A few years ago I had the title for a potential short story set around the early days of the NFL pop into my head, but I knew next to nothing about the sport’s beginnings. So I picked up a couple of books for research. I still haven’t written that story and this has been sitting on the shelf since. I decided with the start of a new football season this might be a good time to actually give it a read.

Although I enjoy watching and supporting my team - The Ravens (coincidentally the author, John Eisenberg, turns out to be a member of The Ravens staff), I’m not really a fan of the sport overall as such.

But this turned out to be a fascinating story of the faith that five very different men put in the idea and potential future of pro-football. Covering the years from the formation of a league no one cared about in the 1920s to its ground breaking deal in the late 50s that positioned it as the TV sport of the future this is a no-holes barred look at the people who made it happen.

Ironically the book does loose some momentum when it diverts away from the human story into gameplay and match descriptions. But overall it’s an engrossing story of passion, rivalry, friendship, and above all a shared common belief. ( )