The Life of Emmitt Smith Essay Example

The Life of Emmitt Smith Essay Example The Life of Emmitt Smith Essay The Life of Emmitt Smith Essay The life of Emmitt Smith, star running back of the two-time Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys, reads like a Horatio Alger story: Smith grew up in Florida in a poor but loving two-parent family; he stays out of trouble, respects education, and devotes much spare time to charity work. There’s nothing not to like about Emmitt Smith unless you’re charged with tackling him. So, what does Emmitt have to say about his life? He always loved football. He loves his family, and he works hard and deserves respect and pay commensurate with his performance. We knowbecause he tells us sothat he’s scored many a touchdown in his day. Is this a good sports autobiography? Yes and no. Yes, because Smith’s joie de vivre is so evident. No, because he’s so young, and his life has been a one-note song of happiness. But one can’t expect him to invent tragedy or controversy. He seems like a nice young man, and his book will be in big demand with high-school Emmit-tators. As an author, Emmitt is a fine role model. Smith offers a straightforward account of the heady world of professional football as he describes his recent seasons as the premier running back of America’s Team,’’ the Dallas Cowboys. In telling how a poor Florida boy became a multimillion-dollar star, Smith shows that modern football plays many roles in America today: It’s an art, a thing of magic, a way of lifebut most of all a gritty and competitive business (and for stars like Smith, a lucrative profession). Smith talks about his sandlot heroics, his childhood dream of becoming a star for the Cowboys, and the constant doubts his size raised about his ability to compete (in childhood he was too big, as a pro too small, said his detractors). Smith’s account of his football career is, however, a success story from the beginning: He was a standout in high school and at the University of Florida. Dismayed, he says, by the instability of the Florida program, Smith left prior to his senior year in order to participate in the NFL draft. Picking Smith in the first round, Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson signed him for $3 million for three years (throughout Smith’s account, stories of his numerous contract negotiations loom as large as his tales of on-field feats). With the Cowboys, Smith emerged as a player of big words and big deeds, making cocksure comments but placing first among rookie rushers his first season, subsequently leading the NFL in rushing, becoming the youngest player to rush for 1,500 yards, appearing in three Pro Bowls, and leading his team to consecutive Super Bowl victories. Smith’s account, written with the help of Delsohn (coauthor of John Wayne, My Father, not reviewed) culminates in his amazing 1993 season, when he won the rushing title, the season MVP award, and the MVP award for the Super Bowl. A pleasant, absorbing look at life in the NFLfrom the top.