Saturday, January 28, 2012

Football, Espionage Merged For Great Thriller!

The new NFL logo went into use at the 2008 draft.Image via Wikipedia
"Times were still tense between the
United States and the Soviet Union, so they
needed to be sure the teams understood
that this was an exhibition and not
WWIII..."
"It was the first time a Russian team had
scored a touchdown on American soil.
If the two governments could have seen
the camaraderie between the players
and the coaches, the Cold War might
have been something in the past.
"Sports had a way of bringing people
together that no other activity could. It
was the pure competition, man on man,
team on team, that made it so
special..."











Teamwork




  Bob Robustelli




When I was working one of the positions held was head of Facilities Management at a local university, which included the responsibility to coordinate and negotiate the use of institutional facilities, including all those used for both academic and athletic activities. I was pleasantly surprised then, when I started to read Teamwork and learned that much of the activities regarding football was that conducted in the background. In this case, the final goal was to host the third game of the NFL in Russia!

Let's just say that Mickey Rossetti had never planned on being sent to Russia, living there and then having a major role at the chosen stadium where the game was to be held!

Nor did he ever imagine what was actually happening while he was coordinating with Russian representatives to get their athletes prepared to play football--training, selection of teams, scheduling games within the EFL, etc.

At the same time that football was being introduced to athletes, government officials, and citizens, there was much more happening in Russia! It had been discovered that nukes had been stolen and were soon going to be used!

Suddenly Mickey and many others from both the United States and Russia were forced into becoming operatives, seeking and passing intelligence between players from both countries, merged as a team to save mass destruction across the world...

This picture selected by me, no names were
actually used in this book.
..
"In the middle of January, two of the most
powerful people in the world sat down for
the first time to discuss the nuclear arms race,
the state of the Soviet economy, and fourteen
nuke cases that had gone missing...
"...But the most important development
during that time period never made the
headlines of any paper or newscast:
somewhere on the Eurasian Steppes, in
the southwestern part of the USSR, two
scientists and a colonel detonated a nuke
suitcase by remote control..."
http://upload.wikimedia.org/
wikipedia/commons/6/66/Reagan_and
_Gorbachev_hold_discussions.jpg
 
As readers enter the ravaged country so affected by the cold war, they share the devastating lack of food and proper facilities along with the high cost of getting anything from other countries, if they could get anything at all. But all activities regarding bringing football to Russia, and hopefully improving the economy would be supported by the government.

An investment for the future?

Football fans will certainly enjoy watching new teams being formed and moving toward expansion of their favorite game into other countries...But be prepared to begin watching one of the most intriguing games of international espionage, headed personally by the presidents of the two countries, that is based upon potential and actual events which happened during the 80s.

I enjoyed delving into the history of that time period and other lovers of history fiction and espionage novels may also be as intrigued... Talk about writing what you know--check out his bio below! The merge of football within international history is, in my opinion, seamless and lends a more personal, a warmer touch to these dramatic events, drawing readers in, matching their memories of what took place against the author's story. Me, I just enjoyed a great thriller that was uniquely presented, while I have NO idea whether any football games ever took place there in Russia--anybody know?



Note: Somewhere this author saw I enjoyed reading Richard Doetsch so he sent me the above Yep, I wanted to read it too! Cool Marketing on his part, don't you think?


About the Author:   After his college days at the University of Connecticut, Bob Robustelli worked in the family corporate travel and sports marketing business. His responsibilities included promoting American football in Mexico, Europe and Russia. Robustelli's father played for the New York Giants and is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame, credentials that helped with his associations with football. Throughout his travels, which took him to all parts of the world, he read thrillers and always thought his job was a good cover for a CIA agent. The idea for Teamwork had been formulating with Robustelli for some time, when three years ago he committed to writing it, taking courses at the Westport Writers Workshops and attending numerous seminars. He's enjoyed the process of learning the trade, but realizes there is much more to learn. He's looking forward to the journey.

Book Received
from Author


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