Yes, I’m proud to say that I am a fantasy football nut. Unlike most of the “Johnny Come Lately’s”, I’ve been playing fantasy football for 12 years now and have been a proud member of SAFFA (the Sunday Afternoon Fantasy Football Association) for a decade. In fact, I’ve gone from lowly league member to web-site administrator and co-commissioner along with co-founders Johnny Gold and Mister Nascar as children, wives and careers have slowly eroded their free time.
Our draft day is always one of my top five sports days of the year. It’s right up there with Eagles’ opening day, the opening night of the Flyers’ playoffs, Rutgers’ Homecoming and the first Friday of the NCAA Basketball Tourney. Since my team is the defending two-time champion, I was especially looking forward to this day. I’m happy to report that despite some last minute schedule wrangling, this year’s draft did not disappoint.
I knew we were in for an interesting afternoon when long time league member Da Fuzz (One of South Jersey’s Finest) showed up dressed up like a pirate with a bandana tied around his head and sporting a boy band quality goatee. He came right up to me and my team co-owner, Vinny Prefontaine, and announced, “I’m taking new supplements to help me gain weight, but they are making me fly off the handle real easily. I advise you not to get on my bad side today.” I decided right then and there that I would make sure to really emphasize how good his picks were. I don’t need any extra heat from Da Fuzz.
Other highlights:
-One guy picked a defense and kicker with his back to back “double banger” selection in the sixth and seventh rounds. This was quickly followed by co-commissioner Mister Nascar telling the guy every round until the tenth that “I just want to point out that no previous champion has selected a defense or kicker yet.” I got a bigger laugh when entering this guy’s line up into the web site and noticed that he drafted only one quarterback, Chris Simms, in the next to last round.
-Normally, the Captain’s Adult ADD sets in about the fourth round and he starts mailing in his picks, but since he pulled the #1 pick, he stayed with us until the ninth round when he reached for Brandon Lloyd. Surprisingly, he waited until the 11th round to pick his first Eagle, David Akers.
-Nute showed up with an “overrated/underrated” list, which he protected like it contained nuclear missle launch codes. I got a chuckle every time he announced, “Hey, nice pick. I had him on my overrated list”. I guess you just have to know Nute. This is the same guy that sits next to me at most drafts and asks either “which position does that guy play?” or “what team is he on?”
-The ever loyal Johnny Gold pouted for most of the middle rounds after losing his boy Culpepper to Mikey Whispers in the 3rd round, but he recovered nicely by drafting Carson Palmer in the 4th. He also regaled us with the story of how Matt Hasselbeck’s mother forced an entire film crew to refer to him as “Matthew” during a photo shoot. More evidence of why I hate people from B.C.
Surprisingly, I really love my roster. In comparison, I hated my draft the last two years when I won the title. I hope that's not a bad omen.
I won’t bore you with everone’s entire roster, but here was our first round: 1. Larry Johnson – The Captain, 2. Shaun Alexander – Da Fuzz, 3. Peyton Manning – Big Daddy Chad, 4. LaDanian Tomlinson – Yours Truly, 5. Tiki Barber – Barry 6. Steven Jackson – Mister Nascar, 7. Ronnie Brown – Brian, 8. Rudi Johnson – Johnny Gold, 9. Cadillac - Mikey Whispers, 10. The Edge - Nute, 11. Dr. I Don’t Know (aka Clinton Portis) – The New Guy, and 12. Lamont Jordan - Snaxx.
(Ok, I know...one post after I promised to keep them short, I go on for more than a page...Sorry!)
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