There was a moment in Atlanta last week when Charles Carmouche had to stop and take it all in because he could scarcely believe this was the life he was living.
Having cameras trained on him was nothing especially new. They followed him around collegiate basketball courts at Memphis and LSU, then professionally in Australia, where he played for a season before injuries derailed his hoop dreams. But this was a different feeling: These cameras said "NFL" on them.
He was in Atlanta because he was playing flag football for a payday -- one that could be quite lucrative if things keep falling into place -- in the upstart American Flag Football League (AFFL).