A Few Seconds of Panic: A 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL

I enjoyed the book. Fatsis did a nice job taking me inside several of the players' lives, and what it's really like in an NFL training camp in general. The pages fly by.

Fatsis takes the reader behind the NFL's glamorous Sunday stage. He gives a peek at what life for the typical NFL player is like -- the monotony and physical pain of constant practice coupled with the vice-like psychological pressure of being reminded with every miscue that you are utterly expendable. He even has the chance to put his performance on show at a training camp practice, getting just a taste of what it's like to have all eyes on you with expectations riding high. The cast of (real-life) characters is wide-ranging and compelling. Highly recommended.

The book begins at a Denver Bronco mini-camp in May, 2006. Stefan Fatsis has been practicing with the team as a kicker and is trying to find his place on the team. Al Wilson, the middle linebacker, calls on Fatsis to dance in front of the team because, as he is later told, "you know you are a rookie" (38). This is his second foray into the world of participatory journalism - "Word Freak" is a hilarious and in-depth look at the world of competitive Scrabble (it was used as the basis for the documentary "Word Wars").

Fatsis wanted to experience camp and the accompanying thoughts & emotions like a regular NFL player. Rejected previously by a number of NFL teams, he finally finds a willing partner in the Broncos, who prove to be an accessible and open organization. He has extensive conversations with Pat Bowlen (the owner), Ted Sundquist (the GM) and Mike Shanahan (the long-time, all-powerful head coach).

Fatsis spends a lot of time with the kickers and punters, who describe their camp experience as "eat, play video games, go on the computer" (40). Jason Elam, co-holder of an NFL record 63-yd FG completion, is described as "the kid in high school who gets along equally well with the jocks, the brains, the geeks and the slackers, and influences their behavior." (113) Elam is a right-wing Christian who hunts in Africa, writes Armageddon-based novels and gives friendly advice (and roots for) Fatsis. Micah Knorr is a journeyman punter who is brought in after Todd Sauerbrun is suspended for 4 games because positive test for ephedra. Todd lives in "Toddworld," doesn't like football anymore, and he gives a cynical perspective about life in the NFL.

Fatsis attends a rookie orientation with 14 other players. When asked the age that the average NFL career ends, Jay Cutler guesses 27. "Twenty-six," (72) is the correct answer. Life in the NFL is brutal, and except for Sundays, not at all glamorous. Fatsis compares Ben Hamilton's fingers to "cracks in a shattered windshield. Not a single digit remotely straight." (116). Players don't report little injuries, and more often than not, they don't seek treatment. Players live in fear of getting cut or replaced, and most of the 70+ players that report to camp each summer do not make much money.

Ian Gold describes football as just "a money making machine" (203) and that "they're looking for your replacement the day you step foot in this door." (203) Chapter 12 describes the experiences of Kyle Johnson (back-up fullback), Gold (starting outside linebacker) and Adam Meadows (an offensive lineman who came out of retirement for another shot) at length. While grateful for the opportunity and the money, all of them have had some trying experiences.

Shanahan thrusts Fatsis into the spotlight in the middle of practice one day: "He's going to kick. If he makes it, meetings will end at nine instead of nine thirty." (146) He misses the kick and collapses in disgrace on the field. A couple of players race to him and ask the coach for another kick. Fatsis misses again, costing the team a total of "45 hours of freedom" (149). His teammates alternately rip him (with some hilarious vulgarity on page 151) or ignore him. Because of the pressure and failure, Fatsis begins to get an idea of what life is like as an NFL player at training camp.

Jake Plummer (starting QB), Preston Parsons (4th string QB), Nate Jackson (DB), PJ Alexander (back-up OL), Tony Scheffler (rookie TE) are all entertaining characters who open up to Fatsis throughout the book. All of them come off as extremely genuine and likeable.

Fatsis leaves the team at the end of training camp, but he continues to follow the Broncos (and the players from camp that end up on other teams). In the Epilogue, he describes the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Cutler replaces Plummer; Darrent Williams is murdered on New Year's; Elam leaves for Atlanta, Sauerbrun is cut, resigned and then cut again; Plummer retires; Sundquist is fired. "This bit of where-are-they-now about my Broncos is, I realize, kind of depressing...," he writes (but it is fascinating). "Of the more than one hundred men who spent time with the Broncos while I was in Denver, just half are in training camp in 2007, less than a third on the roster in September" (330). Life in the NFL is fleeting indeed.

I must admit that I was somewhat skeptical picking up this book. I mean, hasn't the ultimate "insider" book on this topic (writer gets to taste what the NFL is like) already been written, albeit some 40+ years ago? That would be George Plimpton's "Paper Lion", of course, a book that is mentioned quite a few times in this book as well. Nevertheless, I couldn't resist the urge, and boy, am I glad that I picked this up.

In "A Few Seconds of Panic: A 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43 Year-Old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL" (340 pages), Wall Street Journal sportswriter (on the business issues of sports) Stefan Fatsis takes us on his journey of what it was like to attend mini-camp and then training camp and the pres-season of the 2006 Denver Broncos as a place kicker. After a tentative start, I quickly found myself turning the pages furiously, not being able to wait what would come next. The author describes what it's like to be an outsider, literally, not to mention an OLD outsider, trying to fit in with the regular Broncos players. His observations regarding the brutal realities of the NFL are quite astute, as are his comments of the Denver players (it reads like a soap opera, frankly), as well as the Denver coaching staff, including head coach Mike Shanahan. Fatsis brings the highs and lows of his adventure fabulously.

Very helpful is the last chapter, in which the author brings us what happened to many of the characters in the book in the two years since he did his stint with the Broncos. This book is a classic, in my opinion, and I am quite surprised that the book didn't do better commercially. A must read for any fan of the NFL, no matter what team you are rooting for.

The first story this book tells is about the author's attempt to become a passable kicker. There is some success and some failure in this, and it is interesting (even if you don't care about kicking).

The second story is about what it is like to be a player in the NFL. This story is dark and excellent. I think everyone knows how hard being an NFL player is physically. I think most people are aware of how hard it is mentally. This book shows how difficult it is psychologically.

Fatsis doesn't become a real NFL player, but he gets a lot closer than most people will. He gets close enough that the real players are willing to tell him what it's like (and close enough to understand what they say). And that, for me, is close enough...