Amazon Says

Reviews from Amazon.com for Offside: Soccer and American Exceptionalism

"Great but lengthy"
June 10, 2003
Brian Maitland
Tokyo, Japan

Be prepared that this to me has a lot of unnecessary intellectualizing (I did not get why the author used some Austrian references when, let's face facts, Austria have not been a world power in soccer since the '20s and '30s. The footnotes alone are a book in itself.

Despite this academic approach this book is beyond brilliant in its analysis of North American sports--yes, it's not just about soccer but places soccer in the context of how it has struggled to establish itself at the pro level in North America and explains why.

For those of us who love all four major sports . . . and soccer, it is an eye-opener to learn about how soccer was a fairly established sport in America but blew its advantage just as baseball and college football took over.

A definite great read but could have used a better editor to slash and burn much of the lengthy overworking of some points.

Please also visit Andy Markovits' official University of Michigan website.