Joe Kapp memoir

[RyanChristiansen]

I hope this is good!

https://www.vikings.com/news/lunchbreak-vikings-legend-joe-kapp-releases-book-signings-this-weekend

[JKelly]

Sounds interesting but based on the write up I would be surprised if it goes in depth on the Contract fiasco with the Vikings that led to his departure in 1970.

[RyanChristiansen]

Well, I finished this book, and I was pleased at how the personal narrative portions of the book all came through using the same voice, which is surprising because there were so many authorial hands in this one, given Kapp is now dealing with Alzheimer's. I get the sense that this memoir was a long time in the making, perhaps using a lot of personal interviews with Kapp that were later transcribed and then edited for narrative clarity. The book recounts Kapp's childhood and then tells about his football playing days from high school through his years at Cal and in the Pros, including his time with the BC Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and New England Patriots. The book includes more details about his time with the Vikings than the other pro teams, but he shares quite a few nuggets about the various players he worked with. The book doesn't shy away from controversy, including his fight at a CFL banquet, his fly unzipping at a Cal news conference (he claims he did not unzip his fly), and his contract disputes. He casts particular umbrage at Jim Finks for having control over his destiny through both the CFL and NFL. The book finishes with despair about CTE in football but Kapp makes no apologies nor asks for sympathy. Instead, he says some men were meant to play brutal sports and that's just the way it is. Overall, I'm glad I read this book.

The one thing I didn't like about the book, however, was the chapter that reads more like a leadership course than a memoir. Kapp did have a partnership in a leadership course at one time and that chapter feels like it came out of that effort and it feels wedged into the book. Yes, the chapter does mention how certain Vikings players exhibited different leadership qualities, but sometimes the chapter makes generalizations instead of sharing specific details. I scanned this chapter quickly and was pleased to see how the book reverted back to mostly straight memoir afterward. The book would have been stronger without the leadership spiel.

[vikingsfan1963]

I read it and enjoyed it although I agree that the leadership portion was laborious to get through and I skipped most of it. Would've liked for there to have been more on the holdout and the 1 season with Boston.

[JohnH19]

I have the book, as every CFL and Vikings fan should, and will get around to reading it sometime very soon.