Review: Slow Getting Up

Nate Jackson wrote a book about his football career. Never heard of him? Yeah, most people, even football fans, probably aren't familiar with the guy. He wasn't a superstar, or even a starter. He was a reserve wide receiver and tight end who saw most of his action on special teams. I was only familiar with him because he spent the bulk of his playing career in Denver. And honestly, the main reason I read it was for a peek behind the curtains of my favorite NFL team.

He writes extensively about the brutality of NFL life and the various injuries he suffered throughout his professional career, which began as an undrafted free agent with the San Francisco 49ers, included a season in NFL Europe, and ended with with the Las Vegas Locos of the UFL after he failed to catch on for one more NFL tour with the Cleveland Browns. And how he didn't want to stop playing despite the horrible beating his body was taking.


He makes a point in the book that fans become detached from the realities of football because they participate through a television screen. Think about it - you turn it on, watch the game, and then turn it off. It's very similar to any other television program. The characters disappear from your screen until the next time you turn it on - at what point do players become no more than a fictional being? I'm sure fantasy football and video games only contribute to this warped sense of reality.

Football is a violent game and that many of yesterday's heroes are suffering horrible consequences for their participation in the game. Some of them choose to end their lives prematurely rather than continue living with their damaged body. But. . . no one is forcing any of them to play. They could walk away at any time if they chose. Some of them do. However, the money is really, really, good, which makes it hard. There's also something about the thrill of competing at such a high level that many of us can't quite relate to.

Nate tries to explain why he kept pushing to play professional football, even though he had plenty of valid reasons to quit. I don't know that he's a great writer, but his insights make for interesting reading.

I'd recommend it for Broncos fans. I appreciated his thoughts on why the Broncos lost the 2005 AFC Championship Game loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, how important Gary Kubiak was as an assistant to the success of the Broncos, and the dangerous effects of John Elway Nostalgia.

It's a little coarse language-wise. I'm not sure why the authors of these behind-the-scenes NFL books feel the need to illustrate their tales with so many dirty words. Look ma, I'm an NFL player, because I can talk like one! It's one thing not to be able to express yourself without profanity verbally, but it's another to be unable to do it on a keyboard.