Fantasy Football, for the uneducated, is a relatively simple game. You and anywere from 9 to 13 of your friends take turns “drafting” NFL players. Each week, you play one of your friends’ teams head-to-head. You score points based on your draftees’ performance: Brett Farve is on your team, and he throws a touchdown pass? That’s 3 points for you. Farve thows an interception? You lose 2.
In short, fantasy football changes the way you watch the game. Forever. When you’re watching a game on TV, the most important thing on the screen isn’t the action, it’s the ticker. (Washington just scored a touchdown? Was it my running back?)
This has been my 10th year of fantasy football. I’ve been incredibly fortunate (as I like to put it, “better than everyone else”) over that stretch. I’ve won the league 3 times, and have been in the fantasy superbowl another 2 times. I consider myself an avid football fan, and a well informed one at that. That said, this has been the most frustrating season yet.
Last December kicked off what has come to be known as “The Year Of Buchs”, recently retitled as “The Fiscal Year of Buchs”. I had just completed a romp through the football season, culminating in a tremendous victory in our super bowl. That was followed up by various other triumphs, including my stunning Mr. Risk championship, the purchase of a luxury condominimum, the announcement of my pending wedding, and the launch of my own business.
Sadly, my 12-month reign as king of the world appears to be coming to an end. Unless Javon Walker were to have a big game tonight against the Rams, I’ll go down in league history as having scored the least amount of points in one week. And, to make matters worse, I put up this stinkeroo of a game against my arch-nemesis, The Chuck. This humiliating loss will put my squad at 4-8 for the season, well out of the playoff race.
I believe that in order to have a successful fantasy football team, you need 4 things to happen.
# Your top draft picks must perform at the level that they were taken. If you took the 2nd quarterback off the board, he’d better end the season in the top 3.
# You need a player you took in the mid to late rounds of the draft to have a breakout season.
# You need to make good pickups during the season, and potentially make a good trade or 2.
# You need to avoid any costly injuries to your starting lineup. It’s OK if you were to lose a 3rd wideout, or backup tight end, but if one of your running backs, or top wide receivers go down, you’re in trouble.
As for my fortunes this season, I can pin it on these specific events:
# Clinton Portis and Matt Hasslebeck (1st and 3rd rounds) were busts. Not just “oh, not a great year”, they were horrible.
# I scored big with Javon Walker. I think he was a 7th round pick for me, and he’s been in the top 3 receivers for most of the year. The kind of shrewd move that has put me over the top more than once.
# I *thought* that I made a blockbuster trade back in week 4, giving up Corey Dillon (2nd round pick) and Deion Branch (6th round pick) for Jamal Lewis (#5 pick overall) and Peter Warrick…
# …Until Lewis was suspended by the league for pleading out a drug trafficking charge. Then, upon his return, stinking it up for 3 games before snapping an ankle. Perhaps the worst thing that’s happened to me since my kicker was deported back in 1989 (Donald Igwebueke, anyone?).
So, join me in a farewell to The Year Of Buchs. I hope you all look back on it as fondly as I do.
Comments
2 Comments
Good bye, The Year Of Buchs…and good riddance.
Posted November 29, 2004 at 3:54 pm by chuck .
Oh, I forgot to mention the apex of the Year Of Buchs - Mr Risk weekend in Chicago - also included me very nearly drowning Dan in my wake. That event led to what may have been part of my decline, the infamous Crab Eating Championship of the world, which I lost.
Posted November 29, 2004 at 4:03 pm by Bryan Buchs .