Texas Football Trilogy A Seaon In The Lone Star State

From the innocent exuberance of high school football to the spectacle of the college game to the glitz of America's Team, the story of the importance of football to the state of Texas is told in this book. Trilogy takes readers behind the scenes to look at the night before the big game, the life of the star player and how football at any level is big business in Texas. The state's most popular entertainers, the Cowboys, are part of the focus of Trilogy.

In terms of books, Texas Football Trilogy could well become the Friday Night Lights of 1999. From the innocent exuberance of high school football to the spectacle of the college game to the glitz of America’s Team, the story of the importance of football to the state of Texas is told in this book. Trilogy takes readers behind the scenes to look at the night before the big game, the life of the star player and how football at any level is big business in Texas. The state’s most popular entertainers, the Cowboys, are part of the focus of Trilogy, which looks at the religion of football in Texas at the professional, college and high school levels. Texas Football Trilogy also chronicles a banner season for Texas A & M, including an inside look at the Aggies’ stunning upset of Nebraska, and a view of one of the state’s premier prep programs, Austin’s Westlake High School. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Ricky Williams is not only the best running back in the history of college football, but also a known for his down-to-earth personality and willingness to help others. His decision to stay at UT for his senior year despite opportunities to join the NFL meant the world to UT and fans of the soft-spoken, dreadlocked, talented athlete. Richardson delves deep into the personal life of Williams', who was forced to grow up at an early age in order to take care of his twin sister, younger siblings and divorced mother. Through his responsibiliy to his family and love of football, Ricky Williams' story is truly inspirational.

For at least a century, across the United States, Mexican American athletes have actively participated in community-based, interscholastic, and professional sports. The people of the ranchos and the barrios have used sport for recreation, leisure, and community bonding. Until now, though, relatively few historians have focused on the sports participation of Latinos, including the numerically preponderant Mexican Americans. This volume gathers an important collection of such studies, arranged in rough chronological order, spanning the period from the late 1920s through the present. They survey and analyze sporting experiences and organizations, as well as their impact on communal and individual lives. Contributions spotlight diverse fields of athletic endeavor: baseball, football, soccer, boxing, track, and softball. Mexican Americans and Sports contributes to the emerging understanding of the value of sport to minority populations in communities throughout the United States. Those interested in sports history will benefit from the book's focus on under-studied Mexican American participation, and those interested in Mexican American history will welcome the insight into this aspect of the group's social history.

Ask anyone to name an archetypal Texan, and you're likely to get a larger-than-life character from film or television (say John Wayne's Davy Crockett or J. R. Ewing of TV's Dallas) or a politician with that certain swagger (think LBJ or George W. Bush). That all of these figures are white and male and bursting with self-confidence is no accident, asserts Leigh Clemons. In this thoughtful study of what makes a "Texan," she reveals how Texan identity grew out of the history—and, even more, the myth—of the heroic deeds performed by Anglo men during the Texas Revolution and the years of the Republic and how this identity is constructed and maintained by theatre and other representational practices. Clemons looks at a wide range of venues in which "Texanness" is performed, including historic sites such as the Alamo, the battlefield at Goliad, and the San Jacinto Monument; museums such as the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum; seasonal outdoor dramas such as Texas! at Palo Duro Canyon; films such as John Wayne's The Alamo and the IMAX's Alamo: The Price of Freedom; plays and TV shows such as the Tuna trilogy, Dallas, and King of the Hill; and the Cavalcade of Texas performance at the 1936 Texas Centennial. She persuasively demonstrates that these performances have created a Texan identity that has become a brand, a commodity that can be sold to the public and even manipulated for political purposes.

Ride the exciting roller coaster of fame and fortune with Bobby Ray Kellison as he struggles to deal with the pinnacle of success and the depth of loss. When a lady asks him, "Who are you?" He answers, "Nobody!" But Bobby really is a somebody; as a once in a lifetime player, he is a Texas Football Wonder. Bobby has always been the type player that can seemingly win games all by himself. He has been a major factor in his high school team winning three straight Texas Football Championships. Bobby has been selected the number one football player in the state of Texas. He has also been named the number one defensive player in the nation. His dreams of going to the University of Texas and becoming an All American are on the horizon. Bobby has been selected as one of the most eligible bachelors in the State of Texas. Life couldn't get any better for Bobby, right? Actually it does. His girl friend becomes Miss Texas and Janelle dreams of winning the Miss America Pageant. Then in one brief instant it all comes crashing down. Texas Football is what this thrilling story is all about, how the players play and deal with pain, how women chase them and vice versus. It delves into how families and individuals are affected and what happens when things go wrong. It is a story of love and hate of the game and the struggles of people who are in it and around it. Law suits, sex, romance and even drugs are shown in all their naked reality. This book follows Bobby through his company dealings, his football career and even his intimate and often time's secret love life. Fact is, Bobby has too many secrets, can he juggle them without letting them all slip? Not everyone turns out to be his friend. Ride with Bobby to the pinnacle of success. Fall with Bobby and then rise again, like the Phoenix, each time a little higher. Find out what it is like to be The Lone Star of Texas.

A veteran Texas sports writer offers a lively, up-close look at football in Texas—the fullest portrait ever conceived—viewed through the interwoven stories of three teams, Plano Senior High School, Baylor University, and the Dallas Cowboys, during one season. In Texas, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mean one thing: football. Dallas Cowboys’ writer Nick Eatman follows three teams in three leagues throughout the 2015 season blending their stories into a unique, eye-opening chronicle of Lone Star football. Eatman highlights the ups and downs and even the parallels that these teams experienced over the course of the year. Granted unique access to every level of the three teams, and drawing on his invaluable connections, he follows key players and coaches, including stars from Baylor and Plano, Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, and head coaches Jason Garrett, Art Briles, and Jaydon McCullough. Friday, Saturday, Sunday in Texas reveals the inextricable connections between the three teams and the players as the season unfolds. As high school athletes strive to win a spot at colleges like Baylor, college players fight for the chance to go pro, while Cowboys teammates reflect on their rise to the NFL. Though their challenges may differ—prepping for the SATs or Homecoming, working to get noticed by NFL scouts, or trying to prove themselves for that next contract in the pros—when the lights come on and they hit the field, they share one goal: to win. Friday, Saturday, Sunday in Texas features sixteen pages of color photos that capture the highs and lows of the 2015 season. Combining the power of Friday Night Lights and the inspiring insight of Remember the Titans, it offers a fresh perspective on this beloved sport, and is a must for football fans.