Title/Author:
“Cardinal and Gold:
The Oral History of USC Football” by Steve Delsohn
Tags:
Football (American),
college, history, USC
Publish date:
August 16, 2016
Length:
288 pages
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very
good)
Review:
As one of college
football’s more glamorous programs, the University of Southern California (USC)
Trojans have had a storied history, especially in the last 40 years. That era of USC football is captured through
the stories of many men who coached and played for the Trojans in this book by
journalist Steve Delsohn.
Through many
interviews and thorough research, Delsohn captures the spirt of the USC program
in which the Trojans rose to prominence under coach John McKay in the 1970’s
and was able to maintain that standard of excellence for the most part over the
next 40 years. Of course there were some down seasons and a few coaches such as
Lane Kiffin and Larry Smith were fired.
The interviews are
interspersed in each chapter that covers one or two seasons of football that
are not just game recaps but also recollections of the stories behind the games
as well. No matter which season or
decade is being discussed, the stories from the players make the book very
entertaining and worth the time to read.
It is also interesting to see some of the interviewees dispute some of
the stories that were reported by the press and widely believed to be the
truth.
One example of a good
story from a player being interviewed came in the discussion about quarterback
Matt Leinert returning to USC for the 2005 season. It was widely thought that
Leinert would declare for the NFL draft, but he decided to play his senior year
at USC. The common belief was that Leinert just wanted to show his loyalty to
USC but teammate Petros Papadakis disputed that, stating that Leinert was
coming off two surgeries. I felt the animation in Papadakis’ account just
reading that interview – one can only imagine what it was like to actually sit
in that room.
This is just one
example of the many stories and interviews that make the book a fun read for
USC fans. However, since the program has always been one that has a large
national following and because of this, Delsohn’s book is one that many college
football fans will enjoy, even if they don’t follow the USC program closely.
I wish to thank Crown
Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an
honest review.
Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)
Buying links:
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