Ahhh, it's back again. That time of year when the DIRECTV bill goes
up, the air becomes crisp, and minds of fully grown men finally begin
to churn the
gears. The rest of the year seems void, flaccid,
almost a darn waste. This time of year gets the juices flowing...not
only the anxiousness of rooting for our
favorite team (the best
being the Washington Redskins), but the challenge of proving our peers
to be mental midgets. Yes, I am talking about the re-birth
of
Fantasy Football. The game where men research for weeks to play general
manager and build their own football team. This team is constructed on
hours
upon hours of study, new and juicy rumors going around the NFL, and
good ole' fashioned gut feelings. The time consumed by fantasy leagues
can
be a cause for concern amongst the wives and significant others of the
players, but here's something to think about...are all of the research
and late
hours worth it? I was one of those guys. Having won two
of the last 6 years of fantasy football that I actively participated
in; I began to wonder if there was
something more, something else I
could be doing to rack up more wins. I spent some long hours mulling
this over, searching for a formula that would
result in a fantasy
football title. When my head hit the pillow at night, I thought about a
recipe for success. When I sat on the commode, I thought about a
recipe
for success. The drive to work, yep, still was thinking of a recipe for
success. One late night, while my nose was buried in the laptop reading
news
and notes in football, it hit me. It finally came to me.
This game we play, this fantasy football, wasn't a fantasy at all...it
was reality. All my strategies and
game plans had been built on
the notion of playing a fantasy game, a make-believe game if you will. I
was now enlightened and have only met one other
participant who
has openly acknowledged this fact. Without his consent, I will not
relinquish his name or location. But that doesn't matter. What does
matter
is my epiphany, and how I'm about to blow your mind. Regardless of the
league you have played in, this fact is universal: we are not playing
fantasy
football anymore, and we never were. This is Reality Football, and the
sooner you can jump on board, the more productive your team will be. I
have
played in several top-notch leagues over the years, last year, the
draft party was a smash, and consisted of an 8 foot draft board, a
personal
website, and food and beer galore...looking back, this
was one hell of a reality league. I have taken part in other leagues
where the draft party offered
lumpia to your heart's content, and all the beer and soda you can consume. This too, was a great reality league. Looking back
now, what a fool I had been
to
buy in to this "fantasy league" crap. Well it wasn't the first time I
had been bamboozled, and I am sure it won't be the last! Now, as a new
day dawns in
my personal football game ventures, I can see
clearly...I can see what a bafoon I was, pouring in countless hours of
research and study. Setting the
alarm to wake up early enough on a
Sunday after a heavy night of partaking in adult beverages...sheesh,
what a putz I was. But not anymore! I have
unlocked the key to
this football game, it isn't fantasy at all, it is stark reality. This
year I incorporated my new strategies and philosophies, and have put
them
into effect here in the eSFL. Rather than research, and devote
countless hours of study (including three and a half for the process) to
drafting a
team, I slept in.
This is reality. Sure, of the 12 players we were supposed to draft, the computer drafted 7 running backs. That's fine, 3 of them were
actually good! Instead of
fantasizing what is going to happen on Sundays, like what injuries will occur, what players will return from injuries, what game
plan a
team will employ, I don't. Whatever happens on any given Sunday will
happen without my guessing and tireless hours "researching" roster
moves.
This is reality. What team will change their mind 5 minutes to walking out on the field concerning a starting/benched player, I can't
fantasize this,
this is reality. This great game we have come to know and love is simply an exercise in futility. We
fantasize of being millionaire general managers, and
calling
the shots when it counts...newsflash...we don't do sh*t. This "fantasy"
game is based on reality. And to rub it in our faces, it is other
people's reality
that we have chosen to consume ourselves with for
at least 6 months out of the year. Can't you see, this is not fantasy
at all...it is a shocking reality. We
live this, we breathe this
for more than half of every year! This little "fantasy" game is actually
very real for us. Our research, our roster moves, our insider
information,
all amounts to nothing in the end. The victor of this game comes from a
bitter, dark, world of reality. Injuries, the emergence of UN-named
second
stringers, late season pick-ups, coaches whims, players throwing games
for side bets...this is how the game is won and lost. It is won and lost
not
on our wasted hours in front of a computer, not on our "fantasy" of
having and running our own football team...it is based on reality, a
hurtful, cold
world of reality.
This weeks eSFL odds are
below and I have chosen to take comments and chats on the two games I
have selected as GAMES OF THE WEEK (Favorites are negative and in bold):
NOTE: LINE IS NOT THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR:
- GAME OF THE WEEK
- Pardue -3 at Rhodes
- GAME OF THE WEEK
- Standout -8 at Brady Bunch
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- Klimko K's - 17 at Money Team
- Perdew at Igama -34
- Texan -12 at Fields
- Viall -40 at Whitmore
- Temp at Frost -21
- D at Zima EVEN
- Flish -36 at McKevitt
- Dlugiewicz at Miami -33
- W. Virginia -19 at Kav
- Wallie's at Orange EVEN
Good Luck!
