Review of "Go Long!," by Jerry Rice with Brian Curtis

 Review of

Go Long!, by Jerry Rice with Brian Curtis, ISBN 9780345496126

Five out of five stars

Life of the consummate professional

 Throughout his illustrious career in the NFL, Jerry Rice was always the perfectionist professional, performing extra conditioning drills, extra practice reps and always making sure that he ran the most precise routes that he could execute. Even Hall of Fame quarterbacks will underperform if their receivers are not precisely where they are supposed to be. Therefore, much of the success of quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young was due to the excellent target that Jerry Rice always presented.

 This is the autobiography of Jerry Rice, starting from his roots in rural Mississippi and his family struggling to make ends meet. His father was a bricklayer that worked every possible day and Jerry worked the fields as soon as he was able. An admittedly shy person, he attended smaller Mississippi Valley State rather than a larger school known for its football program.

 There is one consistent theme throughout the book. Rice’s commitment to working long and hard to be the best that he can be. Some of the descriptions of running in 100+ heat and up killer hills will impress even those that engage in hard workouts.

 As was the case when he was a player, Rice does very little of the gloating that so many modern players do on and off the field. He is blunt in his statements about players such as Terrell Owens and Randy Moss, where he derides their workout ethic, saying that they could have been incredible players. Even better than he was.

 While there is very little in the way of dirty laundry or criticism of other players and coaches, this is still an entertaining read. Rice is clear that he did not succeed on talent alone. It was his genetic endowment plus his drive that made him the all-time great that he is.

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