Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty

What a fascinating read. I would reccomend for anybody that wants to know what life as a professional athlete is really like. This book painted such a vivid description of just how different athletes are than regular people. I was amazed at how dysfunctional the Cowboys organization was during the 90's while still being considered the best franchise in sports during this time period.

If you want to read about 'athletes gone wild' this book is for you! Reading like a mix of Penthouse Letters and a police blotter, Jeff Pearlman rips the lid off the Animal House National Lampoon's Animal House life that the Cowboys of the 1990s led while rising from the NFL scrapyard to become 3-time Super Bowl champs. Pearlman mixes mini-biographies of key players, coaches, and media-people with seasonal and Super Bowl summaries in each chapter, and has given the book a lively feel. Recommended, but not for any who disapprove of immoral behavior; this book is loaded with it.

I loved this book. I am slightly biased as a Cowboys Fan, but I had an extremely hard time putting this book down. I have read other sports books over the Florida Gators (other favorite team) and other sports and teams. But this is the only book I put off plans to do other things to read. Once you open up with the story of the end, and then go through the understanding of the players, coaches, and owner of the Cowboys of the 1990's. I thought I knew this team, but now I know the team. This might be the best book I have ever read.

When the first chapter of a non-fiction football book starts off with future Hall Of Fame receiver Michael Irvin stabbing a teammate in the neck with a scissors... and blood is shooting all over the room... and the intensity of the lurid details... on and off the field... regarding the famed "dynastic" Dallas Cowboys of the 1990's... never lets up for the next three-hundred-fifty-eight pages... you know you've got a great book in your hands. Any true football fan, regardless of what team you root for will want to read this book. There are so many riveting... outlandish... insider... stories... that you will constantly want to stop reading for a moment or two... just to call one of your buddies to tell him what you just read! This book has it all. From the "humble" beginnings (as far as wins and losses that is... nothing about any of the key individuals in this story could ever be considered humble!) concerning the 1989 Cowboys who had a one-win fifteen-loss season... to the three-time Super Bowl Champions. The author smoothly gives you detailed background information on everyone from owner Jerry Jones to coach Jimmy Johnson to Troy Aikman/Emmitt Smith/Michael Irvin/Nate Newton/Charles Haley/Deion Sanders... and every Cowboy large... small... or in between... who effected the team on or off the field... good or bad. Absolutely no punches are pulled. From drug busts, that included Michael Irvin and teammate Alfredo Roberts being caught with 10.3 grams of cocaine, more than an ounce of marijuana, assorted drug paraphernalia and sex toys... and oh yea... two strippers... to shocking exposes regarding eventual FIVE-TIME-SUPER-BOWL-CHAMPION Charles Haley who would expose himself... and "pleasure-himself"... in front of teammates in the locker room... training room... and meeting rooms... to famous quotes from players, that truly thought they were above the law, are provided... such as when three-hundred-sixty pound Nate Newton said: "WE'VE GOT A LITTLE PLACE OVER HERE WHERE WE'RE RUNNING SOME WHORES IN AND OUT, TRYING TO BE RESPONSIBLE, AND WE'RE CRITICIZED FOR THAT, TOO." Did you know that when former Cowboy owner Bum Bright sold the team to Jerry Jones... that one of the conditions of the sale was that Jones had to fire Tom Landry? Landry was probably the most popular man in Texas, but Bright couldn't stand him. How did the Cowboys code of ethics compare to other big name NFL teams? One Cowboy said: "WHEN I WAS WITH THE REDSKINS COACH GIBBS WOULD SAY, "OK FELLA'S, DON'T MESS WITH STREET DRUGS OR STEROIDS, BECAUSE THAT'S NOT HOW WE DO THINGS HERE." COACH JOHNSON ON THE OTHER HAND, WOULD SAY, "DON'T MESS WITH STREET DRUGS OR STEROIDS, BECAUSE THE DRUG TEST IS IN A WEEK AND YOU DON'T WANNA GET CAUGHT." "IT WAS OBVIOUS JIMMY LACKED SOME CHARACTER IN HIS PURSUIT OF GREATNESS." It's all here in exquisite detail. Nothing is held back. The way players... coaches... and owners... really feel! Who they think is stupid... who is smart... who had courage an

I loved this book and I actually read it (Unlike the person's comment before mine). I read it straight through. I had to go to the bathroom at work to finish it up. I enjoyed hearing about the off the field experiences of the team members. As reported, it was salacious. However, I enjoyed even more the making of the team. The trades and behind the scene conversations that made this team what it was. Pearlman dug up amazing details with extensive reporting. There may have been a few Cowboys who didn't speak with Pearlman, but most of them did and had plenty to say. To quote Bill Simmons "Go buy this book."