Men of Sunday Book Review

Sunday could mean so many things for different people, you could be going to church, meal planning for the week, cleaning your house, laundry day, relaxing day or football Sunday.  Really it up to you how you spend the day.  For our family Sunday usually means church and gearing up to watch whatever football game is scheduled for that day.  Let me tell you, I think my husband’s best days are during the months of late August and Super Bowl Sunday.  He’s a die hard college and professional football fan.  It’s in his blood and when we started dating I increased my knowledge of the sport because during football season the only way I could ensure reaching him was watching those games with him.  Now eight years later I am a big football fan as well.  His teams are the Oklahoma Sooners for college and Tampa Bay Bucks for the pros.  I don’t really have a college team but my team for the pros are the Baltimore Ravens.  So we are a house divided on the rare occasions both teams meet.

This year two very important things happened for the Baltimore Ravens franchise; first Defensive player Ray Lewis announced his retirement and it rocked the football world.  Although we knew his time was running out we just didn’t realize this would be his last year.  It seems the timing of his announcement was perfect because we have had a great playoff season, winning games no one though we could win to end up in the Super Bowl on February 4th, 2013.  A few months ago I was given a chance to review a book called Men of Sunday by Curtis Eichelberger.  The book talks about how faith guided the players, coaches and wives of the NFL.  Before I started dating my now husband I didn’t know much about football or how it worked but since we started dating I know that there are players that pray in the locker rooms and some pray on the field, but this book goes deeper into the role of faith in football.  I really wanted to read this book because of two people’s names I saw on the cover – Tony Dungy and Ray Lewis.

I’ve always admired Coach Dungy and I can remember the season when his son was found dead in Tampa and watched as he coached his team while dealing with this personal tragedy.   I always thought to myself that he must be a praying man and I was right.  There are nine chapters in the book, some of them include Family Sacrifices, temptation, Transitions, God’s Plan and What It Means to Lead.  It features interviews from some of the players, their wives and coaches on what it means to live a life of football and some of the challenges they had to endure.

I enjoyed reading this book, like I said I really wanted to read up on Coach Dungy and Ray Lewis.  I was surprised at home many of these players have strong backgrounds in faith and how they deal with their many circumstances.  There’s a section in the book when  the wives share about their struggles dealing with depression, identity crisis and infidelity.  They are all so open and honest and it shows them in a way we can relate too.  It’s also reassuring to know they pray and ask God for comfort and guidance just like we do.  Each chapter has mini sections with stories from different perspectives and new insights.  It’s a book you can enjoy as a fan of football or just a person who has faith.  You’ll enjoy learning about these people beyond the world of football.

Book Information

Men of Sunday: How Faith Guides the Players, Coaches and Wives of the NFL

Author: Curtis Eichelberger

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Genre: Religion/Christian Life (13 & over)

ISBN: 978-0-8499-4734-6

Price: $15.99 U.S.

 

Buy the book

Amazon or Thomas Nelson.

 

Disclosure: I was provided the book to review from Book Sneeze, all opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced.