Book Review

Written by Holly Robinson Peete, “Get Your Own Damn Beer, I’m Watching The Game!” is a book written to explain football to casual fans or those who do not know much about football at all. Robinson Peete is married to former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete, and writes the book obviously from a woman’s point of view.

The book is full of interesting information, including the history of the game, important players, important coaches and how American football came to be what it is today.

This book explained information to me about general rules of football that I have picked up on by watching the game casually but never really understood completely.

One of the most helpful sections that Rodney Peete wrote was an explanation on how to determine what position players are playing in by their jerseys, body builds and their position in relation to the quarterback.

I did not know that the NFL Rule Book has all jersey numbers corresponding to positions so it’s easier for referees to tell if the player is eligible to have been active in the play (quarterbacks, punters and placekickers, for instance, must wear uniform numbers between 1 and 19.)

Rodney Peete talks about being married to an NFL player like it’s a completely commonplace occurrence, dedicating a large chunk of her book (including a complete chapter) to discussing what it’s like to worry about your husband getting sacked or losing a big game.

Robinson Peete uses the book to clear the air on some of her own personal problems with her husband’s career, which definitely distracts from the point of the book.

The book is written in a very conversational tone, but is sometimes too simplistic and often the author’s jokes can be hokey.

A lot of her advice is, “the more you watch, the more you’ll pick up on.” It’s kind of no-brainer advice, but with the way the book is written it’s definitely true. If you didn’t grow up with sports knowledge, there is a lot to digest in this book.

This is definitely a book you can skim for information if you have a question during the game, but it’s definitely not a book you can ingest all in one reading.

The use of diagrams is helpful and her breakdown of the history is short and simple to read.

Overall, this book is a nice reference piece, but it could have been cut down quite a bit if Rodney Peete didn’t try to cater to her audience so much.

The book has some interesting information and might be something to keep next to me while watching season games, but it definitely isn’t something that I would casually read for fun.