FlumeAward – When the Game was Ours Discussion page for When the Game was Ours by Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson
As someone who was a kid growing up in Celtics-country during the time Bird and Johnson were playing, this book was both interesting and nostalgic. The story covers a large span of time, but focuses mostly on their lives as college and professional basketball players, wrapping up around the time of the 1992 Olympics and Johnson’s experience with coming out as HIV+. Even though I was already familiar with most of the timeline, the book had a great many details which I hadn’t known about (I didn’t know or even think about how much turmoil Johnson’s HIV status caused in the NBA, for instance.) As far as its interest for someone considerably younger, who probably never saw Bird or Johnson playing – it depends. The book is by no means part of the “tell all” genre, but rather focuses very heavily on the mechanics of basketball, the need to practice hard in order to succeed, and the value of team work. So I think it would certainly appeal to basketball fans in general, and fans of the Celtics and Lakers in specific. Its sports-focused content definitely makes it stand out from the pack.
Kate Butler
Rodgers Memorial Library (Hudson, NH)