Chuck Culpepper was a veteran sports journalist edging toward burnout . . . then he went to London and discovered the high-octane, fanatical (and bloody confusing!) world of English soccer. After covering the American sports scene for fifteen years, Chuck Culpepper suffered from a profound case of Common Sportswriter Malaise. He was fed up with self-righteous proclamations, steroid scandals, and the deluge of in-your-face PR that saturated the NFL, the NBA, and MLB. Then in 2006, he moved to London and discovered a new and baffling world--the renowned Premiership soccer league. Culpepper pledged his loyalty to Portsmouth, a gutsy, small-market team at the bottom of the standings. As he puts it, "It was like childhood, with beer." Writing in the vein of perennial bestsellers such as Fever Pitch and Among the Thugs, Chuck Culpepper brings penetrating insight to the vibrant landscape of English soccer--visiting such storied franchises as Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool . . . and an equally celebrated assortment of pubs. Bloody Confused! will put a smile on the face of any sports fan who has ever questioned what makes us love sports in the first place.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Mildly Amusing:
The reviews for this book already have done a nice job of describing the book's strengths and limits. However, no one has given it three stars yet and I think it falls somewhere in that category. If you love reading sports books like me, this isn't the worst read you will find. Culpepper gives a brisk overview of an EPL season with Portsmouth and gives a well written account of his budding love for English football and its dedicated supporters. The book seems like it would be good for folks with a general... more info
Bloody Dull:
After 2 decades of covering American sports and becoming somewhat jaded in the process, Culpepper seeks reinvigoration of his passion for sports by immersing himself in fandom for the English Premier League club Portsmouth. Following a common format for sports books, he follows the team for a season. Culpepper brings nothing novel to this subgenre. The quality of his writing, featuring fairly lame efforts at depicting himself as clueless, is pedestrian. Individuals interested in better sports writing... more info
screamingly funning and amazingly insightful:
This is a brilliant piece of writing, one that I've bought for several American friends who look at me sideways when I start raving about (real) football. Not only does the author tell the story of my favorite team (Pompey), he paints a vivid picture of insane fandom. I laughed so hard at some sections of this book that my wife banned me from reading it in bed because I was shaking the bed so much. As the story progresses, the author is drawn in from feeling like a detached observer to being as crazy as the... more info
Good one Chuck!:
Great interesting take on the best sport in the world! "Play up Pompey, play up!!" Yeah, whatever....C'mon Arsenal!!! Written with passion and humor, if you're not a soccer...errr..football(futbol) fan, you must, must pick up this book! Also, check out World Soccer Daily dot com everyday!! Cheers!
