It's just about time for baseball season, so this week it's time to wrap up pro football with thoughts on a trio of books I read this past month. I'll start today with, well, the least of the 3:
Inside the NFL: Total Access by Rich Eisen: I had low expectations for this effort from the former "SportsCenter" anchor and current host of NFL Network's flagship program, "Total Access." When I saw "Kukla" of "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie" spelled wrong in NFL Films maven Steve Sabol's foreword, I really worried I was facing a slapdash, sloppy product.
Eisen's book is not a revealing or deep one, but it is entertaining, and it's a lot less sloppy than occasional typos like misspelling Brant Gumbel's name in a photo caption might indicate. Eisen comes off as a rather starstruck guy living out a dream just being associated with the game. Well, not just the game--the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE. He seems a little too deferential when mentioning people like Roger Goodell--I can understand being excited to interview George H.W. Bush and Mick Jagger, but Goodell? So you have to accept the reverent tone and the worshipful attitude about the NFL.
But if that's OK with you, Eisen's look at his job through the course of the NFL calendar--from Super Bowl Week to the Combine to the Draft, etc.--is a fun read. I did learn some new things about the league and how it works, and I enjoyed Eisen's anecdotes about antics such as Marshall Faulk guessing his room number at the Pro Bowl (where it's a tradition to charge everything to unsuspecting people who make their room numbers known). It sure sounds like the guy has a good life and enjoys what he does. You don't learn much about Eisen himself, but you do get a sense of the camarderie, fun, and challenges of his profession.
So, yes, this is the least of the 3 football books I read recently, but it does what it sets out to do and offers an enjoyable perspective on the NFL from a TV guy's perspective.
Back later this week with thoughts on two more ambitious and rewarding books.
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