When Pride Still Mattered
When Pride Still Matters: A Life of Vince Lombardi is author David Maraniss’ look at the man who more than anyone else influenced the game of American football. The son of an Italian immigrant butcher, Vince played and coached the game with a vigor that few had before or since. The consummate career man, Lombardi gave up and endured much in his personal life to achieve the fame and prestige that he did. At a time when the very social fabric of the nation was unraveling, Lombardi came to stand for all that was right with America: an unwavering work ethic, a can do attitude, loyalty, faith in God and in his country. Maraniss starts off the book by looking at Vincent’s father, Harry. Nothing is more telling than the tattoos on his hands: one hand with WORK, the other with PLAY. The early years of Lombardi’s life were dominated by “religion, family, and sports” (p.19). The close knit Lombardi family was very religious and church was very much a part of Vince’s everyday life. At Fordham, Lombardi, a runt, switched positions from fullback to guard. Maraniss writes, “That move of positions from fullback to guard in one sense marked the starting point of the mythology of Vince Lombardi” (p.34). The legend that was to develop around Lombardi had as much to do with him as it did with those people that he came in contact with during his playing and coaching career. At Fordham, Lombardi was coached by Jim Crowley, a former star of Green Bay East High, was coached there by the man who would later start the Green Bay Packers franchise.