Is This The End?
There comes a time in every Fantasy Owners season when they realize everything comes to an end, and it’s time to say goodbye to their beloved fake teams. For some, this moment can’t come soon enough. For example, the owner with the fifth pick in 2013 may have been giddy after leaving the draft with players such as C.J. Spiller, Tom Brady, Jared Cook, Dwayne Bowe, Cecil Shorts, and Maurice Jones Drew. (This was a real lineup by the way) Needless to say, by about Week 7 or so they knew they were done. I am hoping to help the owners who may have had their seasons end already, or that may lose this week in the playoffs cope. So it goes, another one bites the dust.
How Could This Happen to Me?
So what happens when things just don’t go your way? When your team is simply better than its record shows and they narrowly miss the playoffs a few weeks early? Depends on the owner, I suppose. Heck there are some owners who are possibly even clueless that they have a fantasy team to manage, or may need to manage after week 13! You know that guy or gal. They are busy little bees during the draft, and the first few weeks and then all of a sudden “poof” they are suddenly non-existent.
Well, guess what? This is one of those years where you actually are BEHIND this owner in the playoff standings! Even though you are the owner who has everyone in their starting lineup in the top 10 in their positions, and some bench players in the top 15. You are behind the guy who starts Peyton Manning and Jamaal Charles every week, but has a supporting cast of mediocre or disappointing players, essentially a patchwork team.
You are also behind the guy who plays the teams at their season worst each week. You know this team, they are 8-5 and have the second to lowest point totals in the league, but they are in fifth place. They are the owners who had T.Y. Hilton in week 9. The same owners who play teams that average 95+ points the weeks when they happen to score 65 points.
So, Now What?
So how do you handle this? Perhaps you have enough other leagues that one terrible season is just par for the course. You may not care because you have three other championship caliber teams and can shrug the 2013 season off. Or maybe you start prepping for the 2014 Fantasy Baseball season. Or, perhaps you place all of your energy on Daily Fantasy Sports.
Maybe you are the owner who seeks answers. How could this happen to my team? You look at stats, averages, and make your own power rankings to help prove to yourself that your team is not bad…”Well, they just got screwed, it wasn’t your fault! ” Not saying I do this, but I do.
It is not easy being a fantasy loser, and it feels like eternity before you gt another crack at redeeming yourself. It happens, and the worst thing you can do is torture yourself. Spend time with family, Play your new next-gen console, or focus on other things in the Fantasy Sports world. It is one season, and next season will bring even more surprises….and heartbreak. The best thing to do is say good bye. Be courteous to your league-mates, and wish them luck.
A Fantasy Team Eulogy
So this leaves me with no choice but to say goodbye to one of my own teams. A team that on paper could’ve been so much more if only their season hadn’t been cut tragically short. They were a team that smiled upon each adversary, and always looked on the bright side no matter how dire the ESPN projections. They were a cohesive unit that had players willing to step into battle during the bye weeks or simply to replace an injured player.
I can’t lie and say this team was always positive. Nor were they always on top of their game. Sometimes they were a little boisterous, or outspoken. What they were though, was a team that respected everyone, aspired to be the best, helped others along the way, and simply never quit. That’s why they lost the most games of any team in the league by five or fewer points. They also scored fifth most in the league. Does it matter? No. Not anymore.
What we do know, is this team will not be forgotten. They did enough to be immortalized, and it is my job to remember them too.
Please, take a minute and say goodbye with me…
Team: I Touchdown There/House Lannister (4-9)
August 2013-November 24th 2013
Starters: Tony Romo, Alfred Morris, Brandon Marshall, Pierre Garcon, Jason Witten, Chris Johnson
Bench: Stevan Ridley, Gio Bernard, Torrey Smith, Golden Tate, Shane Vereen, Rob Housler, Josh McCown
You will be missed. You all left me with so many moments of jubilation, but also plenty of frustration this season. I will never forget you…..until, well, until the 2014 drafts, but I will think about you every day until then.
Until Next Time
Chris is a newly anointed FSWA member. He enjoys not only writing about Fantasy Sports, but also answering your questions as well, so send them on over. You can reach him on Twitter @fantsychillpony. He spends the rest of his free time with his family, a wife and 2 beautiful daughters. How they tolerate his addiction to fantasy is still a mystery.
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