Casey At The Bat: Hitting the books
One of the things I get to do during down time while traveling with the Orioles is to read books on flights and in hotel rooms. Now I do not read James Patterson, Stephen King, Jane Austen or Diana Gabaldon. However, I really do enjoy reading good sports books, and I recently had a chance check out two really good books.
I will start by letting you know that I am originally from Louisiana. I've watched the New Orleans Saints my whole life, and I was fortunate enough to see the Saints win their first Super Bowl in person back in February. With that as background, I was really interested to read coach Sean Payton's book "Home Team" and quarterback Drew Brees' "Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity."
Payton's book was a very revealing look into what goes into being the Saints' (or NFL) head coach, and the manuscript caused a bit of an uproar as he was very open about enjoying some adult beverages at times. It also goes into great detail about how he became the head coach of a team in a city that was in a state of destruction following Hurricane Katrina and the connected journey of the rebirth of both the city and the Saints franchise.
What was also revealing was how the Saints approached the week of practice leading up to the Super Bowl against the Colts and how the world's most famous onside kick came together -- and how it almost went wrong before they ever took the field for the second half. Ravens fans will find it interesting how the Giants loss to the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV helped Payton prepare the Saints during Super Bowl week.
As good as Payton's book was, Brees' book was better, and "Coming Back Stronger" is one of the best I have read in a while. Whether you are a fan of the Saints or Brees doesn't matter here. Brees discusses his almost career-ending injury in San Diego, his release by the Chargers and how he picked the Saints over the Dolphins to continue his career and ultimately win a Super Bowl title and MVP trophy. It is a true story of triumph over long odds.
The off-the-field part of his life are covered extensively. From his scar on his face, a divorce, a death, a birth, religion and his desire to be a part of the New Orleans community is some of the best information in the book.
If you are a sports fan or believe in the power of sports to inspire greatness, you wouldn't go wrong with getting either of these books for yourself or as a gift.
