Let me begin by saying that I do not love football. I get that other people do (although I don’t quite understand those who root for schools with which they have no connection), and more power to them. I give major props to diehard fans for sitting in a freezing stadium with wind chill factors in the single digits or other adverse weather conditions. Sure, I’ll have it on in the background once baseball season is over, but I have the same feelings as those who complain that the games --- which are played on the clock --- are too long.

What I do love is the author. Joe Posnanski published two of the best in THE BASEBALL 100 and WHY WE LOVE BASEBALL: A History in 50 Moments, both of which won the coveted Casey Award --- emblematic of the best baseball book of the year --- from Spitball magazine in 2021 and 2024, respectively. He has almost convinced me that perhaps I shouldn’t just chuff off football.

"Like both of Posnanski’s previous volumes, WHY WE LOVE FOOTBALL isn’t really meant to be read straight through. Each moment stands alone, and jumping back and forth in no way will detract from the fun."

There have always been comparisons between fans of the two sports. It’s certainly safe to say that there are more books about baseball than football. Early on in his latest work, Posnanski notes, “Football fans don’t have the obsessive attachment to statistics that baseball fans do. And so, few can tell you that Emmitt Smith had 18,355 career rushing yards. Baseball fans can tell you that Pete Rose had 4,256 hits. They can tell you that Cy Young had 511 wins. They can tell you that Henry Aaron hit 755 home runs.”

The late George Carlin had a great routine in which he compares baseball and football. He takes on a decidedly serious tone when discussing the latter, like it’s life or death. Posnanski takes on a much more lighthearted tone.

It’s not all games and players. Some of those moments include Whitney Houston’s powerful (and lengthy) rendition of the National Anthem at Super Bowl XXV; a discussion of the veracity of certain events in the film Rudy, which was “based on a true story,” as the saying goes; and the father-and-son team of Ed and Steve Sabol, whose NFL film documentaries with their stentorian music and narration are still things of beauty. All of these are told with a combination of humor and admiration and will have many searching YouTube to see exactly what Posnanski is talking about. But not everything will be available as he has the good grace not to cater just to younger readers, but to dip back to the earliest stages of a nascent sport, when the athletes played both offense and defense and the forward pass was considered an oddity.

Like both of Posnanski’s previous volumes, WHY WE LOVE FOOTBALL isn’t really meant to be read straight through. Each moment stands alone, and jumping back and forth in no way will detract from the fun. The big issue, if there is one, is his decisions in ranking those accomplishments. I won’t spoil the Number One moment; even Posnanski admits that a lot of readers will disagree with the choice. But the discussions that all of his books engender is part of the fun and what makes his work so interesting.