Faith in the Game: Lessons on Football, Work, and Life - Hardcover

Osborne, Tom

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0767904222 ISBN 13: 9780767904223

Publisher: Broadway, 1999

Synopsis

In Nebraska, football is a religion and Tom Osborne is its patron saint. As head coach of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers for 25 years, Osborne took his team to a bowl game every year, won three national championships in the last four years he coached, and ended his career boasting an 84 percent winning record. Now Osborne lets us in on the values it takes to achieve victory, on any field.

Both a memoir and a motivational guide, Faith in the Game discusses all the traits required for successful life management and teamwork--loyalty, perseverance, honesty, integrity, strategy, character, faith, and old-fashioned "sweat equity"--while tackling subjects such as his controversial 1995 season and his team's phenomenally successful Unity Council approach, in which representatives from each part of the team form problem-solving units. Conveyed in his own captivating, trademark tone, Osborne's messages will be cheered by readers from all walks of life. In the spirit of bestsellers by coaches Rick Pitino, Pat Riley, Lou Holtz, and Pat Summitt, Faith in the Game is destined to score high.

About this title

About the Author

Tom Osborne retired in 1997 after 37 years of coaching the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. Inducted into the National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998, he now regularly gives motivational talks to groups in the South, Midwest, and West Coast with an average attendance of over 1,000 people. His autobiography, On Solid Ground, sold more than 70,000 copies. He lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, with his wife.

From the Back Cover

"The numbers tell you that Tom Osborne was one of the most extraordinarily successful coaches in the history of college football. When you just sit down and look at everything he accomplished, your first thought is, 'It can't be done.'"
--Grant Teaff, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association

"He's one of the game's giants. His shadow casts as far as anybody's."
--Barry Switzer, former coach of the University of Oklahoma Sooners.

"I don't doubt if there has ever been a better representative for college football than Tom Osborne. And he was a winner."
--Bobby Bowden, coach of the Florida State Seminoles

From the Inside Flap

football is a religion and Tom Osborne is its patron saint. As head coach of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers for 25 years, Osborne took his team to a bowl game every year, won three national championships in the last four years he coached, and ended his career boasting an 84 percent winning record. Now Osborne lets us in on the values it takes to achieve victory, on any field.<br><br>Both a memoir and a motivational guide, <b>Faith in the Game</b> discusses all the traits required for successful life management and teamwork--loyalty, perseverance, honesty, integrity, strategy, character, faith, and old-fashioned "sweat equity"--while tackling subjects such as his controversial 1995 season and his team's phenomenally successful Unity Council approach, in which representatives from each part of the team form problem-solving units. Conveyed in his own captivating, trademark tone, Osborne's messages will be cheered by readers from all walks of life. In the spirit of bestselle

Reviews

Osborne was the head football coach at the University of Nebraska for 25 years, winning three national championships during that time. He applied the teachings of Christianity to his coaching technique, and now, as a motivational speaker and as the author of this memoir, he uses examples from his football career to illustrate Christian principles. Writing without a coauthor or ghostwriter, Osborne comes through loud and clear, but unfortunately, his prose is as stiff and monotonous as his football teams, whether he is describing offensive style or defending the university's handling of a series of controversies involving misbehaving players. Despite Osborne's success, he never cultivated a national profile with his low-key, self-effacing personality. This memoir probably won't change that, but just as opposing teams could never ignore Nebraska in the Osborne era, so college football fans shouldn't ignore the life story of one of the game's best coaches. As sports memoirs go, though, it's the football equivalent of a 6^-5 season with no trip to a bowl game. Wes Lukowsky

Osborne coached football at the University of Nebraska for 37 years, the last 25 as head coach. Always a powerhouse team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers won an impressive number of national championships in that time, and Coach Osborne finished with an 84 percent winning record. Now retired, the devoutly Christian Osborne wrote this book to describe his recipe for success on the field and off. Not surprisingly, the values espoused are traditional ones: character, honesty, loyalty, sacrifice, hard work, unity, perseverance, and teamwork. These are illustrated by anecdotes and examples from the coach's vast experience. In his later years of coaching, several Cornhuskers had well-publicized troubles with the law. It is interesting to read Osborne's version of these incidents and how he dealt with them in light of his values. Worthwhile to libraries with interests in college football or Nebraska.AJohn M. Maxymuk, Rutgers Univ. Lib., Camden, NJ
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

In July 1997, I informed Frank Solich, my assistant head coach, that I anticipated the 1997 season would be my last.  I had made some personal and professional commitments contingent upon stepping aside as head football coach for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers that I believed needed to be honored.  My major concern, however, was whether or not the university administration would promote Frank to the headcoaching pposition.  If there was a desire to hire from outside the staff, I would not resign, as I believed strongly in the importance of staff continuity.  I did not want to leave the coaches and players wit a new coach who might make changes in staff or philosophy that would be disruptive to the program.

Early in the season, I met with Bill Byrne, our athletic director, and James Moeser, the chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, to share what I was thinking.  They seemed surprised by my decision to step aside and asked that I give it further thought.  They did not, however, express any serious objection the possibility of Frank's being named head coach.

As the season unfolded, I experienced conflicting emotions.  I felt that it was important to do what I had said I was going to do, yet I kept hoping that something might come up that woud neccesitate my staying on.  I wasn't ready to quit, yet I didn't feel right about committing to something and then not following through.  Each game we played, each stadium we visited, had special meaning.  Rather than coaching each game to try to win it and get it behind us, I found myself paying more attention to the physical setting, the preparation of the players as they taped, dressed, and went through their pregame rituals.  I also was more aware of my emotions as the time for another kickoff  approached.  It was an eerie feeling to know that something that had been such a  big part of my life was drawing to a close, yet the season continued to unfold with the same rhythms that so many others had.

I could relate to what former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler wrote after his last season:

"Take a good last look," I whispered to myself.  Fans were cheering and throwing roses.  My players were slapping hands s they counted down the last clock. "NINE! EIGHT! SEVEN!...."

Take  a good last look.  Somehow, on that field, at that moment, with the Big Ten title about to come our way, with another trip to Pasadena guaranteed, with my guys sweaty and bloody and whooping it up and the whole stadium on its feet--".... SIX! FIVE! FOUR!.... "--somehow, I knew I would never be back.

This would be my last game at Michigan Stadium.

I knew what Bo was talking about.  Each game that we played was poignant for me, as I knew that I would not be coaching a Nebraska team against that opponent again.

Our game against the University of Missouri on November 8, 1997, was particularly memorable.  We were trailing by a touchdown late in the game and Missouri had the football.  We finally forced them to punt and gained possession of the football with less than a minute remaining nad no time-outs left.  Our quarterback, Scott Frost, orchestrated a drive that culminated with a great diving catch in the end zone by freshman Matt Davison.  The ball bounced off another receiver, Shevin Wiggins, was kicked in the air, and Matt dove and barely got his hands under the ball to tie the game.  We went on to win 45-38 in overtime.  It was miraculous win that enabled us to remain undefeated with a chnce of still winning the national championship.

Sometime during the week of the Missouri game, I noticed something was physically wrong with me.  I normally jogged three miles after practice or spent thirty minutes on the StairMaster.  I found that I could only get halfway through a workout and then became so fatigued I could no longer continue.  The first time this happened, I rationalized it by reflecting on the fact that I had been putting in long hours and was a little tired.  Then it happened the next night and the next, and I knew that something was really wrong.

Edition details

• Publisher: Broadway
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0767904222
• ISBN 13: 9780767904223
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176