Trying Out For the NFL

The NFL season kicks off tonight when the Tennessee Titans take on Superbowl champs the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Today professional players are much bigger and better paid than they were back in 1963, when writer George Plimpton wrote Paper Lion. The best-selling book chronicled Plimpton’s comical season as a backup quarterback for the Detroit Lions.

Writer Stefan Fatsis credits Plimpton as his inspiration for infiltrating the NFL a few years ago. Unlike the genteel Plimpton, Fatsis trained hard to prepare himself for a stint as a rookie place kicker at the Denver Broncos training camp. For three months, the 5-foot-8, 43-year old Fatsis donned a Broncos training jersey that came down to his knees. Slowly, he came to know the players and the coaches inside the multi-million dollar behemoth that is the NFL.

Stefan Fatsis's recalls the experience in his book A Few Seconds of Panic: A 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL. Stefan Fatsis is a former sports writer for The Wall Street Journal and a frequent contributor to NPR's All Things Considered, and he joins Word of Mouth with more on the rigor and pressure of playing pro ball.