{"product_id":"football-is-shawn-humphrey-9798291668177","title":"Football Is...: What the game does to us, for us, through us","description":"\u003cp\u003eNineteen boys circle around like it's a schoolyard showdown. The air is thick with \"Fight Club\" energy-raw, visceral, violent. They're raucously cheering as one by one, their brothers step forward. I'm hollering commands. They're lifting, driving, flipping the one-man sled. I'm barking: \"Next!\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOne of my slimmer defensive backs steps forward-he lifts, drives, but cannot flip the sled. Disappointment clouds his face. I know that look-he needs this. So I holler \"No, do it again!\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eI stand right next to him, whisper into the earhole of his helmet: \"You're going to do this.\" He takes position. I run alongside him, hollering \"Attack! Attack! Attack!\" He struggles, strains, then plants the sled into the grass! I'm fully, completely, caught up in the primality of the moment, slapping his back plate yelling: \"That's it! That's it! That's it!\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs the boys run for water, the professor in me cuts through the adrenaline, wondering: \u003ci\u003eWhat is it about this game-of clashes and hits-that becomes a place of nourishment?\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eFootball Is...\u003c\/i\u003e explores what the game does to us, for us, and through us. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt's a poetic, fiercely honest collection of 40 personal essays and 10 game-day speeches drawn from a lifetime of playing, coaching, and returning to the game after decades in academia. Written by a former Division III captain and current high school coach, this book isn't about X's and O's or chasing championships-it's about the inner transformation football demands.\u003cp\u003eFrom small-town Ohio to the turf at Freeman High School in Virginia, these pages uncover the sacred space between plays where character is forged, mentorship is born, and boys become men.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerfect for: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormer players who still dream of putting their pads back on\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCoaches who see mentorship as their calling\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFathers raising boys in a world that questions traditional masculinity\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnyone who has stood under Friday night lights seeking something transcendent\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you've ever felt the August ache, carried the weight of your team's expectations, or wondered why a game can shape a life-this book is for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause football is brutal and beautiful. Muddy and mythic.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAbove all, love.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Shawn Humphrey\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798291668177\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/07\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 232\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.60lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.53d","brand":"Shawn Humphrey","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48588350882047,"sku":"9798291668177","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/football-is-shawn-humphrey-9798291668177","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}