For the book world, a highlight of the NFL playoff game Sunday between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers came late in the game when the camera focused on Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown on the bench reading a copy of Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life by Jim Murphy (Academy of Excellence). Game commentators seemed surprised, and one of them, Tom Brady, said, "I haven't seen too many people read books [on the bench during a game], but I've seen a quarterback eat a hot dog."
After the game, NFL reporter James Palmer recounted, "Brown handed me a beaten up paperback copy of Inner Excellence. Full of handwritten notes and highlighted sections. He has it with him every game and you can tell it's been knocked off benches on sidelines week after week. Brown then showed me the passage he reads between drives. It calms his mind." In the locker room Sunday, Brown spoke about the book and told reporters, among other things, "I like to read."
Author Jim Murphy told Sports Illustrated that his phone lit up with messages after the game and said, "It's really an honor to be a part of [Brown's] life and to have a meaningful place in anyone's life."
The book scored yesterday on a certain online retailer, becoming the No. 1 overall title, bumping even pre-orders for Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros.