As the Green Bay Packers begin defense of their Super Bowl XLV title, their fans have a new opportunity to reminisce of that magical time in North Texas.
"Super Bowl Texas Style: Lombardi Trophy Returns to Titletown" is a book that provides a behind-the-scenes look at everything involved with Super Bowl XLV. It is written by Jim Dent, a New York Times bestselling author best known for The Junction Boys which came out in 1999 and became an ESPN film in 2002.
While the first two-thirds of the book talks extensively about everything the Dallas-Fort Worth area did before Super Bowl week, the last section is almost entirely about what happened in the days leading up to and including the game.
There's plenty of photos of Packer fans reveling in pre-game festivities in Chapter 9, "The Fans Cometh." Chapter 11, "Another Green Bay Dynasty," includes individual features on wide receiver and Texas native Donald Driver and quarterback Aaron Rodgers plus numerous outstanding game photos.
There's a section called "What Did the Cowboys Learn from the Packers?" and an interview with legendary Packers quarterback Bart Starr. Dent then devotes four pages to his old friend, Packer general manager Ted Thompson, under the headline "Thompson's Foundation Built at SMU."
Thompson and Dent were schoolmates at Southern Methodist University in Dallas from 1971-75. Thompson played linebacker for the Mustangs and went on to a pro career.
"He was a smart, articulate country boy who was an outstanding player," Dent recalled. "He had lots of friends. He was a great guy."
Thompson's playing and executive career are detailed including the Brett Favre controversy. Dent ends by saying that everyone now knows what Packer Coach Mike McCarthy stated that Thompson built the foundation of the Super Bowl XLV victory.
Super Bowl Texas Style actually was one of two Dent books released in mid-August. The other, Courage Beyond the Game, is the story of University of Texas football star Freddie Steinmark who played much of the 1969 season with a cancerous leg.
Dent signed both books and his many others at events throughout Texas. At one event in Lewisville, former Dallas Cowboys players Roger Staubach and Walt Garrison, former assistant coach Joe Avezzano and current Cowboys broadcaster Brad Sham visited he and Super Bowl Texas Style photographer Layne Murdoch.
Also in attendance were colleagues from the his days at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and former Dallas Times-Herald, where he spent a combined 15 years, 11 of them covering the Cowboys.
"I always wanted to be an author," Dent said "The one reason I went into the newspaper business was to write books. When the Times-Herald folded (in 1991) I went into radio (a nationally-syndicated talk show with Prime Sports Radio) for awhile but I missed writing so I decided to get into books."
His first book was 1995's King of the Cowboys, an unauthorized biography of Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones. He then helped baseball umpire Durwood Merrill write the 1998 autobiography You're Out and You're Ugly, Too!
Next was The Junction Boys about the 10-day 1954 Texas A&M University football team summer boot game under legendary Coach Bear Bryant. Dent followed in 2001 with The Undefeated about the 1950s Oklahoma Sooners, Monster of the Midway – Bronko Nagurski in 2003, Twelve Mighty Orphans, the story of the Mighty Mites who ruled Texas football, in 2007, and Resurrection, the Miracle That Saves Notre Dame's Season, in 2009.
It was a connection with Twelve Mighty Orphans that helped produce Super Bowl Texas Style. One of the Orphans was Norman Strange whose grandsons Scott and Cory were friends with Dent and friend Tony Jones, an area insurance agent.
While Dent organized the writing team and contacted noted sports photographer and old Star-Telegram colleague Murdoch to do the photos, they still needed money to print the book. So Jones and the Strange brothers provided the capital to have the book produced at Dallas' Taylor Publishing.
"I always wanted to do a Super Bowl book and when I knew it was coming to Dallas, I contacted Layne," Dent said. "I've known him forever."
"I'm very pleased with how it turned out," Jones said. "Taylor Publishing took a lot of time with it and did it very well."
With his newest books behind him, Dent now plans to focus on making more of them into movies. He said Twelve Mighty Orphans will be distributed by Presidio Pictures in 2012 and he's working with the Strange brothers to put Courage on the silver screen after that.
He'll also continue on the book-signing circuit this fall in Texas and Wisconsin where Packer fans are sure to like Super Bowl Texas Style.
"The Junction Boys was my best seller of all-time but I think this one will be pass it," Dent said.
Super Bowl Texas Style is available at superbowltexasstyle.com.
