Football For A Buck: The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL

As a casual fan of the Tampa Bay Bandits back in the USFL days, I was eager to read this book. Though there wasn't much about the Bandits save for John Bassett being the only sane adult in the room, I enjoyed it immensely. I found myself very sad for what could have been. Does the book have an anti-Trump bias? Sure. But then again, the truth often has an anti-Trump bias. I don't think the book would have been written much differently had Trump never run for president. The proposed move to the fall killed the league and it was Trump who led that charge. So therefore, Trump killed the league. Overall, very well written, easy to follow and fun to read.

What started as an insterting read quickly turned into an anti-Trump bashing. Anyone who remembers the USFL, should agree that we may be still watching it if not for Trump. The fake court ramblings of former Commish Pete Rozell really did it for me. A waste of time and money to read..Wannt a good book on the subject,The United States Football League, 1982-1986 by Paul Reeths and the hard to find The $1 League: The Rise And Fall Of The USFL by Jim Byrne..I'm not a Trump fan by the way.

I am a sports fan, old enough to remember the USFL from my mid-late teens. When the UPS guy tossed “Football For A Buck: The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL” by Jeff Pearlman on my porch, I knocked it off; more or less; in one sitting.It’s exactly what I thought it’d be, a “Ball Four” in a helmet and dem shoulder m’pads, with no cup on, about a league that; 35 years later; is remembered (If at all) as having been “Small potatoes” (by our current Circus Peanut-in-Chief) or just a joke.The truth is, the USFL produced four Pro Football Hall-of-Famers, two Super Bowl MVPs, sixty Pro Bowlers, and three full teams worth of NFL players.And five future professional wrestlers.Jim Kelly, Kent Hull, Ray Bentley, and Scott Norwood; from the Bills Super Bowl teams; all played in the USFL, and the braintrust that put those teams together; Bill Polian, John Butler, and Marv Levy; were all ex-USFLers.The USFL’s last season was 1985. In 1987, the Saints made their first playoff appearance EVER, with Bobby Hebert and Sam Mills among ten ex-USFL players on a roster coached by Jim Mora, who coached the Philadelphia-Baltimore Stars to all three USFL Championship Games, winning the last two.Before dueling in the Bills @ 49ers “No Punt Game,” Steve Young and the LA Express vs. Jim Kelly and the Houston Gamblers in 1985 became known as “The Greatest Game No One Saw.”They’re all in there, and so are the nobodies, the coke-heads, the steroid-users, and the guy who a.) only got a draw trying to fight the coach as he was being cut, and b.) followed the team owner home to his mansion with a baseball bat to collect money he was rightfully owed.And I give Pearlman a lot of credit. It probably would’ve been a lot easier to promote a book about “How We Should’ve Known The Current President Is A Moron By How He Single-Handedly Ruined The USFL” here in 2018.Pearlman didn’t write that book. You can’t tell the story of the USFL without talking about Trump. But I thought he was in the book in the right proportion. He’s in there exactly as much as he needs to be to tell the story of “The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL,” and no more.The book is fantastic. An enormously fun read.

This was a terrific read, explaining in detail the three year rise and fall of the USFL. The league began as the gang that couldn’t shoot straight, but, to their credit, the owners righted the ship and were destined for success, exploiting the notion that Americans would embrace first rate football played during the spring.Then enter Donald Trump, who had been rejected for ownership in the NFL. As an end-around, he purchased the NJ Generals, convinced the other owners to go head to head with the NFL playing fall football, and sued the NFL for non-competitive practices, leaking to the press all the while information that would bolster his position. The league won the suit, was awarded $1 in damages, and soon after disbanded. Another one of Trump’s business successes!It’s a thoroughly enjoyable read that I recommend with enthusiasm.

I found out about this book by following Jeff on Twitter.I'm glad I did.I had forgotten how revolutionary the USFL was and all of the characters that were involved in its rise...and fall.This book has a tale of intrigue around Donald Trump and the lies he needed to sell to get the league to commit to moving to the fall.It has the story of David Dixon and how he mapped out an idea that likely would still be going if it hadn't been overtaken by ego and greed.As someone that remembers the signing of Herschel Walker by the Generals, it is also amazing how many stars played in the USFL including Jim Kelly, Steve Young, and Reggie White.This is a book that seems perfect for the younger Generation X kids that were at their awe-eyed peak when the USFL was playing.And, if you are a fan of the 80s, this book will take you back to that time.

One of the best book I’ve read.From the way it’s written (from a fans point of view) to all the effort it took to obtain the content in the book has to be admired.The way it allows the reader to immerse themselves into the book, hours in vanish in seconds.The level of appreciation Jeff Pearlman had in the subject matter showed in how it was written.I’d recommend this book to every fan of American football and everyone who likes to read. It’s a book I could read again and again, still getting the same level of enjoyment.

Best football book I have read. As with his previous book about the cowboys he manages to convey the emotions of the people involved.Trump comes across as a destructive egotist so was obviously preparing himself for the presidency. I used to own the $1 league which was good but this is much betterI just wish the world had john Bassett and not Trump as president.

Very enjoyable read. Well-researched and many amusing anecdotes. A shame it had to end, but the book was very much like the league itself, great fun from beginning to end!

Really interesting book if you like Football - thoroughly recommend.

Great reading for teen boys interested in American football