I received this as an e-book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.

In a long preamble to this book, Forbes discusses his lifelong love of sports and his realization as he turned 40 that he could go into sports management as a career. Fast forward ten years of working on golf tournaments and Forbes discovers that he's losing his passion for the games. To address this, he decides to tour the United States for a year attending 100 sporting events in 50 different sports. Forbes likes golf and works in golf, so the first 40% of this book is very focused on golf. I don't like golf, so this was a bear to read, although there were interesting details about golf personalities and courses here and there.

Forbes comes to the realization that the big-time sports with athletes living large and the control of ESPN over big events are draining his love of watching sports. Interestingly, he says he finds the behavior of crowds at big events more drunken and violent than a decade earlier. In my own experience, going to a game was scarier in the 70s and 80s but since the 90s there has been more effort to control crowds, manage alcohol consumption, and create a family-friendly environment to the point that the game experience is almost too sanitized. Nevertheless, Forbes and I can agree that the real thrill of spectator sports is going to be found in lower-level divisions or in sports that are not in the eye of the big sports media complex.

Forbes makes his discovery when the same player helps win a minor league baseball game that he saw in a college baseball game earlier in the year. His journey changes as begins to embrace minor sports like synchronized swimming, paddling, and high school volleyball. He discovers communities of families, friends, athletes, and dedicated fans around the many different sports. Finally, whether it be adult kickball, curling, or lawn bowl, Forbes finds that the best sports experience come from participation. ( )

It's Game Time Somewhere is the story of how a sports junkie got his dream of working in sports fulfilled, lost interest in sports, then found it again. Tim Forbes gives up his well-paying consultant job to get a foot into working in golf, then rises through the ranks there to become an ad-man and event manager. Along the way, however, he loses his passion for sports, and sets out to rekindle it through watching 100 events of 50 different sports. Things do not go as planned, unfortunately, as there is always something missing. He rants about ill-behaved superstars and an obsession with advertisement. In the end he realizes that what brings the good experiences is being part of a community is important, but what proves to be most powerful is participating oneself. To facilitate participation in any way becomes his advice to arrangers of sports events.

If this book had been 1/3 as long and with 85% fewer jokes, it would have been an interesting and fresh look on something that means a lot to a lot of people. As it is, it becomes tedious and only occasionally entertaining. ( )

This was an Early Reviewers’ book, and one which i enjoyed, albeit not one i probably would have picked up of mine own accord. Sports is not something which particularly interests me....[I]t is merely chance...that brings me a book on sport, and that chance this time has done me a favour, as Forbes is quite interesting in his quest to spend a year watching different sports.
He is a man...who has a mid-life crisis by way of suddenly realising that his chosen field of labour...no longer holds joy for him; he begins to wonder if he has the capacity to enjoy sport, any sport, any more, or if working in it has drained it for him.....[His] quest...watching 100 games in fifty sports in a year, is his attempt to discover if he has entirely lost the enjoyment ability, or if he can recapture it.
For much of the year, it seems, his quest is not very successful, as he is shown over and over that professional sports has little to offer, and is intent on making money in any way it possibly can. This he calls the Monster. Apparently later in the year, however, certainly later in the book, Forbes starts to undergo a change, driven by the sports he is compelled to watch in order to complete the quest under the original terms ~ there not being fifty professional sports available to watch he has to go to some lengths to find amateur games and finds some he had never run across before. During this latter portion, he is given several experiences which renew his faith in sport, cover or remove the bad taste left by the Monster, and help him to understand that those who participate in a sport purely for the love of it have a great advantage over those who have other motivations....
I have some reservations about the book, partly Forbes' style (which is perhaps a little overly humorous and casual for my taste), as well as quirks of the digitalisation which left the second of every double “f” capitalised (you have no idea how tired i got of reading “ofF” or variations thereof), and put in paragraph breaks where none were needed or expected....On the other hand, certainly not a complete failure, either, as many of his descriptions of events, places, and people, are well done...and he is clearly knowledgeable about his subject.

http://rhydypennau.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/playing-with-early-reviewers.html has, as always, the complete review. ( )

I enjoyed It's Game Time Somewhere, as an e-book. Being a lifelong sports fan, I could relate to waxing and waning fanaticism over the years, wanting to be a part of the game, and savoring the excitement and nuances of attending different types of events. The initial focus on golf was interesting, even if jaded. The author's rants against the PGA and ESPN were eye opening. The timeline of the book was a bit confusing at times. I didn't always follow the lapses into the "you know what I'm talking about" tone.

Although I didn't read the blog that I believe led to this book, overall the book is cohesive and delivers the promised sports lovers adventure. ( )

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. The writing style was casual, humorous and easy to read. Once Mr Forbes embarked on the sporting descriptions he lost me as I am not a sporty person what so ever, especially of Amercian sports as I am from New Zealand! I skimmed through all the sports explanations so did not find this part of the book satisfying for me. A great book for sports fans I would think!