{"product_id":"bowls-polls-and-tattered-souls-tackling-the-chaos-and-controversy-that-reign-over-college-football","title":"Bowls, Polls, and Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy that Reign Over College Football","description":"Sports Illustrated columnist Stewart Mandel tackles the ten issues that confound college football fans\nIf your heart beats faster on Saturday afternoons as your team takes the field, this book will give you new insight into the fanaticism and chaos that characterize college football today. Stewart Mandel takes a provocative, hard-hitting look at the hot-button issues: the controversial BCS; the polls and their largely arbitrary rankings; the ego-inflating recruiting craze; cheating and recent scandals; the huge pressures and salaries heaped on coaches; the Heisman hype-fest; the NFL draft; the clunky conference expansions; privileged Notre Dame, college football's greatest juggernaut; and the proliferation of bowl games. You'll getbehind-the-scenes insights on how the issues evolved and why some are almost impossible to resolve.\nYou'll see how tradition, politics, and money influence college football today. You'll discover that, while the rules of the game are hard and fast, the rules governing college football are blurred and pliable. And you'll find a book that's as entertaining, passionate, and thought-provoking as the game itself.\n\"Stewart Mandel writes about college football's major controversies with a wit and depth of knowledge that will impress even the most obsessed fans. And because he's both fair and objective, there is something in this book to infuriate nearly everyone.\"\n—Warren St. John, author of the bestselling Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania\n\"In a book dripping with sarcasm, Stewart Mandel plays tour guide on an interesting ride through the college football nuthouse.\"\n—Bruce Feldman, author of Meat Market and senior writer for ESPN the Magazine\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 0470049170\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: DBV.0470049170.VG\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Very Good\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Mandel, Stewart\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: Pages are clean with no markings. May show minor signs of wear or cosmetic defects  marks, cuts, bends, or scuffs  on the cover, spine, pages, or dust jacket. May have remainder marks on edges.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Dream Books Co.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41475680632890,"sku":"DBV.0470049170.VG","price":5.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/6011\/0138\/files\/0470049170-0.jpg?v=1781808349","url":"https:\/\/shop.dreambooksco.com\/products\/bowls-polls-and-tattered-souls-tackling-the-chaos-and-controversy-that-reign-over-college-football","provider":"Dream Books Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}