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Rating: 
Summary: The Making of the Super Bowl
Review: I know Mr.Weiss in fact he is a good friend of mine and my families. He has taught me a lot about the Super Bowl. He has also sent the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl programs to my family. He has written a masterpiece. It is very intriguing, and since he was there he gives you all the inside information about the war between the AFC and the NFC. You wouldn't believe what happened in this war of the two leagues. This is one of the best books I have ever read and I recommend it to everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of good stuff, but could have been better
Review: Like a previous reviewer mentioned, this book is best when Weiss describes the early years of the Super Bowl. Most casual football fans know of the merger between the AFL and NFL in the 1960's but Weiss goes into great detail about how it all came about. Being a Gen Xer myself, I had know idea of the struggle to get the leagues together. Not to mention all the legal battles they went through. One of the interesting tidbits described later in the book is the NFL's black out policy. I had no idea that if it wasn't court ordered, the NFL probably would not show home games to fans, even with sell outs.
If you're a hardcore fan of NFL football and want to learn more about how the SuperBowl came about and the people involved, I would definitely recommend this book. If you're a casual fan, you'll probably find the book a bit tedious with all the minutia Weiss gets into.
Rating:
Summary: Good, as far as it goes
Review: Weiss pretty much ran the Super Bowl from the NFL offices for its first ten years or so. A close advisor to Pete Rozelle, he was certainly on the inside as the NFL transformed from a league less important than college football to today's juggernaut. This book is strongest in the years 1966-70, the first few Super Bowls, the time of the merger. Weiss gives us almost blow by blow action during this time. After that (and the book is very loosely structured to disguise this) there is some info about the Seventies Super Bowls, and almost none (except for "My favorite years", and some topical references to 9/11) after that, when Weiss was no longer responsible for the running of the Super Bowl. So while the book is billed as a history of the Super Bowl, it is more a history of the first four or five than anything else, with a few later anecdotes. There are plenty of anecdotes, if that is what you're looking for. Oh, and you'll find that Super Bowl III is given the full treatment you'd expect. Weiss is an NFL insider, and clearly an NFL loyalist as well. The late Pete Rozelle comes across larger than life in this book. While he was a great man and a great commissioner, he doesn't seem human, as recorded by Weiss. Other NFL loyalists (Tex Schramm, for example), get similar treatment, while those less loyal to Rozelle (Al Davis, for example), get the tear down treatment. The Raiders' Super Bowl wins when the league was in the midst of litigation aren't mentioned (and the lawsuits only by allusion). Maybe this would have made Davis look too good? Yet those moments in the locker room, with Rozelle forced to pass the Lombardi Trophy to his litigation opponent, were fascinating for the fan (who doesn't have Weiss's access) to watch. They aren't mentioned. It's a decent book, and an enjoyable read. But for one looking for a history of this NFL era, read a selection of books, from the rabblerousing "The League" to more loyalist treatments like this, to get a full perspective. There really isn't an unbiased treatment I'd recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Good, as far as it goes
Review: Weiss pretty much ran the Super Bowl from the NFL offices for its first ten years or so. A close advisor to Pete Rozelle, he was certainly on the inside as the NFL transformed from a league less important than college football to today's juggernaut. This book is strongest in the years 1966-70, the first few Super Bowls, the time of the merger. Weiss gives us almost blow by blow action during this time. After that (and the book is very loosely structured to disguise this) there is some info about the Seventies Super Bowls, and almost none (except for "My favorite years", and some topical references to 9/11) after that, when Weiss was no longer responsible for the running of the Super Bowl. So while the book is billed as a history of the Super Bowl, it is more a history of the first four or five than anything else, with a few later anecdotes. There are plenty of anecdotes, if that is what you're looking for. Oh, and you'll find that Super Bowl III is given the full treatment you'd expect. Weiss is an NFL insider, and clearly an NFL loyalist as well. The late Pete Rozelle comes across larger than life in this book. While he was a great man and a great commissioner, he doesn't seem human, as recorded by Weiss. Other NFL loyalists (Tex Schramm, for example), get similar treatment, while those less loyal to Rozelle (Al Davis, for example), get the tear down treatment. The Raiders' Super Bowl wins when the league was in the midst of litigation aren't mentioned (and the lawsuits only by allusion). Maybe this would have made Davis look too good? Yet those moments in the locker room, with Rozelle forced to pass the Lombardi Trophy to his litigation opponent, were fascinating for the fan (who doesn't have Weiss's access) to watch. They aren't mentioned. It's a decent book, and an enjoyable read. But for one looking for a history of this NFL era, read a selection of books, from the rabblerousing "The League" to more loyalist treatments like this, to get a full perspective. There really isn't an unbiased treatment I'd recommend.
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