Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly
by Stephen J. Koreivo
Dick Vitale, top college basketball broadcaster and analyst says, “If you are a football lover like I am, you will enjoy reading this book by Steve Koreivo as he shares his insights and passion for college football.” Koreivo regales throughout his lifelong adventure attending 676 games over 50 years while balancing this passion with family, faith, education, career, friendships and everyday life from boyhood into retirement.
As much as he loves the excitement, traditions, spirit and experiences of traveling, attending, and tailgating across the country and over time to see as many college teams play as possible, he has concerns regarding some of the current changes taking place. As there is no doubt that money is essential to support collegiate athletics, he sees the emphasis taken away from some of the intangibles to be instilled – like teamwork, loyalty, hard work and commitment.
In the words of the great football coach Vince Lombardi who coached Army at West Point as well as the Green Bay Packers to Super Bowls: “Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” Realize that slightly only over two percent of college football players go on to play professional football. The majority move on to other professions and career paths. College football offers intangibles as lessons for life learned outside of formal classroom education in order for players to be successful as men, as fathers, and as leaders in whatever profession or career path they choose to contribute to society for the rest of their lives.
Beyond the fun, memorable and entertaining football memoirs and travels by the Author, he also shares his insights in two essays. In the first, he depicts how a combination of changing factors can possibly turn the game into one no longer played by student-athletes. He envisions college football turning too far away from the intangibles that need to be taught to being totally focused only on profits for certain schools. In his second essay, he proposes how to make college football better for players and for fans alike with ideas to enhance competition among more Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams rather than continuing along to favor just the handful that currently dominate. His journey continues beyond his tales in this book. Enjoy his journey and his insights.
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