Review: Bowls, Polls & Tattered Souls by Stewart Mandel

by Jon Johnston on Aug 17, 2007 1:00 AM CDT in College Football Book Reviews

Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated's "College Football Mailbag" offers up "Bowls, Polls And Tattered Souls" covering the biggest issues in college football.

Say what you want about Mandel. Call him an idiot because he doesn't rank your team high or has a different point of view, but he knows how to kick-start a conversation.

Consider "Bowls, Polls And Tattered Souls" as a highly concentrated version of his 'Mailbag" column. Combine solid explanations of the issues with Mandel's penchant for sarcasm and the result is a book that's required reading for any college football fan.

A list of the chapters in the book (in no particular order):

One Nation, Under The BCS

A rational explanation of how the BCS works (or doesn't, depending upon your point of view). The best chapter of the book as it completely explains the dynamics of the different interests at work who together created the current environment of post-season play that we all enjoy.

Pulling Rank

A trip through the schizophrenia of polls and rankings.

"He" won the Heisman?

Why the guy that wins the Heisman wins it, and the Heisman Trophy's demise as sports greatest award

What's the deal with notre dame?

Why Notre Dame is special, whether you love or hate them.

Firemycoach.com

How web sites such as this blog are changing how we see college football and the insanely high expectations placed upon today's coaches. Frank Solich and Steve Pederson (Mandel refers to him as an egomaniac) are highlighted here as is SB Nation's own UCLA blog, "Bruins Nation".

Invasion of the Recruiting Geeks

Why does that guy get five stars? The question is answered.

How Boston College and Clemson became neighbors

Conference re-alignments, centered around the Big East and ACC as examples of how and why these happen.

That's Great, now run a 40

A review of the stupidity of the NFL draft. My favorite chapter because I could never understand how general managers in the NFL can be so blind yet keep their jobs. Now I do.

Everybody Cheats, Just Not My School

Cheating in college football - why some schools get nailed and others don't get so much.

Tonight, it's the MPC Motor City Car Care Credit Union Bowl.

Why the bowls are what they are.

Mandel reveals the chaos that is college football and then asks that we embrace that chaos and enjoy it. "Bowls, Polls And Tattered Souls" is a great read, even if you spend part of your time infuriated at him for skewing your school. The good news is that as you keep reading, someone else's school is next up on the menu. That's the beauty of Mandel's writing - he has the ability to yank your chain so hard you want to punch him in the face while at the same time having difficulty in disagreeing with his reasoning. Unless you're irrational, and who would ever say such a thing about college football fans?

Bowls, Polls And Tattered Souls is a book that every college football fan should own. Understanding the issues will give you a leg up on those guys at the office and the next time they bring something up about college football, you can crush them into the ground. Who's not for that?

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I feel conflicted about Mandel

I just don't ever feel like he ever gives me any insight or opinions that are really worthwhile. (This is an endemic problem to college football coverage in the mainstream media, which devolves into "this conference is better, therefore X is over-rated/under-rated" by mid October. Think about last season, Troy Smith was everyone's greatest clutch leader, play-maker etc for three months, then, he wasn't, etc etc)

So yea, I end up reading Mandel just about every week, but feeling like it was mostly a waste of time.

by Freneau on Aug 17, 2007 12:04 PM CDT reply actions

well

Chaos is an overall theme in college football - Mandel stresses that in his book. He also stresses as to why this is a good thing overall, and I agree with him.

Fact is, they were right about Troy Smith. he was a great clutch leader, right up until the title game, and then he wasn't. Just like Chris Simms for Texas was a great QB except for the big games when he wasn't.

What I think is interesting is the never-ending quest by many to make college football into something completely rational like the NFL. If they're not careful, they'll get it, and Mandel talks at length about why that's a bad thing, too.

I don't know of another current book that covers all the current issues that well. This one does.

Good stuff!

Go Big Red!

by Jon Johnston on Aug 18, 2007 9:17 AM CDT up reply actions

well I guess some people like rationality

better than others

I can see the argument for maintaining CFB as a quaint little cashcow, but that doesn't mean statements like the one you just made about Troy Smith have to be part of the equation.

by Freneau on Aug 18, 2007 4:13 PM CDT up reply actions

well

I'm trying not to give away pieces of the book. Let's just say that Mandel makes a darned good argument as to why making college football rational would also make it boring - specifically with regards to a playoff system versus the existing bowl structure.

And the reality of making statements like the one I just made about Troy Smith.... well, Chris Fowler a few years ago put it best on College Gameday. Their job is to express their opinions and sometimes they are strong ones. If they aren't expressing their opinions strongly, ESPN will just get rid of them and find someone who will.

You can look at some of this as 'chain yanking', and it is. Fact is, if you're bland, people aren't going to read your stuff. That doesn't mean you have to be full of hyperbole all of the time, because people won't read that stuff for any length of time either.

If you go back (way back), the birth of football in this country, which started with college, has been one of sheer chaos. I'm not sure you can ever change that, and moreso, I'm not sure if it would be a good thing if you did. That chaos is part of what breeds the passion that fans have for the game that separates it from the NFL, which by comparison to the college version, is a pretty boring product.

Go Big Red!

by Jon Johnston on Aug 18, 2007 4:24 PM CDT up reply actions