Unraveling the Gridiron’s Hidden Truths: A Deep Dive into Chuck Klosterman’s Football Review
Reviewed by Sara Pisak
At the time of writing (not publishing) this review, it’s officially 206 days until Thursday, August 27, 2026, week zero of the college football season. If that day isn’t circled on your calendar, then maybe Football by Chuck Klosterman (Penguin Press; January 2026) isn’t for you. Or maybe it is? Let me explain.
Chuck Klosterman’s discussion of football stirred ideas of what audience means to a written work, but also how an audience affects a visual medium like watching a sporting event, in this case a football game. As someone who has previously worked in sports writing and editing, I was drawn to Football on the list of available books to review. As a student of football and of writing about it, I was first drawn to the simplicity of the title. Football is anything but simple. The same can be said for this book.
