Books : Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty

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by: Jeff Pearlman

: Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty

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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.33264097642812
EAN: 9780061256806
ISBN: 0061256803
Label: Harper
Manufacturer: Harper
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 416
Publication Date: September 01, 2008
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: September 16, 2008
Sales Rank: 563
Studio: Harper



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They were America's Team—the high-priced, high-glamour, high-flying Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s, who won three Super Bowls and made as many headlines off the field as on it. Led by Emmitt Smith, the charismatic Deion "Prime Time" Sanders, and Hall of Famers Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, the Cowboys rank among the greatest of all NFL dynasties.



In similar fashion to his New York Times bestseller The Bad Guys Won!, about the 1986 New York Mets, in Boys Will Be Boys, award-winning writer Jeff Pearlman chronicles the outrageous antics and dazzling talent of a team fueled by ego, sex, drugs—and unrivaled greatness. Rising from the ashes of a 1–15 season in 1989 to capture three Super Bowl trophies in four years, the Dallas Cowboys were guided by a swashbuckling, skirt-chasing, power-hungry owner, Jerry Jones, and his two eccentric, hard-living coaches, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Together the three built a juggernaut that America loved and loathed.



But for a team that was so dominant on Sundays, the Cowboys were often a dysfunctional circus the rest of the week. Irvin, nicknamed "The Playmaker," battled dual addictions to drugs and women. Charles Haley, the defensive colossus, presided over the team's infamous "White House," where the parties lasted late into the night and a steady stream of long-legged groupies came and went. And then there were Smith and Sanders, whose Texas-sized egos were eclipsed only by their record-breaking on-field perfomances.



With an unforgettable cast of characters and a narrative as hard-hitting and fast-paced as the team itself, Boys Will Be Boys immortalizes the most beloved—and despised—dynasty in NFL history.





Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Enjoyable Voyeuristic read
First off - do not purchase this book for your child thinking "He likes football - here is something he will like". No. This book is a true inside look into the locker room & private (formerly private) lives of NFL prima donna's. Lot's of stories about everything available to NFL superstars and how they partake in the drugs, alcohol & women that are thrown at them. A fun read - but not suitable for a younger person.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Loved it!
I highly recommend this book to anyone who: a) was a big fan of the early 90's Cowboys, b) is curious about what goes on behind the scenes in the NFL, or c) is interested in the impact leadership has on organizations. This book comes up juicy in all three categories.

This book is great because it avoids the common mistake made by authors documenting certain teams. Instead of going through the boring minutiae of old games, Jeff Pearlman gives gripping, inside stories that no fan ever knew about. For example:

- Michael Irvin was the heart and soul of the team. Period.
- Nobody liked Emmitt Smith.
- Charles Haley, WTF?
- The players, for as much as they hated Jimmy Johnson, respected the heck out of him. How he shaped them psychologically and then kept them on the edge was stellar.
- Jerry Jones is a prideful retard, sure. But I never knew he was that big of one.
- Switzer was actually a pretty likable guy with whom you can really empathize. But, man, he really had no business being there.
- Skip Bayless is a massive dork.

I had a blast reading this book. Highly recommend.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Sometimes you don't want to know how sausage is made
I love the Dallas Cowboys. I am like one of those people that stays in an abusive relationship. I just keep watching them year after year.
I think any Cowboy fan will be unable to put the book down. Anyone who hates the Cowboys may love this book even more!

There is a lot more here than a sports story.
This has a seamy underside that pretty much destroys any Cowboy idol worship that may be going on...yet there is something uplifting in it somehow. Tragedy and comedy.
Sort of a story of how some good can things come from completely flawed, totally depraved men.
There is much to be learned from this story if you are a teacher, a leader, anyone in charge of others even if you know nothing about football.


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - I thought Nothing Could Surprise Me!
Being a life-long Cowboys fan, I begged my school librarian to order this book so I could read it immediately! After reading it, I told her to put it in the 'Adults Only' section - in other words, don't even let students know we have it! To learn the amount of money wasted by players and coaches on Superbowl-week partying was bad enough; to learn how much of it was condoned and even led by Jerry Jones was sickening.

The book itself is well written and painstakingly researched, although there are some glaring exceptions: it is about the Dynasty led by Troy, Emmitt, and Michael, yet Troy does not seem to have been involved. The stories that are about him come from others and those are few and far between. Although Troy is praised, it is done in such a manner as to put him down at the same time, probably because his antics were not anywhere near as colorful as the others. Case in point: he expected professional play on the field and would chew out players for screwing up; then was called racist by some (one). Doesn't that just sound awful - expecting highly paid professionals to get it right? Even though the author admits that what was said about Troy was unfair and he even quotes Charles Haley in Troy's defense, he still included it, even though he knew it was a)unfair and b)not true about Troy's character. Another shot at Troy: repeating the Skip Bayless assertion about Troy's sexual orientation.

About half-way through, the book gets bogged down, almost as though the writer felt the need to stretch it out in order to make it book-length. Something that would have helped - more photos. As it stands, there is one very small section of photos.

I am still a die-hard cowboys fan, but I am disillusioned by the behavior - my glasses are no longer rose-colored. What this book did for me more than anything else, was to prove how meddlesome Jerry Jones is and how badly the Cowboys (and probably every team) needed the discipline of Jimmy Johnson and more recently Bill Parcells.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - "You mean to tell me there are places where women get naked? And they serve food there, too?"
Anyone who spent any time out in clubs or had friends or relatives in either the "entertainment" industry or law enforcement in the Dallas/Ft Worth area heard stories of the excesses of Michael Irvin, Charles Haley, Deion Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Kenny Gant ("You mean to tell me there are places where women get naked? And they serve food there, too?") as well as other Dallas Cowboy football players and staff in the 1990's. The existence of a player owned "safe house" (the White House) where players and staff could indulge in drugs, alcohol, violence and a seemingly endless supply of willing women was an open secret. The near fatal DUI accident of right tackle Erik Williams and other car crashes involving players were hushed up with assistance from a compliant and dependent media. A caravan of limos ferrying "skanks" for the enjoyment of players and their guests (better to bring known women than chance the dangers of women found in clubs and hotels) to Tempe, Arizona for Super Bowl XXX. What could anyone say? Owner Jerry Jones had included his own party vehicle in the caravan...a six bed tour bus that had once been owned by Whitney Houston. The Cowboys were consumed and controlled by their giant egos and addictions.



All this excess could be forgiven, overlooked and hushed up until the Cowboys committed the unpardonable sin. The Dallas Cowboys quit winning and began to look foolish. The Cowboys began to show the effects of partying, bad coaching, foolish management decisions and lack of leadership and were being beaten on the field. Author Jeff Pearlman returns with yet another book of sports heroes gone bad: Boys Will be Boys, the Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty. Following the ascent of the 1990's Dallas Cowboys team, from the acquisition by Jerry Jones to the multiple Super Bowl appearances to the drug use, whoring, suicide attempts and lawlessness that was an open secret in the Metroplex, Pearlman holds nothing back. There are moments of good behavior, humor and community service, but they are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the excesses practiced by many on the team. What sets this book apart is Pearlman's meticulous research; the hours spent talking to players, ex-players, law enforcement, front office and coaching staff. It would be easy to lay out all the misdeeds of the Cowboys squads (and coaching staff) under coaches Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Rather than vilify the players, Pearlman tracks the decline and end of the "anything goes" Cowboys. He is quick to point out factors and backgrounds that might have predisposed some of the behaviors. He also acknowledges the press' part in turning a blind eye in order to get scoops and party with the players. From the top of the Cowboy food chain Pearlman dissects the choices and is very blunt in his appraisals of players and staff (finally someone outs John Blake as a waste of space and divisive in the locker room). The out of control organization was in danger of destroying the legacy left by previous owners, coaches and players as well as destroying thier own futures. While Pearlman gives an accounting of misdeeds he also gives room for a bittersweet epilogue, the induction into the Football Hall of Fame of Michael Irvin. This is a must for any true Cowboy fan who can appreciate the complexity of today's football machine and wants the Cowboys to succeed once again.




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