
Badasses
The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death, and John Madden's Oakland Raiders
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Narrated by:
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Barry Abrams
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By:
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Peter Richmond
A book that explores the enduring legends of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death, and John Madden's Oakland Raiders, Badasses is the definitive biography of arguably the last team to play old-fashioned tough-guy football. Peter Richmond, co-author of the New York Times best seller The Glory Game, offers a fascinating look at the 1970s Oakland Raiders, led by colorful greats from another era: Ken Stabler, Willie Brown, Gene Upshaw, Jim Otto, Art Shell, head coach John Madden, and owner Al Davis. In the best-selling vein of Boys Will Be Boys, Badasses chronicles the bar-room exploits, practice-field pranks, and Super Bowl glories of the team's many misfits, cast-offs, psychos, and geniuses of the game.
©2010 Peter Richmond (P)2017 TantorListeners also enjoyed...




















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My crew
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Mostly good but the conclusions by author are a mixed bag
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Silver and Black
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amazing stories
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Blustering in from sea,
With a rollicking song, he sweeps along,
Swaggering boisterously.
His face is weather beaten.
He wears a hooded sash,
With a silver hat about his head,
And a bristling black mustache.
He growls as he storms the country,
A villain big and bold.
And the trees all shake and quiver and quake,
As he robs them of their gold.
The Autumn Wind is a Raider,
Pillaging just for fun.
He'll knock you 'round and upside down,
And laugh when he's conquered and won.
John Facenda's perfect voice echoed in my ears throughout my time listening to this excellent book about the 1970s "Badass" Oakland Raiders coached by John Madden. The narrative is compelling, as it takes the listener from the rise to contention of the Raiders, to their near misses in 3 consecutive AFC championship games, to their ultimate Super Bowl victory in the 1976 season.
The book is chocked full of player profiles...Stabler, Banaszak, Villapiano, Tatum, Hendricks, Willie Brown, Atkinson, Casper, Biletnikoff...and of course the two men most responsible for the commitment to excellence: managing partner Al Davis, and head coach John Madden.
Highlights include details of the rivalry with the Steelers, the players' coach mentality of practice, the fun loving camaraderie of the team, and of course the mind games the Raiders would play with opponents.
The narrative flows easily, with outstanding narration complete with differing voices for the characters. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable portrayal of one of the most unique teams in professional sports history.
Two minor quibbles: the author keeps saying "Black and Silver" in talking about the Raiders. They are known as the "Silver and Black". Whether this was just a stylistic choice, or an error, it doesn't really matter. This flub sticks out like a sore thumb every time the reader says it. And the second part I could have done without was the voluminous descriptions of the party habits of certain team members. I get it...this humanizes them. I can appreciate that, but too much time was spent on this. I was listening to hear about football. How the team came together, why it was so great, how it overcame disappointments, what made them unique, and why it didn't last. For the most part the book delivered.
The end of the book was sad....Madden resigning unexpectedly. Former heroes scapegoated and traded away. Injuries derailing seasons. Such is life, and nothing good lasts forever. Enjoy this trip down memory lane. As the author notes, we'll never see another team quite like the "Badass" Oakland Raiders!
The Autumn Wind is a Raider
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Just badass
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Freaking Awesome!
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Great Book
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True Raider history
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Loved this book, grew up with Madden's Raiders as a kid. They were truly the pirates of the NFL..As kids we loved pirates!!!This book did a great job of developing the character stories,"honestly" and for better or worse. It was a great ride, and you'll wonder how they ever survived...LOL
Enjoy!
Madden's Raiders were like NO other!!!
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