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

by Stefan Fatsis (Author)
Key Phrases: kicking camp, game pants, practice squad, Jake Plummer, Super Bowl, Paul Ernster (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Fatsis (Word Freak) is dwarfed by any of the NFL athletes who put their bodies on the line each Sunday. But that doesn't stop him from asking to attend the Denver Broncos' training camp in hopes of learning one very specific athletic skill—that is, placekicking—and not to become an NFL-caliber kicker, but to become a credible one. Fatsis is treated like any rookie, from having to sing his alma mater's fight song minutes after stepping into the locker room to carrying the team's duffel bags and bunking in the hotel with all the other rookies. But his vibrant enthusiasm for improving his kicking ability helps his Bronco teammates accept him as one of their own. With that, the reader gets a glimpse of the true NFL, in the tradition of George Plimpton's Paper Lion. We see the crippling injuries that are kept secret for fear of losing playing time; the heartbreak of standing on the sidelines in camp, just aching to prove one's worth; the tears that come when the NFL dream could be over. Fatsis, too, has his own personal highs and lows through camp, enduring the long days, the trainer's visits and the sting of failure in front of coaches and players. It's an incredibly fascinating read for football fans, squashing the notion that the life of an NFL player is always glamorous. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From The Washington Post

Stefan Fatsis, who has covered sports for the Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio, spent the summer of 2006 training as a place kicker with the Denver Broncos. He's allowed to stand on the sidelines for the first pre-season game (but not play), and he melts with childish glee when he sees his locker: "The letters of my last name are stitched individually and perfectly onto the back of an authentic NFL jersey . . . ready to be worn on an authentic NFL playing field and read by thousands of authentic NFL fans." Later that season, the Broncos play the New England Patriots, and Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots, sees Fatsis (now back in journalist mode) talking to a group of Denver players. "So are you a Broncos fan now?" Kraft jabs. "No," replies the author, "I'm a Bronco."

Well, no. He's not a Bronco, and his own reporting shows why. No matter how often Fatsis practices with the team, no matter how many strained calves, sore hips and aching knees he endures, he still has a life outside of football. He can't be cut; he can't be deprived of his identity and income by a coaching staff that seems inspired by the Soviet gulag. Hey, I sympathize with the author's dreamy self-glorification. Like all washed-up jocks, I have my fantasies (returning to the Little League in Bayonne, N.J., where I hit well under .200, and blasting one -- just one -- home run). But you can't just pull on a player's cleats and become a pro athlete; you have to feel the fear of taking them off.

Still, give the guy credit. When George Plimpton attended an NFL camp in 1963 and wrote his famous account of that experience, Paper Lion, he was more observer than participant. Fatsis worked hard to become a passable place kicker, and because he shared their training camp regimen -- the pain and pressure, brutality and boredom -- he won the confidence of his teammates. That intimacy produces some candid insights, particularly about the marginal players, the walk-ons and spear-carriers in the NFL's "moneymaking machine," as one Bronco calls it. In fact, the author's physical shortcomings endear him to these very large but very human characters. One day, coach Mike Shanahan announces that if Fatsis can make a field goal from 35 yards, practice will end early. When he misses badly -- twice -- he thinks his chance "to validate my presence here" has been lost. But the opposite happens. Pro players believe that sportswriters never understand how hard their job really is, and once Fatsis fails, they think he finally gets it.

The magic number threading through these pages is 53. That's how many roster spots are allotted to each NFL team, and with more than 90 players in camp, and thousands more clamoring at the gates, the chances of any one player making the grade are quite small. That's true in all pro sports, but the stress level in football is higher for two reasons: The risk of injury is much greater, and few contracts are guaranteed. You're off the payroll as soon as an old ligament betrays you, or a new linebacker outruns you.

This means that teammates are forced to root against each other. When Todd Sauerbrun, the incumbent punter, jeers at a youngster trying to replace him, a coach cracks, "Attaway to pump air in his tires, Todd." Sauerbrun spits back, "I'm here to slash his tires." Players hide injuries, knowing that any sign of weakness could mean their demise: "Obviously it's illogical. But players believe they can overcome pain more easily than they can a coach's perception. So they avoid treatment and suck it up." Jason Elam, the team's star kicker, sums up life for even the best NFL players: "You are a replaceable part. It's just that unknown. What are they thinking and how long am I going to be here?" One of the author's closest friends, P.J. Alexander, is cut on the last day of camp. "Before I can say good-bye, P.J. is behind the wheel of his Lincoln Navigator," Fatsis writes. "I knock on the tinted window. He rolls it down and I see him crying."

Fatsis might not be a real Bronco, but he's a real sportswriter, and this book tells you what brings real Broncos to tears.

Steven V. Roberts is a professor

of politics and journalism at

George Washington University and author of "My Fathers' Houses,"

a childhood memoir.

Copyright 2008, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The (July 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594201781
• ISBN-13: 978-1594201783
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #151,176 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I really got a "kick" out of this book (pun intended), August 26, 2008

By	Paul L. Doering - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Even the most dedicated fan of the National Football League (NFL) can't possibly know what goes on "behind the curtain." Most of us know only what we see on Sundays or what we read in Monday's newspaper. Sure, we think we know our favorite players and all their foibles. You can lay all that aside after reading this book.

Stefan Fatsis suceeds in infiltrating the most sacred of grounds: the NFL locker room and the strange world that surrounds it. We get a glimpse of what it is like to know that your very job hinges on the next play in training camp. Players come and go like the tides. Coaches rule like tyrrants and the pecking order among them becomes painfully evident. So does the stress created in this bubbling cauldron they call professional football.

Reading about the personalities of the players--from the lowly undrafted rookie free agent to the highest paid super-star--reminds us that these people are only human. In fact, Fastis' colorful writing creates a word picture that surely is the way these players really are. Some are real characters, some are sad reminders of how cruel life can be. I found myself identifying with one partiular play and this gave me great insight into my own place in life.

It must be terribly frustrating to be a professional football player, where the glamor of game day gives way to utter despair when the "turk" comes to visit.

The only downside I see with this book is that it is so captivating that I let my usual workload pile up while I sat glue to the book. Oh, well.

Stefan Fatsis provides a ticket to a game seldom of us see--the game withing the game. Though he stands only 5 feet 8 inches, this work is gigantic. May all of his kicks in life sail thorugh the uprights.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Book, August 7, 2008

By	Mickey (New York) - See all my reviews

This concept is reminiscent of George Plimpton's "Paper Lion," but Fatsis takes the idea to a whole different level. He's not just an observer but a real participant, going through the stress and strain of trying to make an NFL team. He gives you a greater appreciation for how hard these guys work, and how despite all that effort, the difference between success and failure is so slim. It's a great story told by a talented writer.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Stories: One Interesting, One Excellent, September 20, 2008

By	Fooberman "Foobs" (The Molten Core) - See all my reviews

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...