Cruisin' With the Tooz

Cruisin with the Tooz, written by John Matuszak with Steve Delsohn a Charter Book published by Franklin Watts Inc. Is a heartrending story not so much in the writing as in the aftermath. Like most of its ilk it is a semi- tell-all hinting at sexual and eccentric behavior that glorifies the celebrity while still containing enough simple honesty to be compelling. Much like the character Sloth that Matuszak played in the Spielberg film Goonies, Matuszak portrays himself as a misunderstood, perhaps feared giant who although capable of violence is a gentle soul trapped in the body of a monster. A kind to animals, anti-war protestor who practiced controlled mayhem every Sunday of his football career.

. With honesty, Matuszak tells of his addiction to alcohol and narcotics and the dysfunctional behavior that almost cost him his dream of playiing football in the N.F.L. He discusses a theory of his that perhaps the continous use of painkillers in professional football lures players into the false belief that even the self-prescribed numbing agents of alcohol and cocaine are legitimate choices to the professional football player. He never, however; accuses coaches or trainers of forcing the painkillers onto the players and accepts the responsibility of his actions as his own. And although he never mentions it, one could surmise that the use of anabolic steroids was also counterproductive to his health. Matuszak in contrast to his teammate Lyle Alzado who blamed the trainers and coaches for forcing him into drug use instead hypothesies that if he had been a butcher his abuse issues may have still been a problem..

The poignancy of this book comes in the reader knowing the ending, that unexpectedly at the age of 39, two years after the publishing of the book, John Matuszak would be dead of a heart attack. Reading the final chapter as he spoke of his hope for the future and his optimism that there was a life after football, it is difficult to not shed a tear for this real life Steinbeckian character.