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

You don't have to like football to love this book. Dr. Osborne does an excellent job of making his own personal anecdotes a lesson in life for all of us.

One of the best books I've read in 1999 outside of the Bible.


The Philosophy of Coaching   January 16, 2000
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

When I began reading this book, I expected to read about the career of Tom Osborne. At first, I was a little disappointed. While the book contained passages that described some of the top games, and stories about some of the players who, for better or worse, made the Nebraska Cornhuskers what they are, it focused mostly on a philosophy of life that happened to take place on a football field. This is an inside look at what it takes to be a great leader. This book is a must for any coach of any sport. It shows what it takes to create quality student athletes. It is not about winning, even though Tom Osborne tells us that if you do all these things winning will occur anyway. It is really about creating quality-minded citizens who also have athletic abilities. I had the honor of speaking with Tom Osborne in 1984. He was an amazing man. I cannot attribute this to his being a famous person. He was amazing because he had a quality about him that very few people(particularly, college football coaches) have. This is a great book.


A Creighton fan's take   January 5, 2000
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I'm no fan of the Big Red and the state's obsession with it, but I was a fan of Dr. Tom. He seems like a decent, hard working man and I liked him for his fairness and smarts.

Dr. Tom uses this book, in a nice way, to make some points and answer his critics. Riley Washington, for example, was acquitted for shooting at a car but the critics would have thrown him off the team. He was found not guilty so Osborne was right to let him play.

He doesn't go too much into l'affair Phillips but I agreed with him on that. He points out the media errors. What Phillips did is not too much different what many college students did/do about breaking up.

I found his point system similar to the demerit system at my Jesuit high school; albeit modified for college in the 90's.

His mentoring program indicates where his heart is. He didn't need to do that and I can't think of another coach doing something similar.

I won't give it away, but I was very surprised by his decision-making process regarding his retirement.

One final note for certain Big Red fans, the coaches spend a great amount of time watching the players practice and grading the films. Stop second-guessing the play calling and the playing time. Dr. Tom makes that point in his indirect way.


...helped in my own coaching   December 29, 1999
If you've grown up with TO in Nebraska like I have, you've been through a lot. Most of us lambasted him in the 80's and hero-worshiped him in the 90's. I received this book as a gift and was a little skeptical myself. TO's values lend themselves to preaching, but this book was refreshing in that sense, and I'm glad that I was able to get beyond that because it's had a positive impact on the way I coach my athletes. While there are times it sounds like Osborne is seeking attonment for some of the things he's been crucified for (such as going for two vs. Miami, or the handling of Lawrence Phillips) Osborne gets to the meat of his coaching and philosophies and this is the value of the book. The writing isn't overly poetic, but that probably reflects the fact that it's Osborne, not a co-author setting down the words. There's some awkwardness and some dry humor that no self-respecting co-author would let through in an attempt to put together a 'serious' book, but that too makes the book refreshing, and gives Osborne credibility (in my mind) because you know it's from the heart. This book stands alongside 'They Call Me Coach' by John Wooden and 'Tuesdays with Morrie' by Mitch Albom as the three most influential books in my young coaching career