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Fantasy Football is Evil

September 6, 2010 in Uncategorized

Fantasy football hatI admit it. I used to do it too.   Regardless, I still feel the need to complain and vent about it.  Maybe reading about it will help you stop doing it too.

What is this guy talking about?  Fantasy football of course.  Read on and you will understand my frustration.

I am driving home from an evening BBQ on Saturday and the local sports station is on the car radio.  The topic of conversation for the evening is comparing the NFL at the game experience to the stay at home experience.  If you’re a reader of this blog you already know that there really is no competition between the two.  The at the game experience is better (yes, I am fully aware of my bias here!).

The argument for the stay at home experience from many of the callers focused on the ability of a fan to watch multiple games at once from home.  If you are at the stadium you are limited to the game on the field, with only scoring updates for the day’s other games being flashed throughout the stadium.  Yes this is true, but if you are a die hard fan of the home (favorite) team who gives a crap about the other teams?!?

As a football fan, 100% of your attention, passion, and energy should be put towards cheering on the home team, booing their poor play, or letting the opposition know that that there is a 12th man on the field that day!

Scoring updates at the stadium should be enough for a fan.  From the scores you will know if your team is gaining ground in the division and play-off positioning.  But if you are into fantasy football, scores aren’t enough.  You need player by player updates for each team.

And you know what those player by player updates are doing to you?  They are ruining your fandom, your allegiance to your favorite team.  All of a sudden you are rooting for players on your enemy teams to do well at the expense of screwing over your favorite team’s division standing.

Honestly, what is the point of buying and then wearing the jersey of your favorite team’s player on Sundays if you are secretly rooting for another team’s player to do better that week so you can win your fantasy football match-up?  Case in point, my buddy is a die hard Eagles fan (well at least I thought he was) yet he will be rooting for the Dallas Cowboys Defense and Chris Cooley of the Redskins this season because each are on his fantasy team!  This is so wrong for so many reasons!

While at the game you should be enjoying watching the plays develop and catching the on the field angles and emotions that TV cameras just can’t capture.  You shouldn’t be constantly checking your cell phone for fantasy updates.  Your Monday morning should be great or super sucky based on the performance of your favorite NFL team not the performance of your fantasy team.  Your time at work should be spent searching for new grilling and drinking recipes, not searching the fantasy waiver wire (and of course not working as well).

I could go on and on, but since it’s still the holiday weekend (and the local liquor store opens again at 10am) I will end the venting here.  Oh yeah, the No. 1 reason why the at the game experience is better…tailgating (well as long as you aren’t ruining the tailgate by talking about your fantasy team)!

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Win A ‘Fan Cave’ By Playing Rush for 2K Yards Challenge

September 5, 2010 in Uncategorized

Johnsonville rush for 2k logoJohnsonville Sausage has been a tremendous supporter of tailgating and the tailgate party lifestyle. So it is natural that they would come up with a giveaway and contest that tailgaters are most assuredly going to like. Johnsonville recently rolled out their “Rush for 2,000 Yards Challenge” fantasy football game. The grand prize winner will receive a $4,000 gift card to help put together the “Ultimate Fan Cave”. Think Man Cave that would make the sports book at Cesar’s Palace jealous. Weekly winners will receive an official NFL pro football jersey from their favorite team. Here is how the contest works.

First you need to register at rushfor2000challenge.com. Next you’ll select an NFL running back each week based on how many yard you think that runner will gain in that week’s game. The catch is you can not select the same running back twice in a season so be wise with your choices. The more yards your running back gains that week, the more points you earn. Select the best combination of running backs over the course of the year and you win the grand prize.

I’ve played in these similar types of contests and here is some unsolicited advice that I have learned over the years.

  1. Don’t “save” the stud running backs for games and match-ups that seem favorable later in the season. Sometimes running backs get hurt early in the season and the guy you may have been sitting on and waiting for later in the year may not even be playing and is out with a high ankle sprain.
  2. A little research goes a long way. Try to find those running backs who traditionally have big games against a particular opponent. A great example would be LaDanian Tomlinson back in his prime while playing for the San Diego Chargers. Stats prove out that LT typically loved playing the Oakland Raiders and would routinely gain over 100 yards when playing them. In 2007 LT went off against the Raiders for 198 yards rushing and in 2003 torched the Raiders for 243 yards on the ground.
  3. Make sure to choose runners that get a large percentage of carries because it is yardage that counts. Many fantasy players will think scoring touchdowns will help their point totals but in this game they do not. So selecting that goal line runner that punches it in from three yards out will not be helpful in this contest.

For the straight skinny on how to play Johnsonville’s Rush for 2,000 Challenge, visit their Official Rules page. To get started, just visit rushfor2000challenge.com.

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This Guy’s Perfect Vacation

September 3, 2010 in Uncategorized

Is my GREAT mood due to having another holiday weekend upon us?!?  Maybe, but not really.  If you are an avid visitor of this site you no doubt know the true reason behind this fan’s excitement!

The NFL season is here once again!  Nothing better my friends.  And in the spirit of the upcoming season I thought I would share a recent work experience with you.  And in the spirit of the holiday weekend I promise to keep it short…it’s a 3 day weekend, so you shouldn’t be sitting in front of the computer (save that for next Tuesday!).

With the economy still being in the crapper my disposable income is still limited.  Having less money means a spring and summer with limited or no vacations.  The end result means it’s almost fall and I have a few too many PTO days left to burn through before the end of the year (yes, I am aware that this is a nice problem to have).  So during lunch a few weeks back I did some much needed planning and requesting of days off.  If the company is giving me the days there is no way in hell I am giving them back, unused at the end of year!

When all of the off days were planned out I submitted the time off request form to my boss.  Let’s just say that my boss was more than a little surprised with my selection of days off.

Instead of requesting a full week(s) off, my days were all over the map.  Some Fridays, some Mondays, and even a few Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  The method to the madness?  Simple, everything was based around the upcoming Eagles schedule (and some other big ticket games).  I looked at the NFL schedule and then thought about my expected game watching and tailgating experience.  The factors included, but certainly not limited to, the weather, what I would expect to be on the tailgating menu, that week’s opponent, and who I would be tailgating with.

Each 1 o’clock  kick-off home game resulted in requesting the following Monday morning off.  A 4 o’clock kick-off meant requesting the entire Monday off.  As a fellow tailgater you know that the post game tailgate has to be as much fun as the pre-game tailgate.  No rushing to go home directly after the game!

A Sunday evening, prime time game meant requesting Monday and part of Tuesday off.  A late kick-off means a late game ending and then a late post game tailgate ending.  And since my sleep on Monday is going to be all screwed up I will need at least part of Tuesday to get the body going again.  The same rules apply for a Monday night game, just substitute Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

I tried to explain my rationale to my boss but in the end it just confused him even more.  Let’s just say he isn’t the most manly of the men.  His Monday morning stories involve wine tastings and dinners with the wife.  But I didn’t care.  The boss should feel lucky that I didn’t inform him of the time that I am going to need throughout the week to surf the fantasy waiver wire, make fantasy trades and updates to the roster, and surf the web for new grilling recipes.

So even with limited “traveling” vacations this year this guy is still getting the most out of his vacation days.  I will be out of the office and enjoying some of my greatest pleasures…eating too much, drinking too much, and becoming way to obsessed with the play of the NFL home team!

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend.  And please remember to rest up, you have a lot of football and tailgating in your VERY near future!

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