Overtime audiobook

Overtime is a must-read for any college football fan! John U. Bacon deftly weaves together stories of the Michigan Wolverines’ 2018 season, Jim Harbaugh’s career as a player and coach, the support staff that keeps the entire program humming along, and, undergirding it all, the dedication to ethics and academics that sets the Michigan program apart. I enjoyed learning more about various aspects of the program from nutrition, academics, and strength coaching to reviewing game film and recruiting. It was also a treat to hear from the players and coaches I’ve so enjoyed watching on Saturdays and more deeply explore their challenges, emotions, and dreams.Along the way, Bacon grapples with many important ethical questions facing this sport: Is it responsible to let kids play football, when CTE and debilitating injuries lurk around the corner? Should the NCAA pay players? How can programs act ethically and foster true student athletes and graduates who will be positive forces in their communities? All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read! Go Blue!

Not a fan of the Michigan Wolverines but this is the second book I have read from John Bacon and both are excellent. Even though Jim Harbaugh is a bit quirky, I found my perception of him has changed and he is actually a likable guy with a lot of good life lessons , not only football lessons

Anytime John Bacon has a book out on his Michigan team, readers should immediately grab it. Bacon provides some of the best insider views of college football I've ever read. And, as a fan of Michigan's team, it's especially rewarding to read the behind-the-scenes stories of games, players, coaches decisions, recruitment and strategies that go on daily during football season.Bacon breaks the book into sections, alternating between Jim Harbaugh's life and the 2018 season. It also has sections by the month, so the reader is lead down the path, reliving the season. His other books on Michigan were just as brilliant, and, although some reviews indicate this is merely a sequel to his other works, it is an excellent stand alone. Without a doubt, Bacon is the best college football writer out there. The book is over 400 pages, but it's a quick read because the reader devours it. Like I said, I followed Michigan's season last year, but reading this book is like living through an entirely new season. Sure, we know the player's names, but we don't know their lives. Bacon provides that.Remember: Any book by Bacon is totally worth the time and effort to read.

This is what seems like John U. Bacon’s millionth book about Michigan football. I think the title must refer to Bacon unexpectedly writing another football book because none of the games during the 2018 season here chronicled went into overtime. In the grand narrative of Bacon’s Michigan Football Universe this season is the one where Jim Harbaugh, having returned to Michigan to restore the values of Bo Schembechler after roughly a decade-long period of wandering in the wilderness of modern college football sin (recruiting dumb jocks, NCAA violations, putting the quarterback in after suffering a concussion - you know, stuff Michigan would never do) finally brings moral football victories back to Ann Arbor. Winning, yes, but winning the right way.Bacon frequently emphasizes what he takes to be the “program’s traditional values of honesty, integrity, and a deeply shared sense of purpose” that is, “the beliefs Michigan fans were convinced separated Michigan from the many programs trying to win at all costs.” You do, however, get glimpses of another Michigan if you read carefully. Bacon, who has taught a lot at Michigan, tells of flunking some players (this was before Harbaugh, or rather between Harbaugh reins, since he was a leader on the team in the 1980s) and also brings up the 2007 Ann Arbor News series which laid bare the Michigan way of keeping the football team academically eligible while delivering a questionable education.The format of the book is just to go through the 2018 season from preseason to postseason, and game by game. Bacon pads things out by profiling different trainers and doctors and secretaries who keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes. I think interest in these sections will vary. If you’re a die hard fan and must know how many trainers the Michigan football team has (10) and how much they spend on ankle tape every year (it was $120,000 in 2018, it’s undoubtedly more now) then you’re going to love this book.Besides those background pieces, there’s also much material on Harbaugh’s upbringing and his philosophy of turning everything into a non-stop competition, something which seems to really drive the coach but which Bacon isn’t quite able to portray with much insight or depth. There’s a part where Harbaugh’s wife tells about not wanting to sleep beside him after his team loses because he wakes up screaming. Another telling anecdote is the weird frosty behaviour when Harbaugh faced his brother Jim in a Super Bowl and lost. Bacon includes these tantalizing details about what must be a truly fascinating psychology but he doesn’t really take it anywhere interesting.It’s the same with his treatment of the current hot-button issues in football: concussions and injuries and whether colleges should pay the players that are bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars. Bacon addresses these issues but he doesn’t explore them very thoroughly. He just points out that “Women’s soccer has almost the same rates of concussions” and that “the 2018 football team’s three worst injuries wouldn’t happen on the field.” (But he does describe the on-field injury suffered two years earlier by Grant Newsome. He almost lost his leg and the story of this injury and recovery is one of the best parts of the book.) As for paying players, Bacon suggests that there should be a minor league for football and basketball, as there is for baseball and hockey, and that would pretty much solve everything.I think Bacon keeps writing these books to honor what he sees as Schembechler’s values and he looks up to Harbaugh as carrying that same torch. Bacon appears to have a lot of access to the players and staff and this makes for a very well-reported and detailed book but it’s also a very sympathetic portrait. This book, it’s true, is deeper than just a highlight reel from the 2018 season but all the interesting facts and numerous interviews with key people don’t add up to a multi-dimensional portrait of a college football program. For that I guess there’s always double overtime.

This is a must read for any Michigan football fan, alumnus, or college football enthusiast. Bacon is an excellent story-teller and rarely falls into the "homer" category of a writer, as he is just as critical of the program and the coaching as most writers would be, but he gives context to those criticisms and allows for the coaches and players to have their say. He also turns the attention to lesser-known people within a program as large as Michigan, namely the strength and conditioning and nutrition coaches, the staff who deal with recruitment and video, as well as those that work to physically patch up the players and keep them on the field. It was a complete coverage of the 2018 season (The "Revenge Tour" that fell short against OSU), and it does a wonderful job of humanizing so many of the players and coaches. I have newfound respect for Harbaugh after reading this, and I was a severe detractor prior to this book. Now, count me in as a fan, as he is doing what he is doing (good or bad) the right way.

** spoiler alert ** Any die hard Michigan fan probably already knows John Bacon and knows to read any book he writes - I couldn’t put this one down! This is not only a great book for Wolverines but for anyone who loves college football or is interested in the inner workings of a big time college athletic program. The amount of resources, money, people and detailed planning that it takes to run an NCAA program was fascinating. And the insights into the daily lives of the players gave me a whole new appreciation for what it means to be a student athlete (at least at Michigan). This book gave me incredible pride for what it means to be part of the Michigan family. It gave me comfort that even if we don’t win a National Title, we are doing things the right way and helping create men who will be contributors to both Michigan and the greater good for far longer than they’ll be football players - more important than any banner we could hang up. Thanks to John Bacon for another amazing read - look forward to the next one. Go Blue!

I put off reading John Bacon’s latest book because his last book on Michigan football was so painful. But I was able to see him at a book event and he assured me it was positive and uplifting. So I dug in. Don’t get me wrong, memories of what might have been last season still stings. A blowout loss to Ohio State still engenders depression. But this gives you a fuller picture of the program and leaves you understanding that there is more to life than wins and losses. Molding young men is ultimately what it is about. You also realize that the players and their friends and family feel the pain from losses more than you do. Who knows if Coach Harbaugh can take Michigan from good to great. Who knows if he can truly make the Wolverines elite. But he has put Michigan back where it was before the disasters of Rich Rod and Hoke. And is doing it with the values and standards that Michigan expects.

I enjoy John Bacon’s writing and the amazing job he did with Three and Out led me to this. I don’t think this book had the same behind-the-scenes feel as his work in the Rich Rod years. It could be that he received more of a pass during that tenure then the Harbaugh era. Still, this work was a great look at the 2018 season while exploring the background of specific players and especially Jim Harbaugh himself. Frankly, if what Bacon reports is true, there is a bleak future for Michigan football. It seems widely known that many college football dynasty’s break rules on a regular basis while the NCAA turns a blind eye. Michigan under Harbaugh’s watch emphasizes academics and integrity over winning. While I’m all for playing by the rules, it doesn’t seem quite fair and it doesn’t look like I’ll have bragging rights over obnoxious Ohio State fans anytime soon.

A typically well-written John U. Bacon college football book. As a Michigan alum and big Michigan sports fan, I already knew how the 2018 football season turned out for Michigan, but it was great to get the personal insights from not only the coaches, but also many of the players as well as some of the other staff members that contribute their energies to the football program.It made me feel good, outside of all the ups and downs on the football field, about the type of students/people that are attracted to play and study at the University of Michigan and the values that Jim Harbaugh and the rest of the coaching staff are promulgating to everyone involved in the Michigan football program.The one thing from the book that stands out the most is that the way the quality of each team is determined - twenty years later when we see what kind of men they have become!

4.5. I love this! Michigan football is near and dear to my heart. This book is imperfect, but it doesn't aim to be. Bacon is a homer, but that's why this book is as good as it is. It does try to address a lot of criticisms of football in general, and to some degree it feels like it may fall short. On the other hand, he makes no promises about being anything other than an advocate and a fan, and so I don't think it's a problem so much as something to take in with that in mind and understand that the viewpoint comes with (admitted) bias. Overall, it's nothing incredibly revolutionary, but it's a fun read and - as someone who has grown up a fan of Michigan football - just the right indulgence in the nostalgia I have for the program.

Easy fun read about the 2018 season. Although I obviously wouldn’t recommend this book to non-UM fans, there were cool backstories on players/Harbaugh family and a good look behind the scenes of what it takes to run a big college football program (travel logistics, meals, support staff, recruiting, video analysis, academic tutoring, training, equipment, etc) that I think any college football fan would find interesting. Also, even though Bacon is a complete homer, I still was convinced that Harbaugh runs the program the right way, which was further emphasized through Bacon’s much-welcome—yet probably unnecessary—jabs at the NCAA and the SEC.

This book changed my disillusionment with JimHarbaugh. When Bacon talked about his book at an Alumni event I attended in Seattle in 2019, he talked about the integrity of the football program under Harbaugh. But I didn’t fully appreciate it until I read this book. There is more to a football program than winning games - I’m glad Harbaugh focused on the same values as Schembechler: character, morals, and education. The book covered the 2018 season, backgrounds on some of the players and the history of the Harbaugh family. I loved the writing style and the insights into the program. It made me miss football Saturdays on my beloved campus. Go blue!

Great book -- I always enjoy what John Bacon has to say, but this book was especially meaningful as Michigan football struggles to keep up with other power 5 schools in an age of rampant cheating and dishonesty. Bacon's anecdotes really make you value what it means to be a Michigan Man and all the integrity and weight that comes with that title. A lot of people are down on the program and Harbaugh's tenure in particular, but there seems to be no doubt that Jim 'doesn't have a phony bone in his body' and cares immensely about developing football players into men -- on, but mostly off, the field. How many days until kick off?! GO BLUE!

An exceptional job by John U. Bacon. While telling the story of the Michigan football team's 2018 season, Bacon mixes in the personal stories of various players and staff. Each of the personal stories is interesting and provides insight into the lives of players, their families, and the program's staff. In the end, the effect is to demonstrate how a college sports program can be dedicated to the right values for the benefit of its players. In so doing, Bacon also separates the Michigan program from the (way too many) schools who place winning and their programs ahead of their players.

Just finished reading @Johnubacon’s “Overtime.” A great read. Highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for insight into what it takes to build a college program. Learn what’s truly important to the coaches and players. BTW, MSU Coach Dantonio should read page 266.Just joined Goodreads today (10/13/2019) to post this review. If you haven’t read this book, you’re missing out. Highly recommended.

This is so much more than a year in the life of the Michigan University football program. This is a tribute to Coach Jim Harbaugh, his brother, his Dad, the Michigan players, the the support team in place for the football program, Bo Schembechler, and most importantly doing things the right way. I wished this book went into overtime because I did not want the book to end. Read this book. You will be moved and inspired.

This is simply the BEST book on college football I have read! This is an inside look at the 2018 season of the Michigan Wolverines. I admit I bleed Blue. If you love college football and all it embodies, you will love this book(unless you are a UM hater, and there are a few). These young men and their coaches deserve your respect! GREAT READ!!