In the most candid and compelling sports memoir since Andre Agassi's
riveting bestseller Open, former San Francisco 49er, Super Bowl
champion, NFL MVP, and Hall of Famer Steve Young gives readers an
unprecedented and stunning inside look at what it takes to become a
super-elite professional quarterback.
Steve Young was not expected to become one of the greatest quarterbacks
of all time. A devout Mormon, he had a perfect GPA in school, studied
Latin and calculus, and was blessed with a photographic memory. His
mother pleaded that he not play football. But Young was determined to
become the next Roger Staubach.
QB tells the story of a boy with a gentle demeanor who overcame
personal fears and his teammates' and coaches' indifference to reach the
pinnacle of America's most violent game. Football was a test and a
quest: listed eighth on the depth chart at Brigham Young University,
Young was told he'd never play quarterback in college. He went on to
endure intense media scrutiny as the highest-paid player in sports
history before he ever stepped on the field as a professional. As a
49er, he went head-to-head with the legendary Joe Montana in what became
the NFL's greatest quarterback controversy.
But Young's biggest hurdles were invisible to the public: the physical
pain that comes with being an ordinary-size man in a league of giants;
the loneliness of playing sixteen seasons as a bachelor; and an
undiagnosed case of separation anxiety that made him dread getting out
of bed and caused him to vomit in locker room bathrooms before games.
Through sheer grit, Young put on a helmet week after week, season after
season, leading his team to a Super Bowl championship, endearing himself
to both the city of San Francisco and football fans everywhere.
