Philadelphia Eagles receiver A.J. Brown became an instant meme when he was shown reading a book on the sidelines during Sunday's 22–10 wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers.
Fans quickly found the name of the book, Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy. Brown said after the game that he brings the book to every game and reads it when he needs a "sense of peace," and that Sunday was just the first time the cameras caught him.
Fans were obviously interested in learning what kind of juice this book has in it to keep Brown this motivated all season long—Inner Excellence went from being ranked 523,497th on Amazon's best sellers list on Sunday to No. 1 on Monday.
A.J. Brown reading Inner Excellence on the sideline of a playoff game made the book go #1 on Amazon's Best Sellers list 🤣 pic.twitter.com/JiZY5YpxkW
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) January 13, 2025
"If I score a touchdown or drop a pass, it's something how I refocus," Brown said, via ESPN. "I always revert back to the beginning of the book. It states if you can just have a clear mind and remember that nothing else matters, clear conscience, nothing matters negative or positive. You're willing to take risks. It also says if you're humble, you can't be embarrassed."
Murphy is a former minor league baseball player, and he spent five years working on Inner Excellence, which highlights how to help athletes have confidence under pressure. Brown needed that confidence on Sunday as he only caught one pass for 10 yards during the game.
Murphy was in utter disbelief after Brown’s viral moment put his book at the center of the NFL conversation.
“It’s been a pretty amazing night,” Murphy told Sports Illustrated when contacted Sunday after the game. “I’m sitting here in a hotel by myself. I was like, What’s with all these messages? And then I saw what happened and I’m like, Oh my God that’s crazy. Really neat.”
We'll see if Brown has a copy Inner Excellence in his hands on the sidelines this weekend when the Eagles play in the divisional round.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as A.J. Brown's Sideline Book Became No. 1 on Amazon Overnight After Viral Moment.
