Long Bomb
How the XFL Became TV's Biggest Fiasco
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Brett Forrest
-
By:
-
Brett Forrest
About this listen
There is no failure like televised failure. It is the most public failure. The most humbling failure. So it was odd when the two men who had assembled the biggest bomb in TV history began high-fiving on the sidelines of the XFL’s final game.
Not everyone was celebrating. Dick Butkus bristled. Jesse Ventura just wanted it all to end. And the general public couldn’t wait to watch something else.
Brett Forrest’s Long Bomb is the story of what really happened in the XFL, the renegade football league dreamed up by NBC and the World Wrestling Federation. Reporting on the XFL from its first training camp to the championship game, Forrest takes us inside the limousines and locker rooms to deliver the dope that NBC’s all-access cameras only promised. When NBC lost TV rights to the NFL, sports chief Dick Ebersol was prepared to do anything to get football back under his wing. Vince McMahon, at the apex of his powers with the WWF, wanted to prove that he was more than a wrestling promoter. By combining football, wrestling, and reality TV, the two men planned to reinvent the way America watched sports.
The XFL promised as much to its players as it did to its viewers. Set in Las Vegas, the audiobook follows the Outlaws and the league’s biggest star, Rod Smart. His nickname, He Hate Me, was the one thing that worked in the XFL.
Forrest deconstructs this moment-in-time experiment. A combination of desperation and hubris, the XFL reflected a confused media landscape, where the cost of airing big games ran too high in a wilderness of splintered audiences and expanding choices.The XFL was supposed to be greater, bigger, better—more, more, more. If it worked, competing networks would have fallen over each other copying the formula. If it didn’t work, man, what a train wreck.
©2002 Brett Forrest (P)2023 Brett ForrestListeners also enjoyed...
-
Tod Is God
- The Authorized Story of How I Created Extreme Championship Wrestling
- By: Tod Gordon, Sean Oliver, Terry Funk - foreword
- Narrated by: Sean Oliver
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Tod is God—so named for a chant the ECW fans created to honor the founder—Gordon chronicles each step of the company's meteoric rise to prominence, as well as the elements that led to his removing himself from the company before its demise. Gordon's former partnership with ECW booker Paul Heyman made for magical TV and in-ring moments. The friendship between Gordon and Heyman, both a blessing and curse, was the once-in-a-lifetime bond responsible for so many of history's greatest teams, bands, and partners.
-
-
Some new stories but..
- By Sean on 09-29-24
By: Tod Gordon, and others
-
Nitro
- The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner's WCW
- By: Guy Evans
- Narrated by: Guy Evans
- Length: 17 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nitro is a story about much more than WCW and the Monday Night Wars. It is a story of an era, a time in which the media and cultural landscape precipitated - and later supported - pro wrestling's mainstream popularity. It is a story of how a company made in the image of an intuitively brilliant risk-taker betrayed its original promise. It is a story of how a handful of men, each struggling with their own limitations, facilitated a public obsession that changed television forever.
-
-
way better than the death of wcw
- By DMCizzle on 01-05-21
By: Guy Evans
-
The Umpire Is Out
- Calling the Game and Living My True Self
- By: Dale Scott, Rob Neyer - contributor, Billy Bean - foreword
- Narrated by: Dale Scott
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dale Scott's career as a professional baseball umpire spanned nearly forty years, including thirty-three in the Major Leagues, from 1985 to 2017. He worked exactly a thousand games behind the plate, calling balls and strikes at the pinnacle of his profession, working in every Major League Baseball stadium, and interacting with dozens of other top-flight umpires, colorful managers, and hundreds of players. What makes Scott's book truly different is his unique perspective as the only umpire in the history of professional baseball to come out as gay during his career.
-
-
Amazing person, amazing story
- By JB on 12-31-23
By: Dale Scott, and others
-
The Chris Farley Show
- A Biography in Three Acts
- By: Tom Farley, Tanner Colby
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer, L. J. Ganser, Mark Boyett
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times best-selling biography of an American comedy legend. After three years of sobriety, Chris Farley's life was at its creative peak until a string of professional disappointments chased him back to drugs and alcohol. He fought hard against them, but it was a fight he would lose in December 1997. Farley's fans immediately drew parallels between his death and that of his idol, John Belushi. Without looking deeper, however, many failed to see that Farley was much more than just another Hollywood drug overdose. In this officially authorized oral history, Farley's friends and family remember his work and life.
-
-
Incredibly sad....
- By Marie B on 04-12-15
By: Tom Farley, and others
-
Surely You Can't Be Serious
- The True Story of Airplane!
- By: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
- Narrated by: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Arne Schmidt, Barry Diller, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Surely You Can’t Be Serious is the first-ever oral history of the making of Airplane! by the creators, and of the beginnings of the ZAZ trio (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) – charting the rise of their comedy troupe Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, Wisconsin all the way to premiere night. The directors explain what drew them to filmmaking and in particular, comedy.
-
-
Absolutely fantastic
- By A. Soergel on 10-11-23
By: David Zucker, and others
-
LeBron
- By: Jeff Benedict
- Narrated by: Chris Jackson
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of the twenty-first century, and he’s in the conversation with Michael Jordan as the greatest of all time. The reigning king of the game and the first active NBA player to become a billionaire, LeBron wears the crown like he was born with it. Yet his ascent has been anything but effortless and predetermined—the truth is vastly more interesting than that. LeBron tells the full, riveting saga of how a child adrift found the will to become a titan. Jeff Benedict paints a vivid picture of LeBron’s epic origin story, showing the gradual rise of a star.
-
-
Anyone could have written this book
- By Kevin Crane on 05-01-23
By: Jeff Benedict
-
Tod Is God
- The Authorized Story of How I Created Extreme Championship Wrestling
- By: Tod Gordon, Sean Oliver, Terry Funk - foreword
- Narrated by: Sean Oliver
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Tod is God—so named for a chant the ECW fans created to honor the founder—Gordon chronicles each step of the company's meteoric rise to prominence, as well as the elements that led to his removing himself from the company before its demise. Gordon's former partnership with ECW booker Paul Heyman made for magical TV and in-ring moments. The friendship between Gordon and Heyman, both a blessing and curse, was the once-in-a-lifetime bond responsible for so many of history's greatest teams, bands, and partners.
-
-
Some new stories but..
- By Sean on 09-29-24
By: Tod Gordon, and others
-
Nitro
- The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner's WCW
- By: Guy Evans
- Narrated by: Guy Evans
- Length: 17 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nitro is a story about much more than WCW and the Monday Night Wars. It is a story of an era, a time in which the media and cultural landscape precipitated - and later supported - pro wrestling's mainstream popularity. It is a story of how a company made in the image of an intuitively brilliant risk-taker betrayed its original promise. It is a story of how a handful of men, each struggling with their own limitations, facilitated a public obsession that changed television forever.
-
-
way better than the death of wcw
- By DMCizzle on 01-05-21
By: Guy Evans
-
The Umpire Is Out
- Calling the Game and Living My True Self
- By: Dale Scott, Rob Neyer - contributor, Billy Bean - foreword
- Narrated by: Dale Scott
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dale Scott's career as a professional baseball umpire spanned nearly forty years, including thirty-three in the Major Leagues, from 1985 to 2017. He worked exactly a thousand games behind the plate, calling balls and strikes at the pinnacle of his profession, working in every Major League Baseball stadium, and interacting with dozens of other top-flight umpires, colorful managers, and hundreds of players. What makes Scott's book truly different is his unique perspective as the only umpire in the history of professional baseball to come out as gay during his career.
-
-
Amazing person, amazing story
- By JB on 12-31-23
By: Dale Scott, and others
-
The Chris Farley Show
- A Biography in Three Acts
- By: Tom Farley, Tanner Colby
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer, L. J. Ganser, Mark Boyett
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times best-selling biography of an American comedy legend. After three years of sobriety, Chris Farley's life was at its creative peak until a string of professional disappointments chased him back to drugs and alcohol. He fought hard against them, but it was a fight he would lose in December 1997. Farley's fans immediately drew parallels between his death and that of his idol, John Belushi. Without looking deeper, however, many failed to see that Farley was much more than just another Hollywood drug overdose. In this officially authorized oral history, Farley's friends and family remember his work and life.
-
-
Incredibly sad....
- By Marie B on 04-12-15
By: Tom Farley, and others
-
Surely You Can't Be Serious
- The True Story of Airplane!
- By: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
- Narrated by: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Arne Schmidt, Barry Diller, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Surely You Can’t Be Serious is the first-ever oral history of the making of Airplane! by the creators, and of the beginnings of the ZAZ trio (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) – charting the rise of their comedy troupe Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, Wisconsin all the way to premiere night. The directors explain what drew them to filmmaking and in particular, comedy.
-
-
Absolutely fantastic
- By A. Soergel on 10-11-23
By: David Zucker, and others
-
LeBron
- By: Jeff Benedict
- Narrated by: Chris Jackson
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of the twenty-first century, and he’s in the conversation with Michael Jordan as the greatest of all time. The reigning king of the game and the first active NBA player to become a billionaire, LeBron wears the crown like he was born with it. Yet his ascent has been anything but effortless and predetermined—the truth is vastly more interesting than that. LeBron tells the full, riveting saga of how a child adrift found the will to become a titan. Jeff Benedict paints a vivid picture of LeBron’s epic origin story, showing the gradual rise of a star.
-
-
Anyone could have written this book
- By Kevin Crane on 05-01-23
By: Jeff Benedict
-
The Last Folk Hero
- The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 22 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the mid-1980s into the early 1990s, the greatest athlete of all time streaked across American sports and popular culture. Stadiums struggled to contain him. Clocks failed to capture his speed. His strength was legendary. His power unmatched. Video game makers turned him into an invincible character—and they were dead-on. He climbed (and walked across) walls, splintered baseball bats over his knee, turned oncoming tacklers into ground meat.
-
-
If you are a sports fan and over 35 years old, you have to listen/read this. Awesome!
- By betty sammons on 06-29-23
By: Jeff Pearlman
-
But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?
- An Oral History of the '60s Girl Groups
- By: Laura Flam, Emily Sieu Liebowitz
- Narrated by: Laura Flam, Emily Sieu Liebowitz, Robin Eller, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The girl group sound, made famous and unforgettable by acts like The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, and The Vandellas, took over the airwaves by capturing the mixture of innocence and rebellion emblematic of America in the 1960s. But while the songs are essential to the American canon, many of the artists remain all but anonymous to most listeners. But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?: An Oral History of 60s Girl Groups tells a national coming-of-age story that gives particular insight into the experiences of the female singers and songwriters who created the movement.
-
-
Now More Than Ever
- By priest on 09-15-23
By: Laura Flam, and others
-
The Big Time
- How the 1970s Transformed Sports in America
- By: Michael MacCambridge
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every decade brings change, but as Michael MacCambridge chronicles in The Big Time, no decade in American sports history featured such convulsive cultural shifts as the 1970s. So many things happened during the decade—the move of sports into prime-time television, the beginning of athletes’ gaining a sense of autonomy for their own careers, integration becoming—at least within sports—more of the rule than the exception, and the social revolution that brought females more decisively into sports, as athletes, coaches, executives, and spectators.
-
-
Good Effort But Missed Part of the Story
- By Kevin on 11-04-23
-
The Franchise
- Building a Winner with the World Champion Detroit Pistons, Basketball's Bad Boys
- By: Cameron Stauth
- Narrated by: Matt Martucci, Jeff Martin
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In January of 1989, Cameron Stauth became a fly on the office wall of Pistons General Manager Jack McCloskey. He watched day by day, crisis by crisis, as McCloskey, Coach Chuck Daly, and a handful of immensely talented and ambitious basketball players—the Bad Boys of Detroit—won the NBA championship.
-
-
Bad Boys Risen
- By Jarvis Kolen on 09-04-22
By: Cameron Stauth
-
When the Game Was War
- The NBA's Greatest Season
- By: Rich Cohen
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 1980s were a transformative decade for the NBA. Since its founding in 1946, the league had evolved from a bruising, earthbound game of mostly nameless, underpaid players to one in which athletes became household names for their thrilling, physics-defying play. The 1987–88 season was the peak of that golden era, a year of incredible drama that featured a pantheon of superstars in their prime—the most future Hall of Famers competing at one time in any given season—battling for the title, and for their respective legacies.
-
-
Phil Jackson accuses Red Auerbach of cheap tactics
- By Sean on 01-03-24
By: Rich Cohen
-
The Greatest Summer in Baseball History
- How the '73 Season Changed Us Forever
- By: John Rosengren
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1973, baseball was in crisis. The first strike in pro sports had soured fans, American League attendance had fallen, and America's team—the Yankees—had lost more games and money than ever. Yet that season, five of the game's greatest figures rescued the national pastime. Hank Aaron riveted the nation with his pursuit of Babe Ruth's landmark home run record in the face of racist threats. George Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees at a bargain basement price and began buying back their faded glory.
-
-
Terrible, Just Terrible.
- By Anonymous User on 06-12-23
By: John Rosengren
-
Moneyball
- The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Moneyball reveals a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the giant offices of major league teams and the dugouts. But the real jackpot is a cache of numbers collected over the years by a strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers, and physics professors.
-
-
Excellent Book, Outstanding Narration, Sloppy Edit
- By Dirk Turgid on 03-05-12
By: Michael Lewis
-
Barkley
- A Biography
- By: Timothy Bella
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He's one of the most interesting American athletes in the past fifty years. Passionate, candid, iconoclastic, and gifted both on and off the court, Charles Barkley has made a lasting impact on not only the world of basketball but pop culture at large. Yet few people know the real Charles. Informed by over 370 original interviews and painstaking research, Timothy Bella's Barkley is the most comprehensive biography to date of one of the most talked about icons in the world of sports.
-
-
Great insight to the big man’s life.
- By marci rodee on 07-03-23
By: Timothy Bella
-
Football for a Buck
- The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The United States Football League was the last football league to not merely challenge the mighty NFL but also to cause it to collectively shudder. It spanned three seasons, featured as many as 18 teams, secured multiple television deals, drew millions of fans, and launched the careers of legends - but then it died beneath the weight of a particularly egotistical and bombastic owner, a New York businessman named Donald Trump. Jeff Pearlman draws on more than 400 interviews to unearth all the salty, untold stories of one of the craziest sports entities to have ever captivated America.
-
-
Ahhh the USFL
- By Film Lover on 10-11-18
By: Jeff Pearlman
-
Blood in the Garden
- The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks
- By: Chris Herring
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive history of the 1990s New York Knicks, illustrating how Pat Riley, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason resurrected the iconic franchise through oppressive physicality and unmatched grit. Blood in the Garden is a portrait filled with eye-opening details that have never been shared before, revealing the full story of the franchise in the midst of the NBA’s golden era. And rest assured, no punches will be pulled. Which is just how those rough-and-tumble Knicks would like it.
-
-
A Bit Disappointing
- By Justin Aultman on 11-29-22
By: Chris Herring
-
It's Better to Be Feared
- The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness
- By: Seth Wickersham
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 19 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over two unbelievable decades, the New England Patriots were not only the NFL's most dominant team, but also - and by far - the most secretive. How did they achieve and sustain greatness - and what were the costs? In It's Better to Be Feared, Seth Wickersham, one of the country's finest long form and investigative sportswriters, tells the full, behind-the-scenes story of the Patriots, capturing the brilliance, ambition, and vanity that powered and ultimately unraveled them.
-
-
Don’t bother if you’ve read other patriots books
- By Brandon O. on 10-14-21
By: Seth Wickersham
-
Amazing Tales from the Chicago Bears Sideline
- A Collection of the Greatest Bears Stories Ever Told
- By: Steve McMichael, John Mullin, Phil Arvia
- Narrated by: Tony Craine
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Chicago Bears are more than a football team - they are a legend. Founded in 1919, the Bears have won more regular season games than any other NFL franchise. With 26 players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and thirteen retired jerseys, it’s no wonder the Bears can be defined by three phrases: Big, tough, and full of characters. The Bears, like Chicago, are not just people. They are personalities. In Amazing Tales From the Chicago Bears Sideline, Bears fans can hear about the men who have made the Bears one of the greatest franchises in pro football....
-
-
Steve mcmichael
- By teamjed on 08-13-24
By: Steve McMichael, and others
Related to this topic
-
It's Better to Be Feared
- The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness
- By: Seth Wickersham
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 19 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over two unbelievable decades, the New England Patriots were not only the NFL's most dominant team, but also - and by far - the most secretive. How did they achieve and sustain greatness - and what were the costs? In It's Better to Be Feared, Seth Wickersham, one of the country's finest long form and investigative sportswriters, tells the full, behind-the-scenes story of the Patriots, capturing the brilliance, ambition, and vanity that powered and ultimately unraveled them.
-
-
Don’t bother if you’ve read other patriots books
- By Brandon O. on 10-14-21
By: Seth Wickersham
-
Barkley
- A Biography
- By: Timothy Bella
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He's one of the most interesting American athletes in the past fifty years. Passionate, candid, iconoclastic, and gifted both on and off the court, Charles Barkley has made a lasting impact on not only the world of basketball but pop culture at large. Yet few people know the real Charles. Informed by over 370 original interviews and painstaking research, Timothy Bella's Barkley is the most comprehensive biography to date of one of the most talked about icons in the world of sports.
-
-
Great insight to the big man’s life.
- By marci rodee on 07-03-23
By: Timothy Bella
-
Tall Men, Short Shorts
- The 1969 NBA Finals: Wilt, Russ, Lakers, Celtics, and a Very Young Sports Reporter
- By: Leigh Montville
- Narrated by: Leigh Montville
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They don’t set up any better than this. The greatest basketball player of all time–Bill Russell–and his juggernaut Boston Celtics, winners of ten (ten!) of the previous twelve NBA championships, squeak through one more playoff run and land in the Finals again. Russell’s opponent? The fearsome 7’1” next-generation superstar, Wilt Chamberlain, recently traded to the LA Lakers to form the league’s first dream team. Bill Russell and John Havlicek versus Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.
-
-
Very good book with a caveat
- By Hebern on 12-06-21
By: Leigh Montville
-
Glory Days
- The Summer of 1984 and the 90 Days That Changed Sports and Culture Forever
- By: L. Jon Wertheim
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The summer of 1984 was a watershed moment in the birth of modern sports when the nation watched Michael Jordan grow from college basketball player to professional athlete and star. That summer also saw ESPN’s rise to media dominance as the country’s premier sports network and the first modern, commercialized, profitable Olympics. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird’s rivalry raged, Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe reigned in tennis, and Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon made pro wrestling a business, while Donald Trump pierced the national consciousness as a pro football team owner.
-
-
A great sports summer
- By Hebern on 07-06-21
By: L. Jon Wertheim
-
Three Ring Circus
- Kobe, Shaq, Phil and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the history of modern sport, there have never been two high-level teammates who loathed each other the way Shaquille O’Neal loathed Kobe Bryant and Kobe Bryant loathed Shaquille O’Neal. From public sniping and sparring, to physical altercations and the repeated threats of trade, it was warfare. And yet, despite eight years of infighting and hostility, by turns mediated and encouraged by coach Phil Jackson, the Shaq-Kobe duo resulted in one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history.
-
-
Ok I've finished it and have more thoughts
- By Bobby S on 09-24-20
By: Jeff Pearlman
-
From Darkness to Dynasty
- The First 40 Years of the New England Patriots
- By: Jerry Thornton
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Darkness to Dynasty tells the unlikely history of the New England Patriots as it has never been told before. From their humble beginnings as a team bought with rainy-day money by a man who had no idea what he was doing, to the fateful season that saw them win their first Super Bowl, Jerry Thornton shares the wild, humiliating, unbelievable, and wonderful stories that comprised the first 40 years of what would ultimately become the most dominant franchise in NFL history.
-
-
great narration, great book
- By BenRias on 01-25-18
By: Jerry Thornton
-
It's Better to Be Feared
- The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness
- By: Seth Wickersham
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 19 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over two unbelievable decades, the New England Patriots were not only the NFL's most dominant team, but also - and by far - the most secretive. How did they achieve and sustain greatness - and what were the costs? In It's Better to Be Feared, Seth Wickersham, one of the country's finest long form and investigative sportswriters, tells the full, behind-the-scenes story of the Patriots, capturing the brilliance, ambition, and vanity that powered and ultimately unraveled them.
-
-
Don’t bother if you’ve read other patriots books
- By Brandon O. on 10-14-21
By: Seth Wickersham
-
Barkley
- A Biography
- By: Timothy Bella
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He's one of the most interesting American athletes in the past fifty years. Passionate, candid, iconoclastic, and gifted both on and off the court, Charles Barkley has made a lasting impact on not only the world of basketball but pop culture at large. Yet few people know the real Charles. Informed by over 370 original interviews and painstaking research, Timothy Bella's Barkley is the most comprehensive biography to date of one of the most talked about icons in the world of sports.
-
-
Great insight to the big man’s life.
- By marci rodee on 07-03-23
By: Timothy Bella
-
Tall Men, Short Shorts
- The 1969 NBA Finals: Wilt, Russ, Lakers, Celtics, and a Very Young Sports Reporter
- By: Leigh Montville
- Narrated by: Leigh Montville
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They don’t set up any better than this. The greatest basketball player of all time–Bill Russell–and his juggernaut Boston Celtics, winners of ten (ten!) of the previous twelve NBA championships, squeak through one more playoff run and land in the Finals again. Russell’s opponent? The fearsome 7’1” next-generation superstar, Wilt Chamberlain, recently traded to the LA Lakers to form the league’s first dream team. Bill Russell and John Havlicek versus Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.
-
-
Very good book with a caveat
- By Hebern on 12-06-21
By: Leigh Montville
-
Glory Days
- The Summer of 1984 and the 90 Days That Changed Sports and Culture Forever
- By: L. Jon Wertheim
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The summer of 1984 was a watershed moment in the birth of modern sports when the nation watched Michael Jordan grow from college basketball player to professional athlete and star. That summer also saw ESPN’s rise to media dominance as the country’s premier sports network and the first modern, commercialized, profitable Olympics. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird’s rivalry raged, Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe reigned in tennis, and Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon made pro wrestling a business, while Donald Trump pierced the national consciousness as a pro football team owner.
-
-
A great sports summer
- By Hebern on 07-06-21
By: L. Jon Wertheim
-
Three Ring Circus
- Kobe, Shaq, Phil and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the history of modern sport, there have never been two high-level teammates who loathed each other the way Shaquille O’Neal loathed Kobe Bryant and Kobe Bryant loathed Shaquille O’Neal. From public sniping and sparring, to physical altercations and the repeated threats of trade, it was warfare. And yet, despite eight years of infighting and hostility, by turns mediated and encouraged by coach Phil Jackson, the Shaq-Kobe duo resulted in one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history.
-
-
Ok I've finished it and have more thoughts
- By Bobby S on 09-24-20
By: Jeff Pearlman
-
From Darkness to Dynasty
- The First 40 Years of the New England Patriots
- By: Jerry Thornton
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Darkness to Dynasty tells the unlikely history of the New England Patriots as it has never been told before. From their humble beginnings as a team bought with rainy-day money by a man who had no idea what he was doing, to the fateful season that saw them win their first Super Bowl, Jerry Thornton shares the wild, humiliating, unbelievable, and wonderful stories that comprised the first 40 years of what would ultimately become the most dominant franchise in NFL history.
-
-
great narration, great book
- By BenRias on 01-25-18
By: Jerry Thornton
-
Tanking to the Top
- The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports
- By: Yaron Weitzman
- Narrated by: Yaron Weitzman
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a group of private equity bigwigs purchased the Philadelphia 76ers in 2011, the team was both bad and boring. Attendance was down. So were ratings. The Sixers had an aging coach, an antiquated front office, and a group of players that could best be described as mediocre. Enter Sam Hinkie - a man with a plan straight out of the PE playbook, one that violated professional sports' Golden Rule: You play to win the game.
-
-
Great history of tanking by Sixers
- By Alan Bernstein on 03-11-23
By: Yaron Weitzman
-
The Last Headbangers
- NFL Football in the Rowdy, Reckless 70s - The Era that Created Modern Sports
- By: Kevin Cook
- Narrated by: Bob Dunsworth
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The inside story of the most colorful decade in NFL history - pro football's raging, hormonal, hairy, druggy, immortal adolescence. Between the Immaculate Reception in 1972 and The Catch in 1982, pro football grew up. In 1972, Steelers star Franco Harris hitchhiked to practice. NFL teams roomed in skanky motels. They played on guts, painkillers, legal steroids, fury, and camaraderie. A decade later, Joe Montana's gleamingly efficient 49ers ushered in a new era: the corporate, scripted, multibillion-dollar NFL we watch today.
-
-
Brilliant and Poignant
- By Mike McDaniel on 05-22-18
By: Kevin Cook
-
Play by Play
- Calling the Wildest Games in Sports - From SEC Football to College Basketball, the Masters and More
- By: Verne Lundquist
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner, Verne Lundquist
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Verne Lundquist's remarkable broadcasting career has placed him at the center of major sporting events in America for more than 50 years, from Jack Nicklaus' final victory at the 1986 Masters to Tonya Harding's attack on Nancy Kerrigan at the 1994 Olympics to the Auburn-Alabama shocker of 2013. In his first memoir, he replays highlights from his career, taking sports fans behind the scenes of some of the most dramatic moments in modern sports history.
-
-
Decent Sorry, Bit Boring
- By Allena on 08-20-24
By: Verne Lundquist
-
Badasses
- The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death, and John Madden's Oakland Raiders
- By: Peter Richmond
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Good story, slightly obnoxious author and reader
- By Harry Seaward on 01-06-19
By: Peter Richmond
-
Football for a Buck
- The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The United States Football League was the last football league to not merely challenge the mighty NFL but also to cause it to collectively shudder. It spanned three seasons, featured as many as 18 teams, secured multiple television deals, drew millions of fans, and launched the careers of legends - but then it died beneath the weight of a particularly egotistical and bombastic owner, a New York businessman named Donald Trump. Jeff Pearlman draws on more than 400 interviews to unearth all the salty, untold stories of one of the craziest sports entities to have ever captivated America.
-
-
Ahhh the USFL
- By Film Lover on 10-11-18
By: Jeff Pearlman
-
A Season in the Sun
- The Inside Story of Bruce Arians, Tom Brady, and the Making of a Champion
- By: Lars Anderson
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The extraordinary behind-the-scenes story of how Coach Bruce Arians, Tom Brady, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came together to deliver one of the most improbable Super Bowl victories in NFL history.
-
-
Forever Tom Brady
- By Michael G. Salardino on 12-26-21
By: Lars Anderson
-
America's Quarterback
- Bart Starr and the Rise of the National Football League
- By: Keith Dunnavant
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one can touch Bart Starr's record setting 5 NFL Championships including 3 straight. America's Quarterback tells the story of the man who helped create the legend of Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers. This biography traces Starr’s life from childhood in Alabama to stardom in Green Bay and beyond. Not a simple sports story, Dunnavant traces the story of one man reaching for the American dream while professional football emerged from the shadows to capture the nation’s imagination.
-
-
awesome
- By Anthony nyman on 03-30-15
By: Keith Dunnavant
-
Madden
- A Biography
- By: Bryan Burwell
- Narrated by: Mark Moseley
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Several years after his playing career was cut short by injury before it had a chance to really begin, John Madden was hired as an assistant coach by the Oakland Raiders, one of professional football's most iconoclastic franchises. Two years later he was named the team's head coach and proceeded to lead the Raiders to five championship games in his first seven seasons. Following years of heartbreaking losses in some of history's most memorable games.
-
-
Essential For Raider And Madden Fans
- By MovieGuy on 03-08-16
By: Bryan Burwell
-
Monsters
- The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football
- By: Rich Cohen
- Narrated by: Tom Taylorson
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Rich Cohen and millions of other fans, the 1985 Chicago Bears were more than a football team: they were the greatest football team ever - a gang of colorful nuts, dancing and pounding their way to victory. They won a Super Bowl and saved a city. It was not just that the Monsters of the Midway won but how they did it....
-
-
For any Bears fans
- By Frank S. Saltiel on 11-18-21
By: Rich Cohen
-
The Best Game Ever
- Giants vs. Colts, 1958, and the Birth of the Modern NFL
- By: Mark Bowden
- Narrated by: Phil Gigante
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On December 28, 1958, the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts met under the lights of Yankee Stadium for that season's NFL Championship game. Football was still greatly over-shadowed by the country's favored pastime - baseball - but the 1958 championship proved to be the turning point for pro football.
On the field and roaming the sidelines were 17 future Hall of Famers, including Colts stars Johnny Unitas, Raymond Berry, and Gino Marchetti, and Giants greats Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, and assistant coaches Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry.
The Best Game Ever is a brilliant portrait of how a single game changed the history of American sports.
-
-
What about the other team?
- By Smalls on 11-29-08
By: Mark Bowden
-
You Can't Make This Up
- Miracles, Memories, and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television
- By: Al Michaels, L. Jon Wertheim
- Narrated by: Al Michaels, Ray Porter
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this highly entertaining and insightful memoir, one of television’s most respected broadcasters interweaves the story of his life and career with lively firsthand tales of some of the most thrilling events and fascinating figures in modern sports.
-
-
Great, everything I hoped for, but...
- By Shortfellow on 11-30-14
By: Al Michaels, and others
-
Amazing Tales from the Chicago Bears Sideline
- A Collection of the Greatest Bears Stories Ever Told
- By: Steve McMichael, John Mullin, Phil Arvia
- Narrated by: Tony Craine
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Chicago Bears are more than a football team - they are a legend. Founded in 1919, the Bears have won more regular season games than any other NFL franchise. With 26 players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and thirteen retired jerseys, it’s no wonder the Bears can be defined by three phrases: Big, tough, and full of characters. The Bears, like Chicago, are not just people. They are personalities. In Amazing Tales From the Chicago Bears Sideline, Bears fans can hear about the men who have made the Bears one of the greatest franchises in pro football....
-
-
Steve mcmichael
- By teamjed on 08-13-24
By: Steve McMichael, and others
What listeners say about Long Bomb
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Steven Gerweck
- 01-27-23
Great storytelling, meticulous research
"Simply fantastic" is my immediate reaction after finishing this entertaining audiobook. The author describes how the XFL was born, after pro football slipped away from NBC, and Vince McMahon being shunned by the NFL's owners for his interest in purchasing a team. Despite the initial ratings success, the XFL was ridiculed by the media over the overt sexual innuendos (including the Cheerleader Cam gimmick) and the poor quality of play on the field. Forrest tells the stories of the XFL's Rod Smart, and the origin of his "He Hate Me" nickname, and quarterback Ryan Clement's disappointing football career after leaving the University of Miami. I enjoyed Forrest's humor in describing XFL's one-and-done season on network television, and his narration is spot on!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful