I love/hate Fantasy Football
I hate fantasy football. I also love fantasy football. It’s so addicting and absorbing that once you’re into it, there’s no turning back. I had a good start to my fantasy football career. I won the league title back-to-back years, and took first in the regular season the other year. I felt unstoppable. Once we shifted to a pay league that included keepers, I knew I would be winning championships for years to come.
Only, it didn’t happen that way. I feel like the 90’s Buffalo Bills. I have great regular seasons, a good team, and continually fall short of winning the title. The problem is, no matter how much you plan, how effectively you strategize, and who your players are, there’s always a factor of complete luck. You’re dealing with nothing but statistics. There’s no team chemistry, there’s no on the fly game adjustment, or substitutions. You pick the players that you believe give you the greatest statistical chance of winning and then wait and watch.
It’s practically torture. You can build a team that appears invincible and then watch as a bunch of no names steal touchdowns from you while playoff teams rest their starters down the stretch. That is exactly what happened to me this year. A combination of injuries and bad luck led to yet another disappointing year.
What made it sting more is that I gave up a lot thinking I was in a great position to win it all. I gave up future draft picks and quality keepers. I managed to get DeAngelo Williams when I already had Ray Rice, Joseph Addai, and Marion Barber (we start 3 rb’s). I also swung a last second deal for Chad Ochocinco for the stretch run. But then it all went downhill.
Here’s what happened during my semi-final matchup:
- Ochocinco and Donal Driver had very similar stats and played teams with similar pass defenses. Following the “go with who got you there” mentality, I went with Driver. Result? Similar receiving yards, but Ochocinco had a touchdown and a long run. Difference – about 7 points left on my bench.
- DeAngelo Williams ran for only 13 yards before leaving his game with an injury. On my bench, Marion Barber rushed for two touchdowns. Difference – about 15 points left on my bench.
- Kurt Warner threw a pass backwards to Anquan Boldin for a touchdown. They would later rule it a lateral and rushing td instead of a passing td, so my opponent, who starter Warner, would lose 6 points, increasing my chances.
- But of course, he gets two touchdowns from, of all people Fred Davis and Steve Smith. Sure Smith had a lot of yards this season, but he only had 7 td’s, one of those being the week I played him. And Fred Smith?! C’mon!
In the end, after subtracting the Warner touchdown, I lost by only six points. It was heartbreaking. What made it worse is the fact that in the following finals week, my points total in the third place game would’ve been enough to win it all had I advanced. But that’s the way fantasy football goes. You can have the highest scoring players at every position, but when the end of the season is near, and teams are resting up for the playoffs, you can watch your guys go scoreless while backups like Fred Davis go wild. Bring on next season.