What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States

This fascinating book combines historical narratives, interviews, and social research into a unique lens of sports in America. Issues covered include racism (breaking the color barrier in sports), labor (unionization and ownership/management), economics (publicly funded sports stadiums), gender parity (equal pay for equal play), class (players, ticket buyers and other fans) and much more. It goes from the first progressive sports writer, to modern day athletes both serving in the military and protesting the military.If you've got an affinity or adversion to professional sports, this book provides insight not present in mainstream coverage of the press. One review comments that it's nothing more than "left-wing propoganda" - not true.For example, the perspectives of George Foreman and Muhammad Ali are compared and contrasted. Each is provided a space to present and defend their position. Dave Zirin never depicts athletes as static, unidimensional products, rather, athletes are presented as changing and growing over time. Conservatives and liberals are covered; however as a progressive book the focus is on social dissenters in sports, their backgrounds, experiences, effect(s) on career and society, and ulitmately provides space for some of them to reflect and tell their own stories. One of my favorite elements of the book are these interviews, which let the atheletes say it in their own words.

This book will open the eyes of any sports fan who wants to know what athletes have and do go thru when they don't agree with what's going on in the world, and when they voice their thoughts, whether it be on racial, political or financial incidents that require deep thought and analyzing.

I found Zirin in a “Louder than a bomb” feature in Slam Magazine. His voice is passionate and promises to tell the truth. Read three books of his including this one and have found his work to be well researched and thoughtful. A must-read writer.

The insight in this book is as electrifying as a two-out, game-winning home run in the "world" series. That we have actually been watching a culture war or culture Olympics taking place on the fields, in the rings, in the rinks and on the courts in this country and in the world that mirrored those in real life is brought out beautifully by Zirin. We have seen the agony of defeat and joy of victory and he recounts and reinterprets those outcomes in new ways. Like Bush's America, today's sports is a mindnumbing downpour of nonsense that despite all efforts by its bosses to control, still erupts with true revelations of the dysfunctional conditions of our society. Great writing, I read it in one sitting. A new voice in sports writing that should be heard more widely.

I'm now a big fan of Dave Zirin. A thinking man's sports writer with a sharp (left) political analysis. He's had me completely rethink (and develop an appreciation for) Barry Bonds, Terrell Owens and Ricky Williams. My only complaint is that it was mostly short essays. While that made it hard to put down ("Oh, I'll just read one more..."), I really wanted a complete and connected narrative. I guess I'll have to read A People's History of Sports in the United States for that.

Dave Zirin takes the true sports fan and the novice into the beast. His knowledge of sports is impressive, but his knowledge of the people who play the sports is what is most amazing. And the commitment so many of them have had to causes, to resistance. Often not out of choice, out of the reality in which they exist.I dare you not to learn, not to laugh and not to become outraged when you read this book. And you'll want more.

A decent book. I had it as a textbook for a Sports, Media and Social Change class, but it was entertaining enough to be a worthwhile read on its own.

A great read on sports heroes who stood for more than the game itself.