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So here we are in mid-winter, with the Cinderella story conclusion of the college football championship behind us and the 60th Super Bowl just ahead.
Why does football have such a hold on Americans’ hearts? What are our favorite moments? Well, count on veteran sportswriter Joe Posnanski to have some opinions in his latest book, “Why We Love Football: A History in 100 Moments.”
A witty and entertaining storyteller, Posnanski will be the next speaker in the 2026 Nonfiction Author Series, on Monday, Feb. 2.
Presented by the nonprofit Friends of the Library of Collier County at the Hilton Naples, this is the second of four separate author presentations — each with a hot/cold buffet breakfast and a book signing by the author — that are designed to raise money for the 10 branches of the Collier County Public Library.
A limited number of single-event tickets are available for the remainder of the 2026 series. (See the info box for details.)
After Posnanski, the Nonfiction Series will conclude with two other veterans of The New York Times best-seller list: Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jonathan Eig on Monday, Feb. 16, and historian Hampton Sides on Tuesday, March 17.
For Posnanski, sports is in his blood. A former newspaper sports columnist, then later a senior writer at Sports Illustrated, he’s been named National Sportswriter of the Year by five different organizations. He’s a prolific blogger and a podcaster whose eight published books include “Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments,” “The Secret of Golf: The Story of Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus” and “Paterno.”
His latest New York Times best-seller, “Why We Love Football: A History in 100 Moments,” is a countdown with many of the expected highlights from past high school, college and pro football games (such as Franco Harris’ Immaculate Reception, or Knute Rockne and the Gipper).
But be prepared to be surprised, too, by some of the moments Posnanski chooses to honor. And, for every “moment” included, he has a new bit of information that makes each anecdote fresh and fun.
Posnanski is a Cleveland-area native who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his family. His website is https://www.joeposnanski.com/
Naples Daily News: What’s a football weekend like in the Posnanski household? Are you watching on multiple screens, and recording some games to watch later? Do you have hometown or alum favorites? What happens when football season overlaps with your first love, baseball?
Joe Posnanski: I’d love to say that I have a Minority Report setup with multiple television screens all going on at once and me in the middle of the room just bouncing from game to another, but that’s not it at all. It’s pretty tame. We have one game going, my wife, Margo, sits on end of the couch and does some work, I sit in my recliner and eat snacks. I watch the Cleveland Browns every week, which isn’t great for my health but we can’t help where we were born. I have lost a lot of my love for college football, unfortunately, but I still try to catch up when the playoffs roll around.
NDN: What about college football? Recently we had coaches fired at U. of Michigan and Ohio U. for inappropriate relationships with employees or students, amid some charges of violence. But then, when Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza shines that sweet smile and thanks his mom and grandparents, do you love the game again?
JP: I have, sadly, fallen out of love with college football. It wasn’t any one thing; I just sort of feel like the game drifted away from my interests. I used to be a Heisman Trophy voter, but I was really unhappy when they took the Heisman away from Reggie Bush, and I quit. I used to watch college football every Saturday, but then I stopped knowing what conference everyone was in. I am happy the players are getting paid now, but I don’t love how commercial the sport has become. And, as always, the violence is difficult to accept. So it’s a lot of things. But yes, when I’m watching the games, and the bands play and the cheerleaders throw each other up in the air and there are 100,000 people cheering at Clemson or Columbus or Tallahassee, and a team like Indiana just emerges, and the game is close, it all feels wonderful again.
NDN: Please give us a preview of your next book, “Big Fan,” which comes out in May and sounds like a lot of fun. In fact, it’s included in The New York Times list of Most Anticipated Nonfiction Books of 2026.
JP: I’m so excited about it — it’s the first book I've written with someone else. And not just any “someone else.” I wrote this book with my great friend Michael Schur, who created the classic shows “Parks and Recreation” and “Brooklyn 99” and “The Good Place.” We traveled around the world to write about what it means to be a fan. So we went to, just for example, the World Darts Championship in London and a Premier League game in Liverpool and a hockey game in Montreal and the Indigenous Stickball World Series in Philadelphia, Mississippi. We went to a professional pickleball tournament (boo!) and Wrestlemania and an Olympic basketball game and multiple baseball games and the place with the world-largest baseball card collection. It was basically a dream — Mike and I still can’t believe they let us do it. I can’t wait for people to read it, because it’s about the stuff that connects us, the passions we have, but more than anything, it’s just a whole lot of fun.
NDN: Because we’re a nonprofit that supports public libraries, we like to ask authors about their library memories. Does anything stand out to you, either from childhood or more recently?
JP: Yes, I will definitely be sharing my favorite library story about my mother, the little library around the corner and Harlequin Romances. I don’t want to give more than that away. But it’s fair to say that libraries are at the very center of my life and my work, and I’m deeply in love with them. That’s why I’m so excited to be coming to Naples!
What: Four separate author presentations with a breakfast and a book signing to raise funds for the Collier County Public Library
Where: Hilton Naples, 5111 Tamiami Trail N., Naples
When: Breakfast is served at 8:30 a.m.; the authors speak shortly after 9:15 a.m., followed by a book signing
2026 author lineup:Evan Friss, “The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore,” Monday, Jan. 19; Joe Posnanski, “Why We Love Football: A History in 100 Moments,” Monday, Feb. 2; Jonathan Eig, “King: A Life,” Monday, Feb. 16; and Hampton Sides, “The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook,” Tuesday, March 17
Cost: A limited number of tickets may be available for the remaining individual speakers. For prices and details, call the Friends office at 239-262-8135 or email Marlene Haywood, the Friends’ Program Director, at [email protected].
A portion of the ticket purchase can be tax-deductible.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Why we love football book author to speak in Naples Florida on Feb. 2
Continue reading...
Why does football have such a hold on Americans’ hearts? What are our favorite moments? Well, count on veteran sportswriter Joe Posnanski to have some opinions in his latest book, “Why We Love Football: A History in 100 Moments.”
A witty and entertaining storyteller, Posnanski will be the next speaker in the 2026 Nonfiction Author Series, on Monday, Feb. 2.
Presented by the nonprofit Friends of the Library of Collier County at the Hilton Naples, this is the second of four separate author presentations — each with a hot/cold buffet breakfast and a book signing by the author — that are designed to raise money for the 10 branches of the Collier County Public Library.
A limited number of single-event tickets are available for the remainder of the 2026 series. (See the info box for details.)
Sports is in his blood
After Posnanski, the Nonfiction Series will conclude with two other veterans of The New York Times best-seller list: Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jonathan Eig on Monday, Feb. 16, and historian Hampton Sides on Tuesday, March 17.
For Posnanski, sports is in his blood. A former newspaper sports columnist, then later a senior writer at Sports Illustrated, he’s been named National Sportswriter of the Year by five different organizations. He’s a prolific blogger and a podcaster whose eight published books include “Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments,” “The Secret of Golf: The Story of Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus” and “Paterno.”
You must be registered for see images attach
His latest New York Times best-seller, “Why We Love Football: A History in 100 Moments,” is a countdown with many of the expected highlights from past high school, college and pro football games (such as Franco Harris’ Immaculate Reception, or Knute Rockne and the Gipper).
But be prepared to be surprised, too, by some of the moments Posnanski chooses to honor. And, for every “moment” included, he has a new bit of information that makes each anecdote fresh and fun.
Posnanski is a Cleveland-area native who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his family. His website is https://www.joeposnanski.com/
Naples Daily News: What’s a football weekend like in the Posnanski household? Are you watching on multiple screens, and recording some games to watch later? Do you have hometown or alum favorites? What happens when football season overlaps with your first love, baseball?
'We can't help where we were born'
Joe Posnanski: I’d love to say that I have a Minority Report setup with multiple television screens all going on at once and me in the middle of the room just bouncing from game to another, but that’s not it at all. It’s pretty tame. We have one game going, my wife, Margo, sits on end of the couch and does some work, I sit in my recliner and eat snacks. I watch the Cleveland Browns every week, which isn’t great for my health but we can’t help where we were born. I have lost a lot of my love for college football, unfortunately, but I still try to catch up when the playoffs roll around.
NDN: What about college football? Recently we had coaches fired at U. of Michigan and Ohio U. for inappropriate relationships with employees or students, amid some charges of violence. But then, when Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza shines that sweet smile and thanks his mom and grandparents, do you love the game again?
JP: I have, sadly, fallen out of love with college football. It wasn’t any one thing; I just sort of feel like the game drifted away from my interests. I used to be a Heisman Trophy voter, but I was really unhappy when they took the Heisman away from Reggie Bush, and I quit. I used to watch college football every Saturday, but then I stopped knowing what conference everyone was in. I am happy the players are getting paid now, but I don’t love how commercial the sport has become. And, as always, the violence is difficult to accept. So it’s a lot of things. But yes, when I’m watching the games, and the bands play and the cheerleaders throw each other up in the air and there are 100,000 people cheering at Clemson or Columbus or Tallahassee, and a team like Indiana just emerges, and the game is close, it all feels wonderful again.
NDN: Please give us a preview of your next book, “Big Fan,” which comes out in May and sounds like a lot of fun. In fact, it’s included in The New York Times list of Most Anticipated Nonfiction Books of 2026.
You must be registered for see images
JP: I’m so excited about it — it’s the first book I've written with someone else. And not just any “someone else.” I wrote this book with my great friend Michael Schur, who created the classic shows “Parks and Recreation” and “Brooklyn 99” and “The Good Place.” We traveled around the world to write about what it means to be a fan. So we went to, just for example, the World Darts Championship in London and a Premier League game in Liverpool and a hockey game in Montreal and the Indigenous Stickball World Series in Philadelphia, Mississippi. We went to a professional pickleball tournament (boo!) and Wrestlemania and an Olympic basketball game and multiple baseball games and the place with the world-largest baseball card collection. It was basically a dream — Mike and I still can’t believe they let us do it. I can’t wait for people to read it, because it’s about the stuff that connects us, the passions we have, but more than anything, it’s just a whole lot of fun.
NDN: Because we’re a nonprofit that supports public libraries, we like to ask authors about their library memories. Does anything stand out to you, either from childhood or more recently?
JP: Yes, I will definitely be sharing my favorite library story about my mother, the little library around the corner and Harlequin Romances. I don’t want to give more than that away. But it’s fair to say that libraries are at the very center of my life and my work, and I’m deeply in love with them. That’s why I’m so excited to be coming to Naples!
Nonfiction Author Series
What: Four separate author presentations with a breakfast and a book signing to raise funds for the Collier County Public Library
Where: Hilton Naples, 5111 Tamiami Trail N., Naples
When: Breakfast is served at 8:30 a.m.; the authors speak shortly after 9:15 a.m., followed by a book signing
2026 author lineup:Evan Friss, “The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore,” Monday, Jan. 19; Joe Posnanski, “Why We Love Football: A History in 100 Moments,” Monday, Feb. 2; Jonathan Eig, “King: A Life,” Monday, Feb. 16; and Hampton Sides, “The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook,” Tuesday, March 17
Cost: A limited number of tickets may be available for the remaining individual speakers. For prices and details, call the Friends office at 239-262-8135 or email Marlene Haywood, the Friends’ Program Director, at [email protected].
A portion of the ticket purchase can be tax-deductible.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Why we love football book author to speak in Naples Florida on Feb. 2
Continue reading...
