Saturday afternoon fever

Sporting News, The, April 7, 1997 by Brian Tomlin

"There's nine miles along the river of just dormant, vacant, big, huge dusty buildings," he says, but "it's not as bad as the Billy Joel song."

Fatzinger watched the layoffs and mill closure affect his neighbors, but his household was fortunate. His father worked steadily as a truck driver and his mother kept her place in an AT&T lab.

After starring at Central Catholic High, Fatzinger wanted to find the ultimate blend of education and football. After playing in Pennsylvania's prestigious Big 33 all-star game, he drew interest from the likes of Virginia Tech, Boston College and Pitt, while also earning appointments to the Army and Naval academies. But something about Wake Forest just felt right--and still does.

"I've had a great time," he says. "I've made the friends you're supposed to make in college. The school, despite lack of (fan) support or whatever, has been really good to me I'm going to graduate with a good degree (in business)."

But he couldn't have imagined his resolve being tested so severely. After redshirting in 1993, he played early and often in 1994 and worked his way into the starting lineup at midseason. By them the Demon Deacons already has given up 56 points in loss to Florida State, and two more opponents would crack the 50-point mark in the weeks to follow. At that point, Fatzinger knew what it can mean to be a Wake Forest football player.

"We used to sit around, four or five guys in the house where we lived, watching Sports-Center and talking about how bad things possibly could get and about what happens if we went 0-11," he says. "Everybody was getting ready to transfer. (Some did or quit.) Things were just looking awful.

"Usually, around Game 5 of every season, we've got one or two wins, maybe. We've got Florida State next and we're going down there and you think, `Oh, my god. What am I doing here?'"

There's that questions, again. When Fatzinger finds himself asking it, he reverts to his mantra: "There are 11 Saturdays left. There's pretty much nothing like going out on a Saturday afternoon and getting to play. I even like pretty much going to practice. I don't mind it. It's just something I really like to do."

He's a guy that I think most of the coaches appreciate a tremendous amount, primarily because of the enthusiasm he brings to our practice sessions," Wake Forest coach Jim Caldwell says. "He probably enjoys practice more than anyone I've ever seen. He's a tough, hard-nosed competitor. He's a guy that gives you everything he's got. He's a quality performer. A leader."

And his last chance--as he will tell you ad nauseam--is here. As Fatzinger watches classmates march off to job interviews in suits, he's struck by the notion that, "Wow, I should be doing that," but what he knows about the game sustains him.

"My fifth year is about playing the best I can play for 11 more times," he says. "I don't have a girlfriend. I'm not married, like some of the guys on the team and have children and families and say that's the best thing. All I've had so far has just been experiences with football for four years here. I wanted to come to the ACC for that experience."