The Usc Trojans: College Football's All-Time Greatest Dynasty

For years I have harbored the notion that my alma mater, USC, was the greatest college football tradition ever. As Notre Dame descended to an all-time NCAA record for most consecutive bowl defeats, while USC has the best bowl record of any school, this notion gained credence in my mind. Then I read Steven Travers's absolutely fabulous, insanely great, simply marvelous book THE USC TROJANS: COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S ALL-TIME GREATEST DYNASTY. There it was! In black and white; facts, figures, painstaking research going back to the 19th century, all combined with writing ability that can only be described as masterful storytelling. Travers has simply used facts and logic to eloquently cinch the case that USC is the greatest collegiate program ever; better than the Irish, Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska or ANYBODY ELSE!! He points out that while USC and Notre Dame each have 11 legitimate national titles, USC has many more in the modern era while the majority of Irish championships came in the leather helmet era. Same with Heismans; USC's are all fairly recent while Notre Dame's came during a time of segregation, ancient history. Also, all of the Trojan titles came in years they won the Rose Bowl or the BCS, while seven of Notre Dame's came in years they did not play a bowl game. More? Several Alabama titles are deligitimized by bowl losses, they have no Heismans, and their All-American/pro player count pales next to USC. In years in which Oklahoma won both the AP and the UPI title in a single season, their press guide tries to count that as TWO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS. Ohio State wants you to think they were the 1961 national champs because the TOUCHDOWN CLUB OF COLUMBUS, OHIO says they were!! The author points out that while there were 17 years in which SOMEBODY named USC number one, the Trojans themselves only count their 11 legit titles accorded by history. Travers uncovers the malarkey of other programs for 300 awesome pages and I love it.

Trojans rule, and there is no other book that tells it like it is. All USC fans need this one.

Like every other American, I'm obsessed with college football, but not like Steven Travers. Travers goes overboard flinging down every adjective and the opinion of every sportswriter or fan he ever heard say anything good about the Trojans. He just doesn't seem objective. It is the book of a fervent alumnus of a particular college with a particular crush on Matt Leinart, so get out of the way if you don't care for Leinart, for you will be overwhelmed by the Augaean stables worth of Leinart flattery. If you don't think he is "the greatest college football player of all time," then this is not the book for you. Leinart's triumphs in 2004 and 2005 (and those of his "Vice President" Reggie Bush) lead Travers to think back retrospectively and to claim dynasty status for USC. It's just all wrong from beginning to end. Plus, what's so great about the dynastic anyhow? There's the suggestion of royalty, I guess, attached to the word "dynasty," and also the glamorous, sometimes tawdry taint of scandal, thanks to the longrunning Aaron Spelling TV soap that starred Linda Evans and John Forsythe. In the case of USC, Travers has to run backwards and forwards just to keep in place when discussing the historical import of former Trojan O.J. Simpson. Good man, or bad? I'm drawing a blank here, but Travers isn't much help. For him, Simpson is just one more figure in this amazing longlived USC dynasty, the "greatest college running back of all time." Maybe how you like this book depends on whether or not you think the merit of a man is how well he does in college or what he does with his life afterwards. That said, Travers knows how to make games that were played decades ago come to life with some snappy play by play reporting. His account of Anthony Davis from the legendary 1972 Trojans squad becoming the "Notre Dame killer" is outstanding, and it's backed up by interviews with many of the key participants. As Travers finally is forced to admit, his extolled dynasty has never been very consistent, and there have been many wilderness years. Before the hiring of "Saint" Pete Carroll, when people thought of USC, what floated into their minds was the pleasant, amiable, Jeff Spicoli lookalike Todd Marijuanovich. "Todd Marinovich," writes Travers briefly, "was a symbol of lost potential." The one time in the whole book where Travers uses any understatement.

The book is well done and covers the complete history of the USC football program. The author has done a ton of research and put it together in a well organized order for easy reading. The chapters are not long and that makes it easy reading. The author has rated all the college football programs and presented them in the order of their successes. The author is an ex-athlete and is able to express the Trojan stories very well. His research also corrected some myths that have been built on for years. It is a history book that you love to read.

Travers' latest book is a must have for every college football fan, especially USC Trojans. He did serious research and was able to capture the events as they happened. It made me feel like I was back at USC. I could not put this book down. It backs up in every way how USC football is THE dynasty. I highly recommend this excellent book.