Open Net by George Plimpton

Open Net Reviews

• 
  Neil

  I haven’t read a book about sports in 38 years. The last one I read was "Hockey Stars of 1973" by Stan Fischler. It was not as good as his previous book, "Hockey Stars of 1972", which had Phil Esposito of the Bruins on the cover. I had gotten both books from Scholastic Book Services.
  
  In 1972 I faithfully followed the Bruins all the way to the Stanley Cup. I collected hockey cards and had all of the legendary Bruins –Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Derek Sanderson, Wayne Cashman. One fine day, I opened a brand new package of Topps hockey cards, and, after shoving the gum in my mouth, I slowly shuffled through the deck. My eyes fell upon the Holy Grail of hockey cards- my favorite Bruin, goalie Gerry Cheevers. I was the only kid in the neighborhood with a street hockey goalie mask and stick (thanks to the generosity of my big brothers). I decorated the mask with black crayon slashes trying to emulate Cheevers, who marked his everywhere a puck had hit and where stitches would have been needed without it.
  
  The dream ended all too soon. After the Stanley Cup victory Gerry Cheevers left the Bruins to play for the Cleveland Crusaders in the World Hockey Association. Then, at the start of the 1972-1973 season, I sat stunned in front of the t.v. as the indomitable Bruins lost a game to a brand new team named the New York Islanders. I stopped following hockey after that, and stupidly gave my cards (including Cheevers!) to my classmate Waldo who claimed he was going to donate them to the state hospital yard sale.
  
  Now, as the Bruins progressed through the playoffs this year, defeating the Canadiens in seven games, and sweeping the Red Wings in four and with my thirteen year-old son bouncing off the walls, I decided this would be the best time to read this book. I really enjoyed it. George Plimpton gets to do what many kids (even a fair weather fan like me) dream of doing –play for a pro sports team. Plimpton, journalist and friend of the Kennedys, takes an assignment for “Sports Illustrated” to write about what it’s like to train with the Boston Bruins. He cannot skate well, so he buys a pair of goalie skates which have lower blades. The skates seal his fate as a goalie, and he signs a contract to defend the net for five minutes in an exhibition game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The contract indemnifies the Bruins against any responsibility for his injury or death. The action occurs during the 1977-1978 season, so the old familiar names such as Orr, Esposito and even Cheevers (who repented and returned) are still present. But they were all at the end of their Bruins careers. People who are not sports fans will also enjoy this book because it is full of colorful personalities. Plimpton recounts his interactions with not only the players, but also their wives, the coaches and the fans. He explains the game simply. He illustrates how even the arena and the city in which it is located can psychologically affect the visiting team. Unfortunately, the text is padded with anecdotes that one could easily find in Stan Fischler’s "Hockey Stars of (fill in your favorite year)". Still, it offers a very enjoyable “YOU ARE THERE” read.
  
  Just before I finished the book, the Bruins had lost the first game of the Stanley Cup series to the Vancouver Canucks. Long ago when my big brothers played street hockey with me, they always wanted to be the Canucks. I couldn’t understand why, because in 1972 they were a terrible team. They just liked the name. I do too.
  
  Shame on me. I've had to correct two factual errors since I first posted this. I won't tell you which ones.
• 
  Hannah Gulle-Grogan

  Plimpton's short time working with the Boston Bruins gives insight into the rich underbelly of the NHL. Great read!
• 
  Russ

  I'm a hockey fan, and when I was younger I used to check out hockey books from the local library. I absolutely loved "Open Net" by George Plimpton when I first read it. Even as a young lad, I understood the humor.
  
  The book is about George Plimpton's time spent with the Boston Bruins in the late 70s. Plimpton was known as a "participatory journalist," covering a subject by actually doing it. Back then, the Bruins were known as one of the toughest teams in the NHL. Their coach was the now-legendary Don Cherry. They didn't have Bobby Orr or Phil Esposito anymore, but they did have such colorful characters as enforcer John Wensink and goalie Gerry Cheevers, among others.
  
  As a hockey fan, I get a kick out of Plimpton's view of hockey from an almost-anthropological point of view. He remarks on the peculiarities of the traditions, legends, roles and language of the professional hockey team.
  
  To make a long story short, Plimpton's book is full of hilarious stories, unforgettable players and a quite violent exhibition game against the notorious Philadelphia Flyers.
  
  Favorite part: The chapter about Don Cherry's Eddie Shore stories.
  
  Favorite character: As much as I love the odd goalie "Seaweed" Pettie, the man you won't soon forget is the told-about Eddie Shore.
• 
  JoeM

  Good example of participatory journalism. Everyone should walk a mile or skate a rink in someone else's shoes or ice skates. Plimpton sets himself up to play goalie for the Boston Bruins. He attends their training camp, drinks with them, rooms with them, essentially he becomes a Bruin. Not just any Bruin, but the team he joins is the same team I grew up watching and rooting for. The characters are all familiar to me. had it been another team, I am not sure I would have understood the players or characters that much.
  
  This is less a journalistic piece and more an ethnography on what culture is like in a professional hockey team at a time when hockey was still a rough and not so popular sport here in the US.
  
  Plimpton really pumps up the story by making you believe he is playing in a really important game. Turns out it is a 5 minute game that is played before an exhibition game. Still a fun read.
• 
  Paul Tesseneer

  It was very interesting reading a hockey book that wasn't written from the perspective of somebody who knows hockey inside and out. When I first got into hockey, there were a lot of terms that I didn't understand. This book would be good for a hockey novice because Plimpton is learning as he goes and sharing along the way. I always enjoy a good hockey book because there are so many interesting characters in the game. Plimpton shares the stories of the people he meets, plus all of the stories that they tell from their own experiences. It ends up being a book of stories about crazy coaches, fights, streaking, kidnapping, and more centered around Plimpton's experiences learning how to be a goalie and playing for five minutes against the Flyers. The book ends with Plimpton playing goal in a practice with Wayne Gretzky after his first Stanley Cup Championship. It couldn't have ended any better, segueing from the past into the Gretzky era, but without knowing what future lied ahead.
• 
  Katherine

  I knew of Plimpton's participatory sports books, but didn't know of this one till I checked the hockey shelf at the Chicago library. Enjoyed this a lot (but it helps that I'm really into hockey and the Bruins). I'll definitely read his others, even if they're about sports I'm not as interested in.
  
  It covers about a ten-year span of time, although he only trained with the Bruins briefly and played the one exhibition game. So the narrative can be a little confusing, but he does update what happened to the characters from the 1970s. Also, wasn't he about 50 at the time? Sure, Gordie Howe was still playing at that age, but I'm surprised that wasn't mentioned at all...
• 
  Elizabeth Inglee-Richards

  I really loved this book. I bought it after reading an excerpt in Greatest Hockey Stories Ever Told. I bought it for research, but what I got was a whole lot more. This book was highly amusing and often laugh out loud funny.
  
  I love the Bruins, but at the same time I don’t think that this book would only be fun for Bruins fans, heck, I’m not even sure you need to be a hockey fan to enjoy this book. Heck, I’m thinking of reading his book about Football.
  
• 
  Chryss

  Hilarious account of Plimpton's time with the Boston Bruins during their training camp. Lots of anecdotes about him learning the NHL goalie trade, as well as a good deal of goalie (and ice hockey) history, much of it very funny. George also got to play in an actual pre-season game.
  
  He also wrote about training camp with the NFL Detroit Lions, called Paper Lion. You can watch the movie of that book, too, starring Alan Alda.
• 
  Jeff Flotta

  George Plimpton takes you along for a ride with the Boston Bruins, using his participatory journalism skills. He joins the team for practices, workouts and a pre-season. There are some great first-hand accounts of player interactions on and off the ice. Every player has a story of his own. Ever wonder what the NHL gunk was? Let George Plimpton tell you as he puts you in the... Open Net.
• 
  Michael Webb

  The late Mr. Plimpton engaged in fascinating exercises, actually participating in professional sports, albeit for a limited time and in exhibitions. This chronicles Plimpton's time practicing and briefly playing for the Boston Bruins as a goaltender. It is an excellent read, although Plimpton's language is quite florid at times.
• 
  Jake

  Not a bad read. Certainly a must for hockey fans. But as for the quality of Plimpton's work, this one isn't nearly as great as "Paper Lion." Just an odd collection of stories of him practicing with the Bruins meshed with life in the NHL that jumps too much from the late 70s to 83 when the book was written. Again, not a bad read but not very cohesive.
• 
  charlotte,

  ok im dnfing this its nothing on george plimptons writing or his journalism (bc i rlly liked the baseball one he did) its just i despise don cherry and he was coaching the bruins at this time so theres a lot of him in this and he made some comment my wife said she didn't realise a fist could do such damage. i almost hit her. yeah no im not gonna make it soz george
• 
  Jim

  I've read all 3 of Plimpton's football books, and was looking forward to reading this one. I didn't really enjoy it; it appeared as if he was trying to "stretch" the book a few more pages with the appearance in an Edmonton Oilers practice and the--slightly annoying--series of exchanges with his lady friend who was obsessed with Zamboni machines.
• 
  Beau Daignault

  I am not a huge fan of Sports, but I found this book to be very entertaining and well written. I freely use the word tabernacle in all sorts of sentences, thanks to the late and much missed Mr. Plimpton.
• 
  David

  Interesting anecdotes from players and coaches, mostly of the 70s, in this slender book. Disappointingly, not a lot of material drawn from first-hand experience on the ice. But I did enjoy the comparison of Wayne Gretzky to a Cooper's Hawk.
• 
  Pihla

  Beautifully written spectacular account of an amateur's time spent practicing -and indeed playing- with the Boston Bruins. You can really feel the warmth and admiration the author has for the team. This is one of the best hockey books ever written.
• 
  Allison

  
  
  Full of wonderful stories of colorful hockey personalities, most of whom I only know as broadcasters, not from their playing days. Plimpton's descriptions of the game, especially his five minutes on the ice against the Philadelphia Flyers, is practically poetic.
• 
  Steven

  Loved, like I have with all of Plimpton's books on sports. This one has Plimpton doing his usual particpitory journalism in the world of hockkey, as a goalie for the Boston Bruins. Filled with colorful characters, great descriptions of the game itself and many laugh-out-loud moments.
• 
  Tony

  Not nearly as good as his book, "Paper Lion," Plimpton's first person account of life in the NHL is still readable. But only barely... and you should be a hockey fan first.
• 
  Aric

  I can't think of a better book about hockey; well at least from when I consider hockey was a great sport since I believe it to be a pale imitation of what it used to be.
• 
  Sarah

  Not a sports addict in anyway; but have found plimptons "reality" sports books to be very entertaining.
• 
  Cindie

  I can't even skate but after reading Open Net all I want to do is become a goalie.
• 
  Brother Phillip

  Next to "Seasons in Hell" by Mike Shropshire....this might be my favorite sports book.