Book Reviews and More: NFL Magic Bloopers, Pranks, Upsets, and Touchdowns - Gordon Korman

NFL Magic: Bloopers, Pranks, Upsets, and Touchdowns

Monday Night Football Club Book 6

Gordon Korman

James Buckley Jr.

Brian Peterson

Hyperion Books for Children

ISBN 9780786827992

ISBN 0786827998

Ultimate Scoring Machine I Was Jerry Rice - Gordon Korman - Monday Night Football Club Book 6

This book was originally published in 1998, with four different editions publishing that year under a variety of imprints. It is the final in a series of 6 volumes but is very different than the others. I was really surprised by the volumes in this series and have been greatly enjoying the ones I have read to date.

I set the goal of reading all his books about 2020. I am down to 3 of his books after finishing this volume. I have completed all the stand alone books and all but the final books in 3 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 book and series 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:

“MONDAY NIGHT MADNESS!

Nick, Coleman, and Elliot, the young football fanatics from the Monday Night Football Club, may be some of the most die-hard fans around. In this sixth installment of the popular NFL series, they recount their favorite football highlights - on and off the field! From rookie haircuts to record-breaking touchdowns, this book is a must-have for football fans.”

About the authors we are informed:

“James Buckley Jr. and Brian Peterson are staff writers for the NFL Properties

Group. They write for and edit football magazines such as Gameday, NFL Kickoff, and the Official Super Bowl Program. Jim and Brian both live with their families in Southern California.

Gordon Korman is the author of more than seventeen middle grade and young adult novels, as well as the other five books in the NFL series. He lives in New York City with his wife.”

The chapters in this volume are:

Prologue

1: Pranksville, U.S.A.

2: Kickoff Classics

3: Bloopers. Part I: The Bad Old Days

4: Upsetmania!

5: Comeback Kings

6: Bloopers, Part I: The Book of Whoops

7: Unbelievable Plays

8: Monday Night Magic

9: Super Bowl Memories

Epilogue

I did not highlighted any passage while reading this volume, unlike several of the other in this series. I said it in my first review of a book in this series I 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 5 in this was like a throwback to conversations in high school about the games the night before.

This was a really fun story. But it was very different than the rest of the series. The three members of the Monday Night Football Club are going crazy and driving their families crazy as they are waiting for opening night. They are given a NFL Trivia Book to try and help them focus and stop destroying the house as the countdown to the game begins. They decide to do a series of their trick play, a series of special Preseason Challenge Bomb plays where after the catch they have to immediately answer a trivia question. And after that question we are given a number of trivia facts from the whole of NFL/AFL history. Following the theme of the chapter title. So we get 9 trick plays and 9 sets of trivia. But in this volume the magic jersey does not come into play and there is no swap with a current NFL player.

So this volume is not a sports themed Freaky Friday. But their crazy trick plays and the loads of trivia make it a really fun read. It would be interesting to see if any of the records or record breaking pranks outlined in this volume have been broken.

It is a really fun volume and Korman’s contribution is undeniable! A fun read and great conclusion to this series.

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)