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Getting A Kick Out Of Camp

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By BOB D'ANGELO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 9, 2008

After writing a book about the inner workings of competitive Scrabble, what does an author do for an encore?

Stefan Fatsis, a longtime reporter for The Wall Street Journal, wrote "Word Freak" in 2001. His latest project is closer in scope to George Plimpton's 1963 groundbreaking book, "Paper Lion." Fatsis, who played high school soccer, wanted to be a place-kicker at an NFL training camp. After a year of preparation, in 2006 he convinced the Denver Broncos and Coach Mike Shanahan to give him a shot.

In "A Few Seconds Of Panic: A 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays In The NFL" (The Penguin Press, $25.95), Fatsis gives a finely detailed, insider's view of an NFL locker room. The players and coaches took some time to warm up to Fatsis, with emotions ranging from guarded hostility to amusement.

"It's Martin Gramatica's dad!" one player joked when Fatsis showed up for practice.

Other than carrying a note pad around, Fatsis was shown no favoritism. He had to go through the same drills, endure the same kind of hazing reserved for rookies, and feel the pressure of having to perform. Shanahan, a stickler for detail and order who projects an icy persona, comes across as tough in practice, but also sarcastic, warm and caring.

Fatsis' observations are telling. Quarterback Jake Plummer is a take-charge guy in the huddle who is just as likely to read Bob Marley's biography as he would "The Giver," a young adult novel about a utopian society.

Kickers gather together "like the geek table in the high school cafeteria."

Some players "don't think too much about what they have to do to play football, they just do it." Then there are players "who grapple with their motivations."

Those turned out to be Fatsis' best friends on the Broncos - the thinkers.

Despite working out with the team, Fastis does not get to kick during an NFL preseason game, although he is allowed to suit up. But the notes he took during camp reveal the closeness of the players and the harsh realities that prove why the NFL is a business first.

"When we're on this field, we will play together," said linebacker Ian Gold, who played for Denver in 2006 and spent 2004 with the Bucs. "But when we leave this facility, peace out."

"My experience didn't make me more cynical about the NFL," Fatsis writes. "It just showed me what players endure to get there and what they experience once they arrive. And it revealed the deep disconnect between what fans see on game day and what happens the rest of the week."

It's an eye-opening, entertaining and emotional look at pro football.

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