Sidelines and Bloodlines

Overview

Football is a game of lines—on and off the gridiron

For ESPN's Ryan McGee, football is a lifelong passion formed from growing up as the son of Dr. Jerry McGee, a man who wore stripes for decades as one of the most highly-decorated officials in college football history. In Sidelines and Bloodlines, Ryan McGee teams up with his father and brother to share lessons learned between the white lines, featuring a cast of characters that runs from no-name small college athletes and coaches to one-name legends such as Holtz, Paterno, Tebow, and Bo. The McGees provide a rare and often hilarious glimpse inside the lives of college officials, detailing how a love for the game convinces accomplished professionals from all walks of life to voluntarily endure ceaseless insults, public criticism, and the expressed goal of doing one's job on a very public stage in a way that will hopefully NOT draw any attention to how that job is done. From hilarious stories of brawling high school referees and making awkward small talk with George Lucas and Darth Vader at the Rose Bowl to the heart-tugging story of young sons in the stands on a Saturday as a stream profanity-laden insults directed at their father drowns out the marching band, Sidelines and Bloodlines delivers laughs, tears, and a deeper understanding of a life in stripes.

Reviews

"I came for the hilarious stories about the strange place referees occupy in our sporting world and found myself pulled deep into a tale of family, fathers and sons, and how we never forget the way back home." —Wright Thompson, ESPN senior writer 

"Able sportswriting that, due to its focus on a little-known aspect of the game, will be illuminating even for die-hard fans." —Kirkus Reviews 

"It's uniquely structured with the voices of all three McGees coming through." —The Daily Independent 

"A story well told as [Ryan McGee] shares the football officiating experiences of his dad and family." —SEC Commissioner Greg Sankes 

"Ryan McGee has been one of my closest friends for nearly half our lives, and my admiration for his storytelling ability is infinite. Sidelines and Bloodlines is his deft storytelling at its best. Fathers and sons and sports—and the impenetrable bonds forged and memories created when they intersect." —Marty Smith, New York Times bestselling author and ESPN reporter

"Ryan McGee is a master storyteller who imbues all his work with wit, warmth, and brains. No one knows college football better than McGee...Sidelines and Bloodlines is a love letter to the game and to the ties that bind fathers and sons." —Jeremy Schaap, ESPN host, Outside the Lines 

"In my 40-plus years of coaching, I never shared a sideline with a more respected official than Jerry McGee." —Lou Holtz, Hall of Fame coach