Any Given Sunday: The NFL's Epic 100-Year History in 20 Games

by Matthew Sherry

Overview

17th September 2020 will mark the centenary of the National Football League. It will reach that landmark as a behemoth, an all-encompassing conglomerate that is the most lucrative sports league in the world - and also the dominant pop culture entity in the United States. The NFL is also making considerable gains worldwide. The International Series has been heading to London since 2007 with incredible sell-outs at the four games in 2019 at Wembley and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadiums.

This may lead some to believe the league has always been a roaring success story. History contradicts that reputation, for the NFL of today is a by-product of the humblest beginnings. It is a rocky road filled with genius detours and wrong turns; with heroes and villains; and, most importantly, with thousands of games. Any Given Sunday will detail some of the biggest of those, beginning with the first contest ever played in 1920 and working through to multiple key fixtures from last season. Each chapter will be complemented by countless interviews with some of the game's true legends, from Hall of Fame players and coaches to owners and executives; first-hand accounts from games, including multiple Super Bowls; and, finally, full access to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and NFL Films' extensive archives, including pieces not available to the public.

Any Given Sunday takes readers from the boardrooms to the field, into the locker-room and inside the journeys of legends, providing a full snapshot of the NFL's epic first century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781474613668
Publisher:	Orion Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/22/2022
Pages:	496
Product dimensions:	5.12(w) x 7.75(h) x 1.12(d)

About the Author

Matthew Sherry is the founder and editor of Gridiron, the UK's only NFL magazine. Over the course of his journalistic career, Matthew has reported on a wide variety of major sporting events, including the Olympic Games, the Ashes, Premier League football and, of course, the NFL. He has covered every Super Bowl since the 48th edition between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos, and also travels around the United States each year interviewing some of American football's biggest names. Matthew lives in Hartlepool.

Table of Contents

Prologue vii

1 A Season of Firsts 1

2 Red 77 12

3 A Stinkin' Circus 27

4 Makings of Monsters 41

5 Brown's Browns 58

6 Johnny, U the Man 76

7 World Series of Football 93

8 'Run It, and Let's Get the Hell Outta Here' 114

9 'I Guarantee It' 132

10 Same Old Steelers 149

11 Perfection 180

12 America's Team v. American Dream 197

13 Bear Up 215

14 'Black Doug' 242

15 Seeds of Genius 265

16 The Return of America's Team 293

17 Broncos Buck the Trend 315

18 The Brady Bunch 343

19 Nineteen and … No 371

20 Peerless Patriots 399

Epilogue 421

Glossary 443

Bibliography 453

Acknowledgements 464

Index 465