Author gets inside look at Broncos

Tackle P.J. Alexander tries to overcome injuries with sheer will and attitude. Kicker Jason Elam is the consummate professional: proficient in his work, amiable and squeaky-clean decent. Tight end Nate Jackson, safety Nick Ferguson and fullback Kyle Johnson are thoughtful, intelligent, philosophical realists.

The media rarely, if ever, get the kind of access the Broncos gave Fatsis, and Fatsis gives depth to players who are usually known only superficially by even the most devoted fans. And he answers the book's biggest question: If playing football is willfully subjecting oneself to the militaristic, joyless, dangerous life that is the NFL, why would anyone do it - other than the fact that the average player makes $2 million a year? Part of the answer is the same reason Fatsis tried out: They are irrationally hopeful.