snackeru
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Did you know Grantland Rice, of "Four Horsemen" fame, wrote a poem about our beloved Gophers? Here is his poem from 1936:
The Return of the Norsemen
Written and Dedicated to Bernie Bierman
I saw the march of Atilla when I was but a lad
I shared a tent with Caesar when his legions pounded Gaul
I crossed the Alps with Hannibal, before he got in bad
I'd rather see the Gophers when they start to rush the ball
I hear the rolling thunder of their sweep along the field
I see the crash of bodies as they strike by flank and line
I see the ghostly outlines of the Norseman's sword and shield
As blockers clear the highway where their speedy halfbacks shine
From T.C.U. to Michigan--from Stanford to Yale
From Oregon to Florida--from Tennessee to Maine
Beware the thrust and parry when the Viking's on the trail
Or Bernie Bierman's Gophers start their push along the plain
I spent a month with Genghis Khan, the terror of his time
I saw a Grecian phalanx work in Alexander's day
But when it comes to power, speed, and savage, flowing rhyme
I'd rather see the Gophers march in Bernie Bierman's way
I cheered when Fuzzy-Wuzzy broke the steel-rimmed British square
On Lodi's bridge with Bonaparte I saw him head for fame
But here's to Bernie Bierman and the crown he ought to wear
And here's to Minnesota--and the glory of the game.
Not too shabby, heh?
The Return of the Norsemen
Written and Dedicated to Bernie Bierman
I saw the march of Atilla when I was but a lad
I shared a tent with Caesar when his legions pounded Gaul
I crossed the Alps with Hannibal, before he got in bad
I'd rather see the Gophers when they start to rush the ball
I hear the rolling thunder of their sweep along the field
I see the crash of bodies as they strike by flank and line
I see the ghostly outlines of the Norseman's sword and shield
As blockers clear the highway where their speedy halfbacks shine
From T.C.U. to Michigan--from Stanford to Yale
From Oregon to Florida--from Tennessee to Maine
Beware the thrust and parry when the Viking's on the trail
Or Bernie Bierman's Gophers start their push along the plain
I spent a month with Genghis Khan, the terror of his time
I saw a Grecian phalanx work in Alexander's day
But when it comes to power, speed, and savage, flowing rhyme
I'd rather see the Gophers march in Bernie Bierman's way
I cheered when Fuzzy-Wuzzy broke the steel-rimmed British square
On Lodi's bridge with Bonaparte I saw him head for fame
But here's to Bernie Bierman and the crown he ought to wear
And here's to Minnesota--and the glory of the game.
Not too shabby, heh?
That's my best guess for the book as well, after googling like crazy.