Rose Bowl Dreams: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Football

In this enjoyably quirky narrative, Jones creates a fun tale out of little more than memories of his family, his quite-chatty relationship with God and a deep love of college football. Jones, who runs a college football Web site and works for the Texas Education Agency, grew up in the Texas Panhandle, where the women knew as much or more about football as the men did. Already obsessed with the Texas Longhorns, Jones attended the University of Texas in comparatively swinging Austin and imparts warm memories of those late, music-filled nights before getting down to football talk. The narrative bops from family to football history, particularly the wonders of Ricky Williams or the deadly rivalry with the Oklahoma Sooners (seen by Austin types as the “Redneck Apocalypse”). Every so often, the religious Jones interrupts the narrative just long enough so he can have a talk with God (who doesn't seem to be doing enough to help his team win), but never comes off as even remotely holier-than-thou. (Aug.)