Product Description

No university has won more football championships than Alabama, and Barry Krauss played a key role in one of them. The linebacker's fourth down stop of Penn State's Mike Guman in the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 1979, was recently named by ESPN as one of the ten most important plays of the 20th century. The Goal Line Stand, as the play became known, immortalized Krauss among legions of fans. More than twenty-five years later, people still tell him exactly what they were doing and how they felt when he collided in mid-air with Guman that New Year's Day - and almost never mention his twelve-year career in the NFL. In this entertaining and well-illustrated memoir, Krauss tells of scrimmaging on front lawns with friends as a kid in Pompano Beach, Florida, and of his childhood dream to play for Don Shula. He acknowledges how Coach, Bear Bryant tamed his free spirit and shaped him into the football player - and the man - he became. And, he emphasizes the importance of team, weaving together the personal stories of his Alabama teammates on the field during the Goal Line Stand, and acknowledges their significant roles in winning the game and the championship. "Ain't Nothin' But a Winner" offers an insider's look at how a team is built, tested, and becomes a national champion - and how that process sometimes calls upon an individual to rise to the challenge presented by his own personal gut check.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1066822 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 152 pages

Review

About the Author
Barry Krauss was a key member of The University of Alabama's 1978 National Championship Football Team. A first round draft choice in 1979, he played twelve years in the NFL with the Baltimore and Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins. Today he is a professional broadcaster and motivational speaker based in Carmel, Indiana. Joe M. Moore was a freshman member of the 1975 Crimson Tide football team, alongside Barry Krauss. He is the founder of Moore Management Group, which provides management consulting, marketing, and intellectual property development services to businesses. His work for the last decade has focused on television properties, ranging from series to specials to news segments. He lives in Mobile, Alabama.

Customer Reviews

Great motivational memoir!
Barry Krauss' memoir captured and held my attention throughout. I wouldn't compare Krauss in either the areas of memoir writing or sports writing to Mitch Albom, but I doubt Mr. Albom could participate head-on in a goal line stand and live to tell about it--much less write a book about it. So, after we take the likes of Mitch Albom out of the equation and look at Ain't Nothin' But a Winner on its own merit, I can easily say that I found it to be a well-written, compelling memoir. After all, it's not every football player (turned writer) who can come up with descriptions such as "Alabama again came within one single puff of Coach Bryant's unfiltered Chesterfield cigarette of winning two national championships...." That's nice imagery. That's writing that keeps me reading.

Beyond looking at the book from a literary standpoint, the story and the message within the story make this book stand out. Krauss recounts his career in football with humor, with touching sensitivity, and with frank honesty. From high school through his years in professional football, Krauss gives the reader a rare inside view of that world. As he says, he lived the life many dream about and he's appreciative of the experience.

I'm not an avid football fan, but this book pulled me into this life devoted to the team and the game. I felt the tug of the ups and downs players and fans rejoice in and suffer from. The highlight of the book, of course, is Krauss' recounting of his years playing for Paul "Bear" Bryant on the University of Alabama football team. The climax is the one play-- the Goal Line Stand, on January 1, 1979, in the Sugar Bowl game against Penn State--where Krauss stopped Penn State's Mike Gunman from scoring. Football enthusiasts will enjoy Krauss' description of the play that stopped time. While reading that section, I felt the crack of helmets and came away with a better understanding of football fanatics.... (reviewed by Lou Belcher, freelance writer and editor)