First, a shout-out to all my sisters out there who love to watch football and actually understand the game! And for those who haven’t yet caught on, Holly Robinson Peete has written the perfect guide to understanding, and loving, pro football. Get Your Own Damn Beer, I’m Watching the Game not only wins my vote for best book title of the year but is now on my top ten list of holiday gifts for the female family members and friends in my life.
Peete, an actress and die-hard football fan who happens to be married to former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete, has written a wonderful and comprehensive guide to the game and all the trappings that is for women AND men who don’t yet know the difference between a linebacker and a tight end. Written with author Daniel Paisner, Get Your Own Damn Beer covers everything from players and positions they play, football history and trivia, top ten lists of best football names and Superbowls and coaches, play-by-play description of the action on the field, and even a glossary of football terms, so you can at least SOUND like you know what you are talking about.
The book follows the rules of the game and shows what each player’s job is, as well as what various plays are often employed on the field and why. There is a great chapter that features interviews with other “football wives” and a short history of each team including key players, team colors, and special moments in the history of the team.
More than just a field guide to the action on the field, Get Your Own Damn Beer is filled with facts and trivia and insight into the game from someone who has direct experience with it. The book is written in a straight-forward style, and even the most difficult plays are easy to understand even for the novice football fan. (Yes, Virginia, there are even drawings to help you “get it.”)
This book will no doubt create a whole new gaggle of gameday fans of both genders, but it’s directed at women who look at football as a violent, dirty sport… until they start to really learn, and watch, the game being played. Suddenly, they finally understand the obsessive, fanatic behavior of the men in their lives come each autumn… and may even begin to engage in that behavior themselves.
Don’t touch that remote and GET THE CHIPS WHILE YOU’RE UP!