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In Terry Bradshaw: From Super Bowl Champion to Television Personality, Brett L. Abrams details the many personas of this larger-than-life entertainer. Not satisfied with "just" being a star quarterback, Bradshaw became an actor, commercial pitchman, country western and gospel singer, color commentator, and NFL pregame co-host. In addition to covering Bradshaw's life and career, Abrams discusses the stereotypes Bradshaw faced and his ability to turn those preconceived notions into a positive, likeable, "down home" image that enabled him to find success across the entertainment industries. Ultimately, Bradshaw has become not only an iconic sports figure, but a cultural icon, as well.
Terry Bradshaw delivers a new and refreshing look at one of football's most-recognized athletes. Drawing on extensive research and interviews with coaches, friends, coworkers, and football fans, this book illuminates Bradshaw's celebrity status in the context of nearly 50 years of interacting with football fans and the larger American pop culture.
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
September 16, 2017 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781442277649
- File size: 2634 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781442277649
- File size: 2634 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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July 17, 2017
Historian and author Abrams (The Bullets, the Wizards, and Washington, D.C., Basketball) carefully details Bradshaw’s long career, from his working-class Louisiana childhood to his current status as a football legend (four-time Super Bowl–winning quarterback), TV sports commentator, and performer in movies and television. Abrams provides an exhaustive look at the highlights of Bradshaw’s career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and is especially good in discussing the team’s win over the Dallas Cowboys in 1979’s Super Bowl XIII (“Even today, the NFL lists the game as one of its greatest”). Abrams describes how Bradshaw has carefully crafted his down-home everyman public image—in movies, commercials, and as a sports commentator. Abrams delivers an excellent look at how Bradshaw combined his Southern roots with his extensive knowledge of football to reshape the “stodgy” pregame sports programs of CBS and Fox. -
August 1, 2017
In this second title in the "Sports Icons and Issues in Pop Culture" series, archivist Abrams (Capital Sporting Grounds) covers Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw's professional football career in three perfunctory chapters. The real focus of this book is the development of the player's celebrity and exploitation of that persona via pop culture. Abrams examines Bradshaw's music albums, television and movie roles, commercial advertising campaigns, and books as they interact with American culture and how each was received both by critics and the public. An important subtheme is how Bradshaw's Southern background (he was born and raised in Louisiana) helped shape his image, and how his popularity contributed to the evolution of the overall perception of the South. The one weakness is Abrams's attempt to incorporate the "fan's" view of Bradshaw by relying on interviews and comments from various websites. VERDICT A unique take on Bradshaw's life and career primarily of interest to students of pop culture rather than football fans.
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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