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Publications
The Great Game: A Tale of Two Footballs and America's Quest to Conquer Global Sport (April 2026)
From Bloomsbury's website:
The Great Game is a captivating exploration of how America's complicated and ever-evolving relationship with the world can be seen through the two footballs of the world--American football and soccer--and the interaction between them.
The United States is the only major nation on earth that can't compete against others in its favorite spectator sport because no one else plays it. But as the world's game of football keeps growing in popularity in the United States and the nation prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the two footballing worlds are converging.
In The Great Game, Andrés Martinez looks at how a generation of sporting billionaires, tech and media conglomerates, women players propelled by Title IX, computer game enthusiasts, and immigrants have sought to end America's sports isolationism--not by continuing to expand the reach of “their” games, but by turning their country into an unexpected power in the other, international, football. It's a story of America's changing cultural customs and demography, as well as a tale of shifting business philosophies driven by technology. Sport has become an ever more massive industry, its economic value soaring thanks to its unique ability to still bring together audiences in the tens of millions on a regular basis and a growing appreciation for its “soft” yet impactful branding power.
The Great Game (release date April 1, 2026) is a fascinating examination of the evolving state of US sporting interests, as those with money, power, and celebrity seek to prevail in a global sport, eager to extend their reach, set the rules of play worldwide, and connect Americans to the outside world like never before.
Bonum Certamen
As the year comes to an end, and you step back for a restorative holiday season, we’d like to share with you “Bonum Certamen,” a Christmas tale set in the world of English football that Andrés Martinez has written for Issues in Science and Technology, which ASU publishes in collaboration with the National Academy of Sciences. The story explores what might happen when a football club owned by an American tech bro dispenses with its human manager to rely entirely on AI as its coach. And before you assume the result is a full-on dystopia, remember, this is a Christmas tale…
It’s Time to Fix the American Sports Ecosystem
GGL co-director Victoria Jackson testified at the public hearing of the Commission on the State of the U.S. Olympics and Paralympics in 2023. Her testimony on the past, present, and future of the American sports ecosystem, which includes Olympic and Paralympic development, U.S. college sports, and grassroots/community sports set the stage and stakes for the daylong hearing on The Hill. Read Victoria’s testimony in the appendix of the Commission’s Final Report.
Runs in the Family
The multi-talented Great Game Lab fellow Sarah Spain (we at the Great Game Lab call her the heptathlete of sports media) is co-author with football coach Deland McCollough of Runs in the Family: An Incredible True Story of Football, Fatherhood, and Belonging. As publisher Simon & Schuster states, “Based on Emmy and Peabody Award–winning sports journalist Sarah Spain’s viral article for ESPN, Runs in the Family is a staggering portrayal of parenthood—the choices we make, the sacrifices we endure, and the intentional nurturing that shapes us and our loved ones. It is a heartrending story that testifies to the profound impact of family, identity, and the enduring bonds formed through both blood and mentorship.”
Victoria Jackson Witness Statement, U.S. Congress testimony
GGL co-director Victoria Jackson testified during a 2024 hearing the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Innovation, Data & Commerce on college sports proposed legislation. Her witness statement drew on her expertise as a historian to show Congress how and why the United States collegiate sport system developed over time in ways that are no longer sustainable, and could be optimized to better serve different athletes in different sports at different levels if colleges recognized that different sports industries with different missions are being operated under the umbrella of intercollegiate athletics. Read Victoria’s witness statement in the 118th Congressional record.
Choosing to Run: A Memoir
GGL Fellow, 2x Olympian, Sun Devil Hall of Famer, and Boston Marathon champion Des Linden is the author of a New York Times bestselling nonfiction book, Choosing to Run (Penguin Random House). Des, working with the equally impressive Bonnie D. Ford, opens each chapter with a play-by-play narrative, moving in chronological order, of her epic (and unexpected) 2018 Boston Marathon win, when she became the first American woman to win the race in thirty-three years. The body of each chapter then dives into her background, motivations, and active decision-making to keep on “showing up” and “choosing to run.” She’s also funny as hell. Des Linden’s Choosing to Run is a must-read
Want College Sports Reform? Start With Paying Power 5 Football Players
GGL co-director Victoria Jackson was invited to write a white paper with Arnold Ventures, a philanthropic foundation dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans through evidence-based policy solutions that maximize opportunity and minimize injustice. Victoria shows the historical and contemporary reasons behind why revenue sharing in college sports should first be introduced with Power 5 football players. (She wrote this policy paper in 2022, before the demise of the Pac-12 Conference.) She also uses her expertise as a humanist to anticipate and walk through the consequences for other constituent groups in college sports affected by the disruption of revenue sharing for P5 football players. Read Victoria’s Arnold Ventures white paper.