Book Reviews and More: Super Bowl Switch I was Dan Marino - Gordon Korman

Super Bowl Switch I Was Dan Marino

Monday Night Football Club Book 3

Hyperion Books for Children

ISBN 9780786812387

ISBN 0786812389

Super Bowl Switch I was Dan Marina - Gordon Korman - Monday Night Football Club Book 3

This book was originally published in 1997, with five different editions publishing that year under a variety of imprints. It is the third in a series of 6 volumes. I was really surprised by the first volume in this series and have been greatly enjoying the three I have read to date. My introduction to Korman’s works was the 39 Clues back in 2009. Since then I have read over 80 of his books including this volume, a few of them more than once. I set the goal of reading all his books about 2020. I am two-thirds of the way thorough his canon, and have completed all the stand alone books and at least 1 in each series. Not counting omnibus editions I believe that as of the summer of 2025 Korman has published 109 books. With each that I read I am entertained and often challenged, and some like this are just great fun. My son, who is 17 often, reads these books to me or with me, and he still loves them.

The description of this volume states:

“The Super Bowl is coming up, and it's Coleman Galloway's last chance to try out the jersey that wed his best friends Nick and Elliot to trade bodies with real NFL players. He finally musters up the courage to put it on and—lo and behold!—finds himself in the body of Dan Marino. But when Dan Marino wakes up in Coleman's body, he panics and takes off the jersey. Unless Nick and Elliot can track him down and get it back on him, he and Coleman may have changed places ... permanently!”

The inside cover of the book has a letter from Dan Marina:

“Welcome to the Monday Night Football Club!

Do you ever wonder what it's like to be an NFL quarterback? When I was a kid, I wanted to be one more than anything else. And my dream came true!

In this book, Coleman Galloway has the same dream I did. Coleman is a member of the Monday Night Football Club. While wearing a magic football jersey, he turns into me, and learns what it's like to be a real NFL quarterback.

Although it takes a lot of hard work, not magic, to make it to the NFL, it's still great fun. I've been lucky enough to set a few NFL passing records in my career with the Miami Dolphins. But when I get on that field, I'm still the kid I was a long time ago, having fun playing the game I love.

Enjoy this NFL adventure with Coleman and the Monday Night Football Club. Maybe someday, this book will feature you when you're a star in the NFL!

Go Dolphins!”

The chapters in this volume are:

1 The Saliva Blitz Pocket Fire Pass

2 The Biggest Chicken in Town

3 Red Alert Force-Five Itch Emergency

4 The Number One Passer in NFL History

5 l Want to Report a Missing Person

6 The Super-Duper Jumbo Mega-Fantastic Bowl

7 Blowout

8 The Famous Marino Touch

9 A Super Fumble

10 I'm Going to Disney World

11 Why Aren't You You?

12 The Wince Lombardi Trophy

13 The MVP

At the end of the book are some bonus sections:

The Official Monday Night Football Club Story of Dan Marino, the Ultimate Quarterback

Marino’s Milestones

The Dan Marino Foundation

Score an NFL Fan Packet Today!

NFL/Monday Night Football Club Fantasy Sweepstakes Official Rules

I did not highlighted any passages while reading this volume. I said it in my first review and state it again, I am a much bigger fan of the CFL than the NFL, I could never really get into the four downs and smaller field and balls. But I follow sports enough to know the names and personalities; I just wish Korman had done a book in this series on Warren Moon, which could have had a CFL crossover element. Though reading the first 3 in this was like a throwback to conversations in high school about the games the night before.

This was a really fun story. And the departure from the first one, with the double swap made it extra interesting, but in this one things go sideways because of Marino’s actions in Coleman’s body. The three friends and their crazy football plays, though in this one there is only 1, and the premise a kid playing in a NFL game, but not just any game in the Super Bowl, it’s a great story. The magical football jersey that somehow transports a youth into the body of Dan Marino; and Dan Marino wakes up on a school bus with 5th graders on a trip to New York City. It is sort of a sports themed Freaky Friday. Again I could hardly put it down.

It’s a great pity this book and series are out of print! I really enjoyed this volume, and the previous two and look forward to reading the rest of the series.

A wonderful read from Korman’s masterful pen.

Books by Gordon Korman:

MacDonald Hall Series:

This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall (1978)

Go Jump in the Pool (1979)

Beware the Fish! (1980)

The Wizzle War (1982)

(formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle)

The Zucchini Warriors (1988)

Light’s Camera, Disaster (1991)

(aka Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood)

The Jokes on Us (1995)