The Proving Ground: A Season on the Fringe in NFL Europe

By Lars Anderson

Life in the minor leagues of football, which NFL Europe has been aptly dubbed, can be funny, sad, profound and ludicrous all at the same time. At its heart, this six-team league is a short-stop away from either the glamour of the NFL or the bottom of the professional football scrap pile--a crossroads full of real-life drama where the joy of "making it" can be tempered by failure or injury with one misstep; where the difference between a multimillion dollar NFL contract and abject poverty may only be one play away. Just ask Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner. Author Lars Anderson brings to life the compelling drama of NFL Europe by spending a season with the Scottish Claymores. Anderson lives with the players at a hotel in Glasgow, Scotland, spending every waking minute with them-eating and heading out to the pubs as the Claymores make their championship run. Along with detailing the life and times of the Claymores, Anderson digs deep into the background of the players and coaches to help explain why some succeed and others fail in their quest to make it to that shining city on the hill--the NFL. Through the eyes of Anderson, the reader experiences what it means and what it's like to be a football player in Europe. The men that make up the Claymores are the strength of this book-a funny and complex lot that face many of the same issues we tackle every day. An inspiring portrait of both new beginnings and bitter ends, The Proving Ground will shock and delight readers, while showing them another side of the professional football player. Of The Proving Ground , Frank Deford, award-winning author and commentator, says "Anderson deftly shows that you can take the football player out of America, but... he's the same creature, loving the game and scrambling for one more chance."

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312269757
• ISBN13: 9780312269753
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Great read!

As an avid football fan, I truly enjoyed this book. It gave great insight to what a team goes through during a season overseas in NFL Europe. It showed the highs and lows that players go through especially within the family (team). If you are interested in what goes on and what goes through a players mind I really suggest you read this book. Lars Anderson did a great job and my heart goes out to kicker Rob Hart... YOU WILL GET A CHANCE TO MAKE IT UP! (read the book to find out what that refers to!)

Wonderful Book!

This is one of the best books I have read. It might be the best book about football ever. It gives a detailed account of what NFL Europe is really all about. As a fan of the league since 1991, I thought I knew almost everything about the league, but after reading this book, I learned things about it I never knew. The only flaw I saw in the book was that Mr. Anderson said that the World League became NFL Europe in 1996, but in fact it did not actually become NFL Europe until the 1998 season. Other then that it was a great book. A must for all football fans, especially fans of NFL Europe!!