pages 290 to 292. On those three pages, Brooks passionately talked about how much Cerrato helped Notre Dame get where they were in the 1988 to 1993 period. Some of the best talent in college history played on Notre Dame's home field partly because of Cerrato's hard work. I bet Cerrato would have appreciated those three pages that described his hard work.
Pros of the book: Brooks earned a gold star from me on how he described his career at Notre Dame and in his short career in the NFL. He still is hurt by the way he was treated by the Washington Redskins as a player and person in the 1994 to 1995 period. You can feel his triumphs and pain with the Redskins by reading chapters 20 through 25.
Cons of the book: Even though Brooks gave readers an objective look at Notre Dame football, this book was more of a safe look at Irish football partly because Brooks is an employee of Notre Dame athletics. You could tell by reading this book that he didn't want to ruffle much or any feathers in the ND football community, and that's because this book was sanitized in many ways in how it looked at ND football after the Lou Holtz era.
In conclusion, this book is not among the many definitive readings on Notre Dame football history. But what this book did do was give you some things to ponder about Irish football history which included the author's own career at Notre Dame. I enjoyed the book, and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Notre Dame football or who wants to analyze how hard it is to make in the NFL and how much that league is a business.
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