cover image Saint Bobby and the Barbarians

Saint Bobby and the Barbarians

Ben Brown. Doubleday Books, $20 (373pp) ISBN 978-0-385-42407-3

While interest in college football has flagged over the last three decades in most of the nation, it remains extremely popular in Florida, where three undergraduate teams--Florida, Miami and Florida State--have all achieved national rankings for some years. Florida State coach Bobby Bowden reportedly expected his team to have a magnificent season in 1991, perhaps to be judged the best in the nation. However, as USA Today writer/editor Brown's account shows, the year that began with 10 straight victories ended in losses to both other in-state teams, a disappointing record mitigated slightly by a post-season win over Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. Brown manages to sustain interest in this uneven season, however, narrating events in a smooth writing style marred only by his penchant for hyperbole. (Bowden is ``one of the most famous men in sports''; the Florida-Florida State contest is ``the Game of the Century.'' The author might have commented at greater length on the fact that 65% of the football squad is black, while 92% of the student body is white. (Oct.)