The Proving Ground

Author:

By Lars Anderson

Format:

Hardback

Availability:

Out of print. Try our second hand search facility.

Price:

£15.99

Tagged with:

American Football, Behind the Scenes, Scottish Claymores

Member Reviews

• Reviewed by 1 member with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Login or join us to post the first review!

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Further Details

• Published: 1st Oct 2001
• ISBN: 0312269757
• Pages: 304

From the Publisher:

Life in the minor leagues of football, which NFL Europe has been aptly dubbed, can be funny, sad, profound and ludicrous all at the same time. At its heart, this six-team league is a short-stop away from either the glamour of the NFL or the bottom of the professional football scrap pile--a crossroads full of real-life drama where the joy of making it can be tempered by failure or injury with one misstep; where the difference between a multimillion dollar NFL contract and abject poverty may only be one play away. Just ask Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner.

Author Lars Anderson brings to life the compelling drama of NFL Europe by spending a season with the Scottish Claymores. Anderson lives with the players at a hotel in Glasgow, Scotland, spending every waking minute with them-eating and heading out to the pubs as the Claymores make their championship run. Along with detailing the life and times of the Claymores, Anderson digs deep into the background of the players and coaches to help explain why some succeed and others fail in their quest to make it to that shining city on the hill - the NFL.

Through the eyes of Anderson, the reader experiences what it means and what it's like to be a football player in Europe. The men that make up the Claymores are the strength of this book-a funny and complex lot that face many of the same issues we tackle every day. An inspiring portrait of both new beginnings and bitter ends, The Proving Ground will shock and delight readers, while showing them another side of the professional football player.

Member Reviews and Ratings

James (Blogger)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars.

I really enjoyed this look at NFL Europe. To many Americans, the league is an afterthought where no name players go as a last chance to make it to the NFL. Europe has developed its fair share of stars, including Super Bowl winning Quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Brad Jonson, and this book follows the Claymores through their attempt to capture the World Bowl. In parts funny, with some good writting, it's an excellent insider's view.

Posted on 15th Dec 2006 at 23:26:20 GMT.