Fifth Quarter
The Scrimmage of a Football Coach's Daughter
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- 11,99 €
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- 11,99 €
Publisher Description
George Allen was a top-ranked NFL coach throughout the sixties and seventies, coaching in turn the Chicago Bears, the Los Angeles Rams, and the Washington Redskins. Raised in a home dominated by her three football-obsessed older brothers and her father's relentless schedule, Jennifer Allen came of age in a cauldron of testosterone and win-at-all-costs mentality.
Buffeted by the coach's tumultuous firings and hirings, the Allen family was periodically propelled to new teams in new cities. And while her French-Tunisian mother attempted to teach Jennifer proper feminine etiquette, the author dreamed of being the first female quarterback in the NFL. But as she grew up, she yearned mostly to be someone her father would notice. In a macho world where only foot-ball mattered, what could she strive for? Who could she become?
Allen has written a poignant memoir of the father she tried so hard to know, about a family life that was willfully sacrificed to his endless fanatical pursuit of the Super Bowl. What emerges is a fascinating and singular behind-the-scenes look at professional football, and a memorable, bittersweet portrait of a father and his daughter, written in a fresh and perceptive voice.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Allen evocatively chronicles her unusual childhood in this memoir about being the only daughter of the legendary football coach George Allen. George was devoted to his teams--the Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins. Jennifer and her three brothers knew to stay out of their father's way, especially if he had just lost a game or had had a run-in with one of the team owners. While George could bond more with his sons and take them along to training camps, the author stayed behind with her mother, a French woman who apparently spent most of her time building and remodeling homes while her husband lived and breathed football. Jennifer and her mother cherished their time together--eating in the bedroom, watching old movies--yet the young girl was troubled by her father's devotion to the game and his players at the expense of his children. Her descriptions of dinner table conversation make it clear that the household was not easy to survive in; George tried to rule the family in military fashion, with strict rules and regulations; when it came to the TV, he would watch a video replay of a game over and over while his family looked on in silence. Jennifer recalls some perks, however, such as having a limo take her to school and meeting some famous people. In this touching and often unsentimental story, George Allen emerges as a self-centered man who chose to sacrifice a normal family life for the sake of his career.
