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Freezing Cold Takes: NFL
Football Media’s Most Inaccurate Predictions—and the Fascinating Stories Behind Them
Description
Sports fans love holding media “experts” accountable for bad predictions.
Since 2015, Fred Segal has chronicled “unprophetic” sports predictions on the internet. His Freezing Cold Takes social media pages feature quotes and predictions from members of the sports world that have aged poorly or were, in hindsight, flat-out wrong. The pages have become a guilty pleasure for hundreds of thousands of sports fans who love to see (okay, and mock in good humor) sports media’s infamous “hot takes” that went cold.
With this book, Segal focuses on the NFL, and provides a vast collection of poorly aged predictions and analysis from NFL media members and personalities about some of the most famous teams and players in the league’s history. He also explores ill-fated commentary related to draft picks, hiring decisions, and some of the NFL’s most notable games. But this book is not simply a list of quotes. It delves through content mined from internet archives and original interviews with media, players, and coaches. Segal provides important background surrounding each featured mistake to offer essential context as to why the ill-fated prediction was made as well as why the personality who made the prediction is eating their words.
Together, the fourteen chapters—each spotlighting Freezing Cold Takes about a specific team or topic within a certain defined period—create a wholly unique and endlessly entertaining lens through which to explore NFL history.
A few illustrative examples:
Since 2015, Fred Segal has chronicled “unprophetic” sports predictions on the internet. His Freezing Cold Takes social media pages feature quotes and predictions from members of the sports world that have aged poorly or were, in hindsight, flat-out wrong. The pages have become a guilty pleasure for hundreds of thousands of sports fans who love to see (okay, and mock in good humor) sports media’s infamous “hot takes” that went cold.
With this book, Segal focuses on the NFL, and provides a vast collection of poorly aged predictions and analysis from NFL media members and personalities about some of the most famous teams and players in the league’s history. He also explores ill-fated commentary related to draft picks, hiring decisions, and some of the NFL’s most notable games. But this book is not simply a list of quotes. It delves through content mined from internet archives and original interviews with media, players, and coaches. Segal provides important background surrounding each featured mistake to offer essential context as to why the ill-fated prediction was made as well as why the personality who made the prediction is eating their words.
Together, the fourteen chapters—each spotlighting Freezing Cold Takes about a specific team or topic within a certain defined period—create a wholly unique and endlessly entertaining lens through which to explore NFL history.
A few illustrative examples:
- (1987-94 San Francisco 49ers): “The 49ers should do everyone a favor. Trade Steve Young. The myth. And the man.”
- (1989-93 Dallas Cowboys): “The Vikings fleeced the Cowboys to get Herschel Walker”
- (2000 New England Patriots): “The Patriots will regret hiring Bill Belichick”
- (2008 Green Bay Packers): “Brian Brohm has more upside than Aaron Rodgers”
- (2007 NFL Draft Picks): “The Dolphins could have had their next Dan Marino if they selected Brady Quinn”
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Praise
“Fred Segal’s book is so good and so entertaining that it is bound to wind up as a national bestseller, one of the most popular books this decade. And if it’s not, I certainly don’t want to see these words rehashed on Freezing Cold Takes.”
——Adam Schefter, ESPN’s Senior NFL Insider
“I stand by every hot take I’ve ever had, including that Jimmy Clausen one that I’m sure you won’t use. (Editor’s note: it’s on page 101.) Anyway…read this book, it’s awesome!! (And it doesn’t include too many of my takes, right Fred?)”
——Ian Rapoport, NFL Network Insider
“The number one rule to improve your knowledge is to admit and then learn from your mistakes, making Freezing Cold Takes: NFL a valuable reference book. Many will laugh at the awful analyses and misguided judgements inside, yet they serve as a tool to help improve and develop. In laughter comes learning.”
——Michael Lombardi, author of Gridiron Genius and host of The Lombardi Line and The GM Shuffle on VSiN
——Michael Lombardi, author of Gridiron Genius and host of The Lombardi Line and The GM Shuffle on VSiN
“The focus of [FREEZING COLD TAKES: NFL] is not on pointing and laughing at the foolish pundits but rather an interesting way of reflecting, through pretty extensive research, on what actually happened and why it may not have seemed obvious at the time. Its a different, entertaining way of exploring modern NFL history and also capturing the chance, perseverance and blind faith often involved in creating winning football teams….I’d highly recommend Freezing Cold Takes: NFL for any football fan.”
—– All Sports Books