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

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

A Few Seconds of Panic: A 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL
List Price: $25.95
Our Price: $12.97
You Save: $12.98 (50%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Stefan Fatsis
Edition: Hardcover
Published: 2008-07-03
ISBN: 1594201781
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The

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

Book Review: This Ain't no Word Freak
Summary: 2 Stars

Jason Elam, the most successful place kicker in Broncos' history describes the experience of an NFL place kicker as "hours and hours of boredom surrounded by a few seconds of panic".

A few seconds of panic set in the moment I realized Mr. Fatsis was barred by the NFL from participating in even a pre-season game. A few more seconds of panic followed as I read Mr. Fatsis' bitter and unjustified complaints about why the NFL was steadfast in its refusal to allow him to kick in a pre-season game. According to Mr. Brian McCarthy, an NFL PR personnel, "people are paying seventy, ninety, a hundred and twenty dollars and then having someone from off the street come in - it could have the appearance of an exhibition, which we fight. I wouldn't use the word joke, but..." In response, and a shameful one at that, Mr. Fatsis proceeds to call the NFL a fraud for forcing fans to buy tickets to pre-season games, and a joke because all the run-ins NFL players have had with the law and the criminals who are allowed to play. Yet, he, who has worked "assiduously" for months to prepare for this glorious moment is made to feel like a joke.

Granted, Mr. Fatsis worked assiduously to play in the NFL, but he also assiduously shanked balls in practice, particularly during moments of pressure when players and fans were watching. Mr. Fatsis' length of experience in place kicking didn't extend beyond a few months. Just why he felt like he was deserving of a chance to play in the NFL is baffling.

Whereas in "Word Freak", Mr. Fatsis' participation in Scrabble and ultimately his rise to the rank of "expert" made the book a delightful read, in "A few seconds of panic", everything but his participation in Football took centerstage.

"A Few Seconds of Panic" provides a glimpse of "what players endure to get there, and what they experience once they arrive. And it revealed the deep disconnect between what fans see on gameday and what happens the rest of the week.", but it fails to deliver on its promise of a successful story of an average Joe playing with the pros.

Entertainment Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Entertainment Books
My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands ImageMy Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands
by Chelsea Handler
Bloomsbury USA; Published: 2005-06-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.70
Price in other shops: $14.95
Goodnight Bush: A Parody ImageGoodnight Bush: A Parody
by Gan Golan, Erich Origen
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2008-05-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.24
Price in other shops: $14.99
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.) ImageAnimal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.)
by Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp
Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.85
Price in other shops: $14.95
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals ImageThe Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan
Penguin; Published: 2007-08-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.49
Price in other shops: $16.00
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia ImageEat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
by Elizabeth Gilbert
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2007-01-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.40
Price in other shops: $15.00
Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea ImageAre You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
by Chelsea Handler
Simon Spotlight Entertainment; Published: 2008-04-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.75
Price in other shops: $24.95
sTORI Telling ImagesTORI Telling
by Tori Spelling
Simon Spotlight; Published: 2008-03-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.72
Price in other shops: $24.95
Big Russ and Me: Father and Son: Lessons of Life ImageBig Russ and Me: Father and Son: Lessons of Life
by Tim Russert
Miramax; Published: 2005-05-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.65
Price in other shops: $13.95
When You Are Engulfed in Flames ImageWhen You Are Engulfed in Flames
Hachette Audio; Published: 2008-06-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $11.97
Price in other shops: $34.98
When You Are Engulfed in Flames ImageWhen You Are Engulfed in Flames
by David Sedaris
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2008-06-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.49
Price in other shops: $25.99
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America ImageNixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America
by Rick Perlstein
Scribner; Published: 2008-05-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.45
Price in other shops: $37.50
Lush Life: A Novel ImageLush Life: A Novel
by Richard Price
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2008-03-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.57
Price in other shops: $26.00
The Post-American World ImageThe Post-American World
by Fareed Zakaria
W. W. Norton; Published: 2008-05-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.95
Price in other shops: $25.95
Pro Football Prospectus 2008: The Essential Guide to the 2008 Pro Football Season (Pro Football Prospectus) ImagePro Football Prospectus 2008: The Essential Guide to the 2008 Pro Football Season (Pro Football Prospectus)
Plume; Published: 2008-07-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.95
Price in other shops: $21.95
God Save the Fan: How Preening Sportscasters, Athletes Who Speak in the Third Person, and the Occasional Convicted Quarterback Have Taken the Fun Out of Sports (And How We Can Get It Back) ImageGod Save the Fan: How Preening Sportscasters, Athletes Who Speak in the Third Person, and the Occasional Convicted Quarterback Have Taken the Fun Out of Sports (And How We Can Get It Back)
by Will Leitch
Harper; Published: 2008-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.95
Price in other shops: $24.95
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel ImageThe Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel
by David Wroblewski
Ecco; Published: 2008-06-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.79
Price in other shops: $25.95
Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World ImageRome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World
by David Maraniss
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2008-07-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.75
Price in other shops: $26.95
When You Are Engulfed in Flames ImageWhen You Are Engulfed in Flames
by David Sedaris
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2008-06-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.58
Price in other shops: $25.99
The Best Game Ever: Giants vs. Colts, 1958, and the Birth of the Modern NFL ImageThe Best Game Ever: Giants vs. Colts, 1958, and the Birth of the Modern NFL
by Mark Bowden
Atlantic Monthly Press; Published: 2008-05-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.50
Price in other shops: $23.00
Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ImageWord Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers
by Stefan Fatsis
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2002-07-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.75
Price in other shops: $16.00