Ain''t Nothin'' But a Winner: Bear Bryant, The Goal Line Stand, and a Chance of a Lifetime

No university has won more football championships than Alabama, and Barry Krauss played a key role in one of them. The linebackers fourth down stop of Penn States Mike Guman in the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 1979, was recently named by ESPN as one of the ten most important plays of the 20th century.

The Goal Line Stand, as the play became known, immortalized Krauss among legions of fans. More than twenty-five years later, people still tell him exactly what they were doing and how they felt when he collided in mid-air with Guman that New Years Dayand almost never mention his twelve-year career in the NFL.

In this entertaining and well-illustrated memoir, Krauss tells of scrimmaging on front lawns with friends as a kid in Pompano Beach, Florida, and of his childhood dream to play for Don Shula. He acknowledges how Coach Bear Bryant tamed his free spirit and shaped him into the football playerand the manhe became. And he emphasizes the importance of team, weaving together the personal stories of his Alabama teammates on the field during the Goal Line Stand, and acknowledges their significant roles in winning the game and the championship.

Aint Nothin But a Winner offers an insiders look at how a team is built, tested, and becomes a national championand how that process sometimes calls upon an individual to rise to the challenge presented by his own personal gut check. See more