A Review of “Play Like You Mean It…”by Rex Ryan

Just finished reading coach’s book today.  The pervading feeling I took from reading this book is that we, as Jets fans, will love it.  It is Rex being Rex.

The book is a time line through Rex’s life from the beginning.  He takes us from his humble beginnings, through his dealing with his parents divorce, all the way through making his way up the coaching ranks.  He tells great stories from his youth, as well as the pride he felt seeing his Dad being carried off of the field following Super Bowl XX.  Who wouldn’t have felt that way about their father?

Rex, as we all know, is honest, and that continues in this book.  Some of the best stories in the book are the stories from coaching our beloved New York Jets.  Many times the media thinks he doesn’t know what he is doing, based on what he says.  Without giving away much from the book, all I can say is don’t believe it.  Rex has a method for his madness, and this is very much outlined in the book, both in dealing with situations we are aware of, and some that we weren’t aware of.

We also know that Rex is not lacking in confidence.  A lot was made about Rex taking shots at the Giants in this book.  After reading the book I can tell you that this was blown way out of proportion.  All we see in this book is the confidence that is the Rex Ryan signature.  He says the Jets are going to “own the town”.  Be the best team in NY.  Isn’t that what we want out of the coach?  He talks about how we are going to win the Super Bowl in the near future.  Is this really a surprise to anyone?  Don’t we want our coach to be confident?  Too often throughout history, we have had coaches that don’t exude any confidence.  Shall I remind us all of the Rich Kotite days?  Did anyone else out there want to lose their lunch if they heard him say “We were swarming” one more time?  Rex is a confident guy, and that is what we see throughout the book, as we do by just listening to coach.

Rex is brash, never shy with his words, and football smart.  That is what this book is all about.  He doesn’t bash other players, well other than Kerry Rhodes and Vernon Gholston.  Those were for valid reasons, though.  I won’t give that away either.

Bottom line is, Jets fans will love the book.  Go get a copy if you haven’t.  It is Rex being Rex, and waxing poetic about the game and team he loves.  If you love Rex, as most Jets fans do, you will love the book.  For Jets haters, the book will be agony.  But let’s not focus on them.  I like to say, and I am sure most of you will agree, “You either love Rex, or you are mistaken.”  I say it in jest of course, but Jets fans would tend to agree I think.  Jets fans will love the book, that is who it is geared for, so go out and get it.