What I’ve Been Reading: Gunslinger

I just finished reading Gunslinger by Jeff Pearlman. As a football fan, I had a weird roller coaster of emotions with Favre. My favorite team was always the Lions, but my second favorite team generally depends on who plays for that squad, what coaches I like, etc. When I was a nascent football fan in the early 1990s and collecting sports trading cards, I opened up a pack of Stadium Club football cards only to find a “Brett Farve” error rookie card. I was a rare thing at that time: a Falcons fan. Because of Deion Sanders. (I liked Deion Sanders so much that I wore #21 on my baseball uniform.)

I was a Brett Favre hipster: I liked him before everyone else did.

Then he got traded to the Packers. And with the Lions as my #1 team, I wasn’t quite as big of a fan of Favre. But Barry Sanders vs. Brett Favre was a heck of a thing to the watch during intradivision games.

Without naming names I also have a connection to someone that played a role in Favre’s life. So when the book came out, I wanted to know more.

Favre is flawed; whether he’s a flawed hero depends on one’s perspective and definition of the word. He led a pretty crazy life, and the book does a good job of showing the chinks in his armor, from his womanizing to his cockiness to his substance abuse. I think it also does a good job of illustrating his toughness and love for the game, as well as the pressure he was put under at various stops.

Overall, it’s a solid piece of writing by Pearlman. Biographies can be a little bit dry, but he kept things interesting.

What else I’m reading: The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, Black List by Brad Thor

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