Cheap Born to Referee: My Life on the Gridiron (Book) (Jerry Markbreit, Alan Steinberg) Price

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Customer Reviews of Born to Referee: My Life on the Gridiron

The only thing he loves more than football is himself!
I found this book at a yard sale and payed only a dime. Even at that price it was a questionable purchase. At its best, the book makes clear that NFL officials are a much the pros as the players -- they've worked incredibly hard to get there and have to work even harder to stay. It also conveys all the tricks of the trade -- who knew (or perhaps cared) about the specific brand of whistle that's best for the game or how to keep a pair of socks up? Those insider details, though, can be found on almost any page.

It's tough work weeding out the good stuff, though, since Markbreit spends so much of the book conveying how wonderful he is for being the most dedicated official in the world. While he might joke about the things that happen, he never sees that one of the funniest (and saddest) parts of the book is his own obsession with what is, in reality, a part-time job. The lack of perspective -- the way he writes about choosing a whistle as if it's the same as a surgeon making a critical diagnosis -- is a little frightening. Also, the way he writes about his wife is nothing less than appalling. She's quoted toward the end saying something quite sweet about him. In turn, he goes on for several bitter pages about her lack of enthusiasm for his constant absence and brags about how much he likes to "needle" (read "hurt") her. There is not a single word of even token gratitude for her having raised their family so he could pursue his passion and when she asks him, "why haven't we ever divorced?", he brags that he didn't say what she wanted to hear ("because I love you" -- note that he's the star of his own sentence) but instead said, "because I never quit anything." Somehow, even in a marriage, it's always about Jerry. It makes the book almost painful to read.

Run, Mrs. Markbeit. If he's this bad in print, I can't imagine what he's like in person.