{"title":"Chuck Culpepper","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"up-pompey-book-chuck-culpepper-9780297852834","title":"Up Pompey","description":"Last year, after fifteen years in his job, prize-winning American sports journalist Chuck Culpepper called a halt.  He had been afflicted by Acute Sportswriter Malaise - a consequence not only of a growing awareness of a continent of sleaze (dotted with episodic honour) but also a deadening sense of triviality arising from 24-hour sports saturation.  With access to the very stars he had once yearned to meet, he found himself wishing access unavailable.  He needed a change. Chuck found himself moving to another country for the oldest reason in the book (love), winding up an ocean away in the UK.  Here he found the world's most popular sports league (Premiership 'soccer'), one that reigns in Bulgaria and Burkina Faso, stokes the curiosity of half of China and half of Colombia, and prompts young men and women as far away as Mauritius to think up Manchester United songs that denigrate Liverpool.  He began to visit stadiums and sat among big crowds, learning about a league choc-a-bloc with facts he didn't know, legacies that hadn't grown tired, and astounding fan noise he couldn't wait to comprehend.  'I actually went to Wigan.  No one I ever knew had done that.' Most important, he discovered the Fear of Relegation, the race for 17th place in the Premiership.  Relegation wreaks fear, envy, anxiety, desperation and humiliation - in other words, so many of the things still great about sport.  Chuck decided to start his second sports childhood by following one club through the 10-month 2006-07 season: Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth.  'Up Pompey' - a journey from snide, abject cynicism to the freshest of goosebumps - describes Chuck's dramatic year spent burrowed in England's Premiership.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49534321688849,"sku":"GOR001010920","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49565494444305,"sku":"GOR003070974","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50114884632849,"sku":"GOR001711638","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51329918009617,"sku":"CIN0297852833G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0297852833.jpg?v=1751165284"},{"product_id":"up-pompey-book-chuck-culpepper-9780753824122","title":"Up Pompey","description":"After fifteen years in his job, disillusioned prize-winning American sports journalist Chuck Culpepper decided it was time for a change. He moved to the UK where he discovered football and began to visit stadiums and sit among big crowds, learning about a league chock-a-bloc with facts he didn't know, legacies that hadn't grown tired, and astounding fan noise he couldn't wait to comprehend. Most important, he discovered the Fear of Relegation which wreaks fear, envy, anxiety, desperation and humiliation - in other words, so many of the things still great about sport. Chuck decided to start his second sports childhood by following one club through the 10-month 2006-07 season: Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth. UP POMPEY - a journey from snide, abject cynicism to the freshest of goosebumps - describes Chuck's dramatic year spent burrowed in England's Premiership.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49562641039633,"sku":"GOR001131024","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49656445731089,"sku":"GOR006732149","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50235433910545,"sku":"CIN0753824124G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50338505359633,"sku":"CIN0753824124A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50339316302097,"sku":"CIN0753824124VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50607203221777,"sku":"GOR003331934","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0753824124.jpg?v=1750817127"},{"product_id":"bloody-confused-book-chuck-culpepper-9780767928083","title":"Bloody Confused!","description":"\u003cp\u003eChuck Culpepper was a veteran sports journalist edging toward burnout.then he went to London and discovered the high-octane, fanatical (and bloody confusing ) world of English soccer. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter covering the American sports scene for 15 years, Chuck Culpepper suffered from a profound case of Common Sportswriter Malaise. He was fed up with self-righteous proclamations, steroid scandals, and the deluge of in-your-face PR that saturated the NFL, the NBA, and MLB. Then in 2006, he moved to London and discovered a new and baffling world--the renowned Premiership soccer league. Culpepper pledged his loyalty to Portsmouth, a gutsy, small-market team at the bottom of the standings. As he puts it, It was like childhood, with beer. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWriting in the vein of perennial best sellers such as \u003ci\u003eFever Pitch\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAmong the Thugs\u003c\/i\u003e, Chuck Culpepper brings penetrating insight to the vibrant landscape of English soccer--visiting such storied franchises as Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool.and an equally celebrated assortment of pubs. \u003ci\u003eBloody Confused \u003c\/i\u003e will put a smile on the face of any sports fan who has ever questioned what makes us love sports in the first place.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49611204329745,"sku":"GOR001573665","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50199983128849,"sku":"CIN0767928083VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50360859951377,"sku":"CIN0767928083A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50360863162641,"sku":"CIN0767928083G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51006859870481,"sku":"NIN9780767928083","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0767928083.jpg?v=1751263683"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-chuck-culpepper.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}