'No Medals for Trying'

The legendary sportswriter “details the grit of the gladiators and the psyche of the coaches . . . One of the best books ever written about pro football” (The New York Times). Monday, November 27, 1989. After a ten-point loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the New York Giants return home. Thirty-four-year-old quarterback Phil Simms has reinjured his ankle. Linebacker Lawrence Taylor, the guts of the defense, is in great pain, supported by crutches. And while the players, coaches, and trainers are still lost in thoughts of what might have been, the next game looms large in front of them: a now must-win battle against their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles. What follows is an intense, hour-by-hour account of a team pushed to the brink. Sportswriter Jerry Izenberg, granted unprecedented access, chronicles the tremendous physical and emotional strain experienced by both those on the frontlines and behind-the-scenes—the embattled superstars, workhorses, defensive and offensive staffs, and equipment managers. Izenberg shadows head coach Bill Parcells as he struggles to rally his team and draw up a game plan without his clutch players. He puts readers in the maelstrom of stress, uncertainty, and grim determination that permeate the locker room as the players face a team that has beaten them three time in a row—in a game that will decide the division. It’s all here as “Izenberg builds the suspense so masterfully that grid aficionados will be caught up in the story” (Publishers Weekly). “Izenberg’s hour-by-hour account of the painstaking preparations will open the eyes of even the most knowledgeable fan.” —The Buffalo News “The book is a treat for football fans.” —The Baltimore Sun