OT: John U. Bacon's overtime - my own review.

I just got done with Overtime. I'm posting my own review after doing a search and just seeing one official review. I thought I'd give the 'just a guy' review. 

I bought it in the summer and to be honest with all the BPONE going around, and the start of the book, I started it but waited because the first premise of the book is 'Is college football worth it' and it was tough to think about while our offense was struggling. That, and you know what happens at the end of the '18 season. 

I picked it up about a week after the Citrus bowl and am glad I did. 

He's definitely on the side of Michigan football; but I like how he drills down into specific things that make me feel very good about this program:

• How seriously Michigan takes academics; and how much money and effort they put into it. Is it perfect? No, but there are some damned smart guys on that team.
  • He outlines how Gary struggled through his Dyslexia and they worked with him so he could start getting great grades. He was taking general studies but had real classes.  
  • They talked about Bush really taking his studies seriously. You get the idea it isn't just talk. One of Harbaugh's first things was to have long team study sessions. If these kids want, I'm guessing they can take blow off courses. But if they want they can also get great degrees, or focus under a general studies degree for what they want; and they'll be all set to go on after football. They'll have a degree they can do something with; in particular with Michigan networking. 
• How the staff really is concerned with both the players as people and player development. he did a great job interviewing the coaching staff, the players, and the parents. 
• The way Harbaugh and his staff handled little things like the recovery of Grant Newsome impressed the hell out of me. One of the things I thought was great was a little vignette about how Higdon was allowed to go back in and carry after a fumble. They gave reasons behind it. I remember people b*tching up a storm about it but the way Higdon talked about it, and how it made him more confident to play better, makes you think that the coaches can have valid reasons for doing things. 
• How Harbaugh is constantly willing to change and tweak things. The offensive scheme overhaul is a huge example. The coaches he knew (Warriner for Drev; Gattis for Pep) weren't safe if it meant he thought we could get better. And he was willing to listen to other people (Higdon and Winovich regarding the way they practiced and ate; both of which led to him jettisoning another colleague and getting Ben Herbert as well as getting Abigail O'Conner to help improve nutrition). 
• How many of the players really bought in and created a brotherhood. The team may not have been perfect but you really get the idea that the chemistry is healthy here and the guys are bought in to the staff and the system. There is mutual trust. And these guys expect to carry that forward in life. 
• HOLY CRAP how much money is spent on these kids for academics and academic support to shoes. 
• How real Harbaugh was. In All or Nothing you get the idea he's kind of a dead fish sometimes. But here you see a different perspective both from the interviews of his friends and relatives but also the players. 

All in all, a great book; and a nice balm for me from all the BPONE. Yes, things aren't perfect; but they are damned good. Until I see real evidence otherwise it looks like we have a good, talented staff that is working hard to win and has really improved things (he brings up one stat in which we had had one double digit win season in the 11 years prior to Harbaugh). They see that there are issues, and that they aren't there yet, but they are actively working towards getting there. Reading about MSU's issues as they chased relevance in college football in the Detroit News really made me realize how good we have it. 

I don't know if I agree with everything. I'm not sure a minor league would fix the issues as much as things like letting players get money from their own endorsements. But he makes a good argument at least. 

Oh, and the original question: Is football worth it? The answer was yes. If you have the right coach. 

I highly recommend the book.