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When the Game Was Ours
Review by Peter Ingemi : It's all about RESPECT

When the game was ours is ostensibly about the Bird Johnson rivalry but it has a single theme that overshadows and overrides the story both men.

Respect.

Respect for the work necessary to become great, respect for the game they played, respect for their opponents and respect for how the game they play should be treated.

Over and over we see both players taking the trouble to improve themselves because they KNEW that the other was doing the same and unwilling to give the other the edge.

Their differences fit perfectly with their cities, Magic with the "Hollywood" image and Larry mirroring the Ted Williams work ethic. The unbreakable link of their names to each other is even more fitting when you consider how obsessive they were with each other even when they were not actually facing each other. The stats the performances and the whole kit and caboodle made their linkage significant. It was all about respect.

I also enjoyed the focus on both Dennis Johnson and particularly Michael Cooper as the defenders who made a difference against Johnson and Bird. I personally think Cooper is one of the most critical players to the Lakers championships and the fact that he doesn't get the credit he deserves is a crime. Again respect.

MacMullan's tells the story well and the book flows so that putting it down is a struggle. It is sports writing like this that gives the Boston Globe its reputation as one of the greatest sports pages in the country (the singular reason for buying the Globe these days). That writing translates to book form as seemlessly as the behind the back pass from Bird to Johnson in their game together back in 1978 in Kentucky for a score!

The players that followed the pair owe them (and Jordan) their rich contracts and their comfortable livelihoods. I would hope they would read it and understand what makes the NBA great.

If you are a basketball fan, this book IS required reading. It respects the game, the subjects of the book and the reader. Buy it!

When the Game Was Ours
Review by Jon Becker : Enjoyable retrospective of great rivals who became friends

I grew up watching Bird and Magic battle in the NBA. They were both unbelievable all-around team players who could beat you in many ways. They were also fierce competitors, who spent much of their careers obsessed with measuring themselves against each other. The old Celtics and Lakers teams were so entertaining and talented, and I enjoyed learning about the behind-the-scenes stories of not only Bird and Magic, but of their famous teammates as well, such as McHale, Parrish, Kareem, Cooper, Worthy, etc. If you were a fan of basketball in that era, you will like this book.

When the Game Was Ours
Review by Joseph J. Slevin : Magic and Bird Together Again At Last

I thought it was really cool to see a book about the rivalry that brought us a new and improved NBA that was Larry Bird and Ervin Magic Johnson. The two, as you will see, could not be further apart in so many was as they were. They almost played on the same college team, you find out, but then they play against each other for years in so many venues.

The book is layed out so we have a target date or highlight date, whether it be the college finals, an allstar game or the NBA finals, you see each event as a time in history, from both of their perspectives and from those of others with a bit of history between events and from each of their lives. You learn a lot without brutal details about our two heroes. And really for some of us, that is just what they were. I hed the chance to talk to Ervin one day on the phone, really. He was a down to earth guy, and I thanked him for what he and Larry had done to the game. He said he heard that a lot. Interestingly, that was in 95, before he returned to play again. Who would have known that it truly was what got the game of Basketball back to what it could be.

Jackie MacMullan does a great job weaving and bobbing through the lives of both. Passing back and forth between the two of them and scoring with each chapter. (sorry, I just could not help myself).

This should go down as one of the most intriguing and best reads about pro basketball and even sports. This is a great book for those who experienced it, those who are interested in the game and even kids interested in the sport. It is written tastefully so young kids could read it.

These were two men of character that started off as fierce rivals and went on to mutual respect and became great friends. To see all of this behind the scenes and how the two of them kept their game great is a treat.

Highly recommend.

When the Game Was Ours
Review by Richardson "Clarence" : I just didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as I expected to...

I'm sorry to be the one voice in opposition to the other reviews but I was so excited to get this book and had the worst time getting through it.
First...I never got the impression anybody but Jackie MacMullan was the author. If Larry Bird and Magic Johnson had not been listed as authors I'd have never wondered reading this why not. It doesn't read like they wrote it and Jackie put form to it...it reads as if Jackie wrote it and had interviewed them as well as many others...like a typical biography. I was more expecting that I'd be reading what I felt was direct writing from the two stars of the story.
My biggest gripe is the non linear story telling style used. In the brilliant book on Sandy Koufax the author alternated chapters of his life with a chapter about each of the innings of his perfect game and that was a clever way to tell the story and the biographical chapters were pretty much in chronological order. Books about folks who really don't have a great life story but a recent event of significance often begin with a "teaser" about something recent and then after the reader is grabbed take you back in time. The story of Bird and Magic needs no such gimmicks as this is a meaty story full of drama and much of it in my opinion is LOST because the author bounces around from year to year back and forth with no respect for chronological order so much of the story is confusing and drama lost. I say that as someone who knows the story and feels that the natural story arc is truly something special...and not needing of the continual back court dribble that the author employs.
The author also spends more pages on the first Converse commercial they filmed than either the 84 or 85 playoff series...man I was sad about that. I was looking for a lot of juicy inside the huddle type of talk and was let down.
To sum up ....I am happy to have read this book, but it wasn't as enjoyable or easy as I hoped. I did come away with even a greater respect for Bird (and being a life time Laker fan that is saying something).
I think the "Sizzle" on this one is much tastier than the actual "Steak" which is more like hamburger in my opinion. If you are a fan of Larry Bird I'd recommend his autobiography "Drive" if you haven't read that before this book.........

When the Game Was Ours
Review by TMStyles : Poignant, Funny, and Real--A Slam Dunk!!!

Do you appreciate a great human interest story, especially one that emphasizes competition and respect? Are you old enough to have lived through the Laker/Celtic rivalry of the '60's that was reborn in the '80's thanks to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird? If so, run, don't walk to get a copy of "When The Game Was Ours"--it will be one of the most satisfying and gratifying reads of your life.

Jackie MacMullan expertly weaves and intertwines the compelling story of these two true superstars from their first contact at a high school all star game in April of 1978 through all the glamorous and torturous stops thereafter in a superb attempt to portray the men behind what came to be the fiercest and most compelling player rivalry in NBA history. Two men from simple roots who ultimately captured the imagination of the entire world of basketball to such an extent they were forever after linked to one another by fans and by history.

Using key dates of all-star games, divisonal playoffs, or world championship games, their story is told from each other's point of view with well researched comments thrown in from teammates and coaches at the time. Truly, the reader has an inside seat for the memories of two Hall-of-Famers who recreate the crazy, scintillating, individual and team rivalries that brought professional basketball back from the brink.

Along the way, the reader comes to understand how these two proud and talented individuals saved the NBA from its lackluster and low-life reputation. Magic and Bird came along at a time when the NBA was floundering and dying. It was under-financed, under-marketed, under-seen, under-appreciated, and definitely unfocused. The compelling rivalry of these two individuals and their teams over a 12 year period did more to restore pride, respect, and financial stability to the NBA than anyone could have ever imagined or predicted.

The real joy of this book for me was the personal real comments and feelings that Larry and Magic felt at the time---feelings that are sometimes excruciatingly poignant. There was always respect but often that was clouded by anger, jealousy, frustration, and the steely determination to best the other. Both were so alike in many ways--great passers and team leaders, superb shooters, focused determination and perseverance---yet so identifiably different---East Coast versus West Coast, Showtime versus Old School, extroverted ebullience versus introverted excellence, and, yes, white versus black.

Lastly, there are fascinating insights and revelations in the book regarding little known or misrepresented issues from their playing years. Did Magic and Isiah Thomas conspire to "freeze out" Michael Jordan in his first all-star game? Who really blackballed Isiah Thomas from the Olympic Dream Team in Barcelona? Who was the first person Magic wanted his agent to call prior to the public announcement that he had contracted HIV? These and other mysteries are answered in this fast paced and informative book. I lived through these times, loved this rivalry, and I found the behind-the-scenes thoughts and memories presented in "When The Game Was Ours" to be spellbinding. I highly recommend this book to all.

When the Game Was Ours
Review by austin_Larry : Takes awhile to get going then really pulls you in

Sports books written with the athletes themselves are pretty hit or miss, so are the ones that are co-written with athletes such as this one. The sports books I enjoy most are usually from a literary writer whose subject happens to be sports, think David Halberstam. Or the rare sports book written by an athlete that is just really good, such as if you are a tennis fan, A Handful of Summers. BUT after a dry start, this book really drew me into the basketball lives of Bird and Magic.

The book is partially a narrative of the championship seasons of both players, interspersed with remembrances. It is also about the relationship of the two and Magic's retirement and then gold medal run. What I really started to enjoy was not the history of the wins and losses but when there was talk about team dynamics and the interplay between teammates on both teams. I had no idea just how hard both players worked and how very similar they were in their intensity. Bird also comes off perhaps most remarkably at to how he was able to play with and through pain.

Because the book goes from MacMullan then to one player then to another it is hirky-jerky. But ultimately it is a really satisfying look and insight into what it takes to win a championship and how two players from seemingly vastly different backgrounds found out that in reality they were extremely similar and, at least on the basketball court, kindred spirits.

When the Game Was Ours
Review by miglan : Vivid account of an era of basketball that was great

Have not yet finished reading this book, but I must say it is a must read for any basketball fan out there.

It is a detailed account of an era in basketball that was great and unfortunately gone.

For any Celtics/Lakers or basketball fans out there, do yourself a favor pickup this book and read it on your spare time. You'll feel yourself missing these two giants of the game, and reflecting of what things could be brought back to today's game from yesterday's game that would improve today's game.