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Now I Can Die in Peace : How ESPN's Sports Guy Found Salvation, with a Little Help from Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank, and the 2004 Red Sox
: The Sports Guy does a great job of conveying the how's and why's that someone becomes a die hard fan... the joy, the pain, the flat out AGONY fans go through...
And yes, this book is 98% Sox (2% Patriots, "Silence of the Rams" has to be my favorite column EVER) based but the underlying real life "story" applies to all sports fans who breathe and bleed for their respective team, but it sure didn't hurt being from Boston myself to get me into this
I absolutely loved the footnotes when reviewing past columns, as i've read all his columns many times and it was great to see his thoughts today on stuff he wrote up to 6 years ago....
One more note.... the very very very last sentence made my room "a little dusty"....
Thanks Bill.... you're the best......
Here's how to decide if you will enjoy this book. If you can't answer yes to all(or most) of the following questions, forget this book. Otherwise, you will love it.
--Do you believe that at some point you (or a friend)have jinxed the Sox in a big game by anticipating victory, sitting in the wrong seat, or some other behavior?
--Do you wish the Globe would get some writers who actually seem to like the Red Sox?
--Did you try to scream at Grady Little through the TV in the eighth inning?
--Did you wear the same underwear for eight straight games last OCtober?
--Did you make or receive more than five phone calls at midnight after the Sox won it all?
--Do you enjoy laughing your ass off?
If yes, buy this book.
Oh man, what a great book! Bill Simmons is not just one of our best sportswriters, but he's one of our best writers, period. This book epitomizes "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat." As a sometime New Orleans Saints fan, I can identify so much with everything Simmons writes about. Except the thrill of victory part.
At any rate, Simmons writes straight from the gut in a way that any true sports fan can embrace. It helps if you are a Red Sox fan, but that is not a pre-requisite.* (see another footnote) If you have ever faithfully rooted for a team that always breaks your heart, and then, suddenly, they win it all, what do you do? How do you react? Probably a lot like Simmons.
Packed with footnotes that are as funny and insightful as the original prose, this book will provide the reader with some grin-inducing entertainment and also food for thought. What you get here is a highly personalized, almost impressionistic, account of the ultimate triumph of the Red Sox and the city of Boston. It reminds me of a couple of other fine sports-related books I've read recently that tell a grand tale by focusing on small vignettes and details.* (See yet another footnote.)
Bottom line...pick this one up ASAP, before the dreaded Yankees makes some kind of freakish comeback.
FOOTNOTES:
1. "A Pullet Surprise" is how one young high school student once spelled the name for the highest award for journalism.
2. In the 2004 ALCS, everyone in the known universe, outside of the Bronx, was a Red Sox fan. Anakin Skywalker was spotted wearing a "Yankees Suck" t-shirt in a dank Tatooine cantina.
3. Other recommended books include:
"Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season" by Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King
"The Devil Wears Pinstripes" by Jim Caple
"Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer" by Warren St. John (a stellar, hilarious book about fandom in general)
 This book is as horrible as his ESPN writing..not surprising since most of it is from his site. The only people who would like Bill Simmon's writings are the fickle sports fans who dont know much about sports and get entertained by Saved by the Bell analogies.
Examples of his horrible NBA writing from the past:
Two years ago, he predicts the Celtics will finish 3rd in the East because they had a great offseason. Nothing wrong with making a wrong prediction, as we all are wrong from time to time. But what does he do when the Celtics start doing horribly? He says "all those moves were so obviously bad from the beginning". Hey Bill: if it was so "obvious" from the beginning, then why did you predict they were such great moves? Own up to your mistakes when you make them.
Other examples: predicting Yao would be horrible even before he had seen him play (what are you, Simmons, a psychic?). same with Darko, Isiah Thomas as a GM, etc.
Overall, if you're a Sox fan and want to read a Sox book then buy this. Otherwise if you want remotely intelligent sports writing, dont waste your money.
Other than being one of the internet's most popular columnists, Bill Simmons is already a New England icon. This book helps solidify that position. Highly reccomended for fans of his Sports Guy columns on Page2 of [...]. The book is very insightful, and gives you the best perspective of events from the biggest Red Sox fan you know.
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