Fantasy. Just a word. More of an idea really. A really damn good idea. Fantasy doesn't "technically" exist, but we can't all star for an NFL, MLB, NHL, or NBA team. Some of us have to pretend so that we feel closer to the games. We want to feel like we know the players, and that they are acting to help us. Adrian Peterson proved he is a robot to help ME win fantasy, not to help the Vikings. Adrian and I are friends; in my league anyway. Sure it sounds crazy, but that's what makes fantasy awesome. Living vicariously through the biggest stars, on the biggest stage. It's like chess, but with 80 yard touchdowns to seal a win, and last minute field goals to shove in your best friends face. OK, it's not that similar to chess, but you get the point. I digress.
This blog is just a couple of guys delving into why fantasy can mean so much and be so fun. However, it's not all fantasy. In order to love fantasy you have to love the sports. I mean REALLY love the sports. That's why we want to talk about it all, both real and fantasy. Superbowl/World Series/Finals/Stanley Cup picks, weekly power rankings, hot topics, trades, rumors, you name it, we'll talk about it. ESPN can't be the only place with accurate opinions, right? Right?? Sure Matthew Berry has all the accolades and "credentials", but when it really comes down to it I think I could take him (calling you out MTR, join a league with me!!). I've reached the championship in all of my fantasy football leagues and am currently a reigning champ. How many in a row you ask? Well....uh....only two.....but while you see lack of experience I see 100% success (2/2). Can't argue with results right? Don't get me wrong though, I love The Talented Mr. Roto. He practically inspired me to do this. I'm just saying I could take him.
But I suppose I should introduce myself a little more formally. I'm currently a math major at Davidson College going into my senior year (I'm not a hipster or anything, but you PROBABLY haven't heard of it; that is, unless you know the incredible Mr. Stephen Curry, our most famous....scratch that....our only famous sports alum). I love numbers and statistics, and sports is the perfect outlet. My team of choice is the Carolina Camthers. You may know them as the Panthers, but it's hard to name a player other than Cam if you aren't actually a fan. Let me tell you it has been a struggle the past decade. A loss in the Super Bowl to that devil, Tom Brady, and several other painful playoff defeats (highlighted by our best season since the Super Bowl, 2008, when we were the 2 seed and lost to the Cardinals...the CARDINALS???....in our first game) have left me in pain as a diehard fan. Yet the Bobcats and reeling Hurricanes make the Panthers look great to a Carolina sports fan, so there's that. Needless to say I haven't had too much to cheer about other than the 2006 Stanley Cup (thanks to another Cam, Cam Ward.....further proving Cam will eventually win a Super Bowl). Fans like me who have no baseball team, the worst NBA team, a currently awful hockey team, and an under-performing football team have to look to fantasy. Why only analyze our crappy teams when we could look at everything. Prove to everyone that we know the most, so it doesn't matter how irrelevant all of our teams are. Upset because I snagged that free agent? Too bad you aren't the Adam Schefter of fantasy like me. I read every fantasy article. Like all of them. Possibly because I'm often bored in class or at work? Maybe. Mostly because I love it all? Damn straight. You would expect a junkie like myself to have been on the fantasy scene for a while, but I guess I'm just binging due to all the lost years. And it tastes delicious. But it's time to cook up some of my own articles. Starting here. Now.
I didn't start fantasy football until sophomore year of college, and it was the weirdest one I will probably ever take part in. Allow me to explain: It was a 20, count em TWENTY, team league, and I only knew one of the members (a close friend at Davidson). I didn't really know what I was getting into, so I didn't question it. Somehow, miraculously really, I ended up with the first pick. The draft came along and I really wanted to pick Chris Johnson. AP and CJ2K were 1, 2 respectively, and for some reason I thought CJ would perform better. The draft clock finally hit zero and my 40 seconds started to tick by. I highlighted CJ and just waited. Yep, I thought this would do it. Surprise! It didn't. I went onto auto-pick and got AP. Man was I confused. Turns out this was the greatest and luckiest thing that could've happened. AP had a great year (until his injury), and he, along with Cam, who I snagged in the last round-ish, carried me to the championship. There I met a team who had Drew Brees, and thats about it (seriously the teams were incredibly thin). My other running back, Jahvid Best, was also injured. This left me with two third-stringers as my starters: Khalil Bell and Evan Royster. I was expecting to get blown out. But it was worse than that. I should've won. Seriously, I don't know how I didn't win. That's not true, I know exactly why I didn't win... Jordy Nelson scored over 30 in the two week championship, and the Bill's D put up over 30 in one game. Yep, it took a damn miracle to beat me and I was starting Khalil Bell and Evan Royster at RB1 and RB2. Not exactly a stud duo.
This brings me to my first and maybe most important point to fantasy. There is so much luck. I'll go as far to say that it's 60% luck. The Bill's D will probably never do that again. Like EVER. Khalil Bell and Evan Royster will never work as starting running backs again. Sure it took forsight and skill (my amazzzing skill) to pick them up, but it would have been equally possible that they both would have been busts and I would've gotten blown out. I probably would have preferred that. Close losses stink. But in the end all we can do as fans is pick reliable guys who ought to do well. Anything that happens beyond that (freak injuries, Doug Martins, TD vultures, and more) is just luck. Fun luck. Luck that is always changing and never repeats itself. And THAT is why I continue to play. Because no one knows what will happen. Everyone can brag until it's over. Is it September yet?
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