Tim Green, for many years a star defensive end with the Atlanta Falcons, is a man
of many talents. Tim graduated co-valedictorian from Syracuse University, was a first-round NFL draft pick, and later earned his law degree with honors. Tim has also drawn on his experiences as an athlete and coach to write over a dozen action-packed books for kids and adults, including the New York Times bestseller Football Genius.





What got you started playing football as a kid?

I used to play football in the yard with the other kids in the neighborhood. Since I was the biggest kid around and quite fast, I was pretty good. My dad also used to watch NFL games on TV and I thought one day I could be there, too. So, when I heard there was an organized league, I begged my parents to sign me up, and they did.

Did you like to read as a kid?

I loved to read as a kid. I really was a bookworm stuck in the body of a football player, right down to the thick glasses I used to wear. Books took me to another time and place and I loved the adventure of doing that. What were some of your favorite books? My own kids say this is corny, but I used to really like The Hardy Boys when I was really young. As I got older, I enjoyed Stephen King's early horror stories like Salem's Lot and The Shining, Robert Ludlum’s spy novels, and Leon Uris's historical fiction, but I also loved classics like The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man in the Iron Mask, A Tale of Two Cities, and Watership Down.

Do you think sports and reading can go together?

As a high school athlete I found that books could help me relax before a sports event, so I could save my energy for the contest. I used books to help me become a state wrestling champion, and would read before every football game, even in the NFL.

What do you like most about the game?

I love the competition, the violence, and the sportsmanship of the game. Football is the ultimate team sport. Everyone has to be working together to win. I like having an outlet for anger, and the violence of the game is the perfect place. You can go around in your everyday life and be really nice because if something makes you mad, you just store it up and let it out on the football field. The meaner you are on the field, the better. I like the sportsmanship part, because I think it's great that players can be really rough with their opponents during a game but respectful of each other off the field. The mutual respect players show each other through sportsmanship makes the game special.