Tribal: College Football and the Secret Heart of America

Part introspective soul searching, part cultural analysis, Tribal tackles the controversies plaguing college athletics, tracing the dubious historical underpinnings of Americans' most popular sport, offering a visceral and often funny analysis of its tribal thrills and deep contradictions at the heart of college football.

Florida State's football team is always in the headlines, producing Heisman Trophy candidates, winning championships, and, at the same time, dealing with federal investigations into corruption and rape. Same as many big time collegiate sports programs. Seems no matter how the team transgresses off the field, if they excel on the field, everyone forgives them. Writer, professor and conflicted Seminole Diane Roberts looks at the problems plaguing her campus in Tallahassee, examining them within the context of college football in the South, its significance in American life, and explores how the game shapes our culture.

How can an intelligent, cultivated woman love a sport so rife with corruption, sexism, and brutality?

• A Conflicted Fan's Memoir: Step inside the mind of a writer and professor who spends her fall Saturdays celebrating the rituals of her tribe--even when she knows better.
• Incisive Cultural Analysis: Go beyond the headlines to understand why college football has become a quasi-religious, multi-billion-dollar business that shapes American life.
• Scandals and Corruption: An unflinching look at the controversies plaguing Florida State, from federal investigations to the Jameis Winston rape allegation, set in the context of a broken NCAA system.
• Tribalism and Identity: Explore how team allegiance becomes a creed, a source of identity that divides the world into Us and Them, from the FSU-Florida rivalry to the heart of the SEC.