Green Bay Replay

One of the canons of Schaap's sporting religion is that fans are expected to root for their home team. That being the case, he is a candidate for excommunication, for the Brooklyn native is besotted with the Green Bay Packers, having written five of his 30-plus books about the team or its stars. Here, he focuses on the winners of Super Bowl XXXI (played this past January), a team he obviously hopes will start a dynasty comparable to the one molded by Vince Lombardi in the 1960s. Schaap (Instant Replay) concentrates on coach Mike Holmgren, quarterback Brett Favre and defensive end Reggie White and makes knowledgeable comparisons between them and Lombardi, quarterback Bart Starr and defensive end Willie Davis, the latter two considered the team leaders of the old dynasty. But the book is also a love letter to the town of Green Bay's 100,000 residents, most of whom are fans. Schaap has a reputation for slick writing, yet the book in hand has a special warmth. Photos not seen by PW. (Sept.)