Friday Night Update: Enjoy(ed) the Season

Gentlemen,

Monday was Christmas Eve. Tuesday was Christmas. I was in Iowa for the majority of this week, and haven't seen a day of work since Dec 20. All of these things contributed to the reason there hasn't been a meaningful post in about a week and a half.

And in that time, our FF season has ended.

Let's just get the obvious out of the way: I win. Back-to-back championships for yours truly. Life is good.

I don't know exactly what the proper response should be. I'm incredibly elated, but I also want to remain humble. I don't want to pull a Red Sox fan and become an obnoxious, arrogant dick, but I also don't want to downplay the significance of winning this...because as you all know, I care way too much about this stuff. And I know for many of you, winning would be a very big deal. And to act like it isn't is just as annoying.

So, what I'm going to do throughout the rest of the post is just slip in various visual representations of how good it feels to be the Champ. Starting now:

Championship Recap
This is almost a week old now, but just so we put a bow on this whole thing, let's review:

Jerks vs. Coconuts

• The week began on Saturday night, and to be honest, it went about as well as I could have hoped. Ryan threw four TD's, one to Julio, while Michael Turner continued to do what he did all year: suck. 
• The Falcons actually got down to the 1-yard line and I figured Turner would get his typical Jewish TD to save his fantasy day, as he had so many times this season, but instead Ryan threw on 1st Down to some no-name TE for his 4th TD. 
• It was that sequence that lead to the following text messages from Juan:
• "Matt Ryan can suck my dick!"
• "Fucking greedy cock gobbler"
• "I can't wait to watch Atlanta lose in the playoffs because they refuse to have anything resembling a running game."
• So there you go... Coconuts = not an ATL fan.
• Every single one of Juan's players played at Noon on Sunday, which I normally hate when it's my team. I would still have Pitta and Demaryius going during the 3pm games as my last line of defense. 
• Despite a lead of about 37 points after Saturday, Juan slowly and steadily scratched and clawed his way back. 
• Lead by Dez Bryant, who posted the highest point total from a WR this season, Juan actually took the lead temporarily around 3pm on Sunday, as a number of the games went into OT.
• Around the same time, Tennessee scored a garage-time TD, which isn't a big deal for anyone, except for those owning the GB defense, which lost me about 6 points. At that point, Juan took about a 10-point lead.
• Arian Foster did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING all day. It's easy to not really care about this now, but at the time, he was KILLING my fantasy team, when I just needed a normal day from him. Making it harder was how torn I was, as it was the Vikings shutting him down, which was pretty awesome to see.
• CIN-PIT went into OT, and yet I somehow managed to dodge any big game from Dalton and AJ Green. As we look at this now, this was really the biggest difference in the matchup. Juan really got nothing from his QB. And although he didn't have a bad day per se, Green's game had to be disappointing considering how well he played all season.
• Earlier in the week, after I decided to backup Matt Ryan with 3 QB's, he texted me "How come you snatched up all those QB's?" I responded "Because I like them". Truth be told, I wasn't lying - I did like them. I liked them all a lot more than Dalton and Eli, and I didn't want any of them going against me. Russell Wilson especially scared me, after his crazy 1st Half against BUF. Not sure if Juan would have actually picked him up and played him, but if he had, he's be Champion right now and this post would have a much different tone to it. 
• Back to the recap, about 8 minutes after Juan took that lead, AJ Green fumbled and Demaryius Thomas had about 50 yards receiving and a TD on DEN's opening drive, and I took the lead back by about a point. At that point, Juan only had Dez Bryant still playing (in OT) and that game was nearly over. I received this text: "You seem to have a horseshoe up your ass this week". 
• Horseshoe or not, the Noon games ended and I had a narrow lead with 2 guys just beginning their afternoon. After Thomas' big first drive, he didn't do a ton more. Nor did Pitta. Both got about 5 points each from that point on, but it was all just cushion against any potential stat changes. At that point, I had already won.
• Juan sent a concession text at 8:27pm: "Well, congrats. The QB was my Achilles all year and it killed me this week." Don't hang your head, Juan. You have much to be proud of this season.
• Honestly, Juan got a big day from Dez, but didn't get a TD from anyone else other than Colts D. He put up a pretty huge score for a team that didn't get in the end zone. If he had even one more TD, this could have been a lot different. 
• To get so close, to taste a potential championship, and have it taken away from you... I've been there. And it only makes you want it that much more. My guess is Juan comes back next year more motivated, more knowledgeable than he have ever seen him. 
• Congrats to him, to Andy for his 3rd place showing, and especially... to me. Back-to-back, baby.

The Money

So let's talk brass tax. All the money has been awarded. Here is how it all will pay out:

I'll be submitting this through LeagueSafe shortly. 

Be sure to send Whitebread a "thank you" card for his donation. I wonder if he'll report this as charitable giving on his taxes. 

The Champions

I started this league in 2005, so we've just now completed our 8th season. That means there has been 8 champions. Here they are:

2005 - Dick Dallus

2006 - NooShoo Gow

2007 - Bill Fredricks

2008 - Kenny Hana

2009 - Ike Crabs

2010 - Ike Crabs

2011 - Rod Jerks

2012 - Rod Jerks

Merry Christmas, gents

That's it, boys. That's the list. Six different people have won eight total championships. We had five different winners through the first five seasons, yet we've now had two back-to-back winners in the past four seasons. The list of those yet to put their name on the trophy is: Ned, Whitebread, Crapswell, and Coconuts. 

Cracker claims to have won a championship, and he did, but that league was much different and wasn't organized by me. I went back and looked at it, and that league included Thieling, Lunas, Zamzow, Wade, and Weedman. Quite the murderer's row of FF Managers there, Whitebread. 

The Vikings

Well... somehow, someway, we find ourselves here. One win away from the playoffs, controlling our own destiny, at home, against the Pack. If I wasn't a Vikings fan, I would be super excited to watch this game. However, having a stake in this match makes me nervous as hell. 

I, like most, did not see that game against Houston coming. I certainly thought an upset was possible, but I didn't foresee that dominant performance, not on the road against the #1 seed in the AFC. Being just a fan of the team, it was pretty damn awesome to watch.

So now, GB comes to town. And suddenly this game seems even harder than the one we just won. Rodgers always seems to light us up, but even more so in the Dome. And Ponder still hasn't shown anything that inspires much confidence. 

Defense need to continue doing what they're doing. AP needs to keep doing what he's been doing. And Ponder needs to have his best day as a pro. With all of this happening, we have a chance. In a bizarre way, I'd feel more comfortable if this game was in Lambeau. Rodgers is just so damn good indoors.

But let's enjoy it. Most all of us doubted this team all season and they've surprised us more times than not. They looked dead in the water at 6-6, yet here we are, 9-6 and all that stands between us and the postseason is our most hated rival. 

If I can try to not be anxious, this game should be a lot of fun. 

And I don't have to worry about anything fantasy-wise... because I won.

The Gophers

As I've been typing this, the Gophers just gave up 10 points in the last 2 minutes to lose to Texas Tech by 3 in their low level bowl game. Classic Gophers.

I'm not even going to comment. We all saw this coming. And if you didn't, then God bless you for your optimism. 

The basketball team plays Monday against Michigan State. That game matters a hell of a lot more than this collapse I just watched. Tune in and let's hope the karma doesn't carry over.

#Fuck

Team Names

I'm not going to do a poll for the four of us that actually participated. All I'm going to say is this:

As Crapswell points out, the time is NOW to change your team name for whatever you want it to be in the historical records. You can certainly leave it as Eli Manning or Highway Construction, if you wish, but now is the time to log something a little funnier, if you wish. 

If you refuse, I really don't care. I've already changed mine to Back-to-Back Champ.

Playoff FF

I'll be organizing the usual Playoff FF tournament, for those interested (P.S. You all better be interested). We can do the standard version we always do, or we can actually do a playoff draft if you'd like. I can organize either way, but let me know where the interest lies.

For now, just enjoy watching a week of football as a fan, and nothing more. It's a good week to be one.

The Rest

Gents, it's been a fun season. As I've lamented on previous posts, regardless of the outcome, it's always a sad day when this league ends. 

It's also been a tiring season...at least for me. Going through this for the first time as a dad, I have a newfound respect and understanding for all the parents out there. Finding any time to just watch football is difficult, and that doesn't even touch on the blog. And next year, I'll be a grad student, on top of a dad, and corporate stooge.

I worked many late nights and over some busy workdays to make sure I got the weekly updates out to y'all. Some may call that stupid. Others may call it dedication. Either way, I'm calling it enough. 

Trust me, this isn't some guilt trip to try and get everyone to comment more (although that would be nice). No, I'm just relieving myself of blogging duties. This doesn't mean there still won't be Monday Updates next year. I'm sure there will be. But they won't be every week, and they won't be very long. 

Honestly, they'll probably look a lot different, and maybe it will become a bunch of mini-posts rather than one big one. I don't know. We'll see what happens.

And I think this is a good thing for a number of reasons, the biggest one being my proposed use of the blog as we move forward: it's yours. I've captained this ship on my own for long enough. I'll still be posting here and there because I won't be able to cut the cord, but I've decided you all should be able to as well.

As of now, I'm providing author rights to everyone (or as soon as I can figure out how to do so). You guys are actually funny, and even if you aren't, we'll let you know and that will be funny. 

I'm hoping that by doing this, the blog will become more of a destination, and not just on Mondays. I know it will be one of my frequent stops to see what old picture Crapswell is posting, or what Twins prospects Whitebread is musing over, or reviewing the Final Gow Mock Draft in April . I don't think the blog as to be restricted to just FF, and I hope it isn't. I see it more as an extension of the MNF conversations that everyone is not always able to attend. I see it as a way for us all to communicate, interact, and stay in touch even more.

Anyway, it's been a fun ride and I'm genuinely looking forward to see where you all take Bottball to in the future. Have fun, don't be shy, and let's support each other. 

Look at it this way... since I started writing the blog, I've only known FF Championships. Someone else should get the blogging karma on their side.

I want to thank you all for a great season. It's been fun and I can't wait until August. 

And with that... I'll be Gangnam Styling my way down the road. #Championship