Deep Reads: "Instant Replay" (1968)
Sunday, July 18, 2010 at 12:02AM 
I have probably read this book more times than any other in my life.
Why?
I grew up feeling like I was this lost prince of Green Bay Packer lore, because I missed out on the glory years (I have only the most fleeting of memories of Super Bowl II--meaning I remember hiding behind my Dad's chair as they watched the game) but grew up with my Mom's many stories of how her dad helped create the Packer organization with Curly Lambeau and others (now in their Hall of Fame, he is remembered as one of "The Hungry Five" who kept the franchise alive during lean years, to include his innovation of making them a public corporation). So I always felt a bit out of time, like I arrived too late for everything that seemed to matter so much to my Mom and Dad.
This book, then, became my passport to the glory years (I came of age, remember in the disastrous post-Lombardi era), and I read it compulsively to connect.
It is a great book, but it convinced me to avoid pursuing a college/pro football career (semi-plausible given my size, great speed and vertical 40" my senior year in HS) because of its descriptions of the physical price paid--even then! I just got this tragic sense of the best years of one's life passing too quickly, and that scared me off in the worst way, because my mind is one of anticipation.
Still the best single book on the Lombardi era. I read it last when Favre led the team to the SB win in 1997.
Reader Comments (1)
Tom, Like you I grew up a Green Bay fan. The first game I remember is the Ice Bowl vs the Cowboys. I read the book over and over because I played guard in Jr High and Sr High and dreamed of being Jerry Kramer. Your comments on the book and your dreams bring back memories.
Ed