football: an encyclopedia of popular culture

Reviewed by Richard C. Crepeau, University of Central Florida

8 July 2010 archive

Encyclopedias are never easy to review. Two things are always clear about them: the author misses items the reviewer believes should be included, and there are items included that are a mystery to the reviewer. This review will make an effort to avoid those two tendencies but, of course, it will not succeed in doing so.

Two things are worth noting about this volume. Unlike many encyclopedias, Football is written by only one author. One wonders immediately if one author could have the range of knowledge and insight into so many items as are included in the average encyclopedia. Second, this is an encyclopedia of popular culture and that requires particular criteria for selection and places certain obligations on the author to treat the items in a pop culture context.

Overall, the selections for this volume are appropriate and many of the essays meet the standards of treatment within the context of popular culture. Among the best of these are Rielly's essays on the following: religion, music, literature, film, newsreels, mascots, the comic strip "Peanuts," The Golden Girl, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, and the entry on Bronko Nagurski featuring the legends of his strength. There are also very good suggestions for further reading attached to each item, as well as appropriate cross-referencing of items.

It should be added here that the essay on literature includes a reference to Aethlon, the Sport Literature Association, and some comments on many of the significant football novels, such as Exley's A Fan's Notes and DeLillo's End Zone. A few poets also get a passing nod.

Two of the entries that one would expect to find, Vince Lombardi and Joe Namath, are here, but share the same weakness. In neither case were the two men sufficiently treated as popular culture symbols of the conflicting value systems of the 60s, nor were the ambiguities of their symbolic qualities noted. Indeed, it would have been helpful to see, within one or the other of the entries, a discussion of these two symbols in counterpoint as they represented contradictory positions in the culture of football, as well as in the popular culture of the United States.

In the entry on the "Hail Mary Pass," Rielly recounts what he calls the most famous "Hail Mary Pass," but he does not explore the origin of the term itself. The entry on Paul "Bear" Bryant is good, but what is missing is the treasure trove of folklore and examples of the genre of jokes that have grown up around this coaching legend.

There are entries on all four of the American Football Leagues. The single entry on the most recent AFL that merged with the NFL needs to acknowledge how it transformed the game, both on the field and off. Most important was the AFL's role in the opening of professional football to African-Americans as this pushed the NFL to a more progressive position on race. Similarly the entry on Jim Brown needs more on his role in raising the racial sensitivity within the NFL.

The entry on Monday Night Football misses its significance as a popular culture phenomenon. First, and this is acknowledged, it changed the television viewing habits of the nation. Second, in its first wave of popularity, it offered the clash of two pop culture characters, the down home Texas Cowboy squaring off against the loud-mouth New York Jew. The fact that, at a Denver bar during each MNF featured, a raffle allowed the winner to throw a brick through the television screen while Howard Cosell was on camera. Something that certainly needs mention.

Rielly's decision to lump all the NFL Commissioner's into one entry seems to shortchange their significance. It seems to me that Bert Bell, Pete Rozelle, and Paul Tagliabue all deserve a space of their own, as each made important contributions to the growth and development of the NFL into the most powerful sports organization in the United States.

On the medical front, there is an informative entry on concussions in football. Even though there has been an avalanche of information on this subject during this past year, Reilly's entry holds up very well. Another entry on Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is informative and reveals the significant role it plays in the death of football players. Given that, it is surprising that there is not another entry on "sickle cell trait," which has been the cause of death for a significant number of African-American football players.

One could go on endlessly critiquing individual items but to little point. What needs to be said about this volume is that it is an interesting collection of items and essays. It has its strengths and weaknesses. I would consider the greatest weakness in the development of the popular culture themes in the entries. On the whole, however, it is a reference work worthy of a library, whether university, public, or personal.

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