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With the final four teams about to engage in a horrible battle to the death, and all the hate that's risen up among everyone, I can't help but think about the events that led us to this point.
To completely tell the story of our league's origin, we must go back to the very beginning... It all started on a warm summer night in 1998.
Back then, I was just a teenager who had recently completed his first year of community college. In addition to that momentous accomplishment, I also met my first true love. I won't say her name, everyone knows who she was. My summer was spent waking up at 3:00PM, working out, eating dinner, watching the Astros, and then going to my girlfriend's house. She and I would spend the rest of the night together, until she needed to go to sleep for the evening, at which point I'd drive two blocks over to Joey's place on Wallace Ave. We'd drink whatever booze our underage hands could get a hold of, watch documentaries, break into the illegal daycare center nearby, steal the over-sized funballs, barbecue on the grill, and pass out. This cycle repeated itself for the better part of the summer. Until the day came in early-August when my girlfriend and I broke up. To say I didn't let it get me down would be like saying the U.S. shrugged of 9/11. I've never been that depressed before or again. (It's actually the last time I cried while sober: August 9, 1998).
Joey & I still hung out every day, and I could sense he knew that I'd hit rock bottom. That's why I'd like to believe he decided to start his own fantasy football league in an attempt to break me out of my funk. It all began on August 14th when Joey was taking a drag off his smoke in the living room. He said: "So, I'm thinking of starting my own fantasy football league this year. You interested?"
Now this was 1998. The Sabres had just gotten eliminated in the Eastern Conference finals, and the year before, they'd won the Northeast Division title. Long story short, the NHL was all I cared about. Ginny & I would hang out and drink on Saturday nights watching hockey until the last game on CBC ended around 1:00AM. Jim Kelly retired after the 1996 season, so football wasn't a sport I followed or cared about anymore. But out of respect for Joey, and the fact that he's never steered me wrong before, I decided to give it a shot.
The draft was held the first week of September, just before the regular season started. We were in the backyard of Kagles' house. It was me, Joey, Kurt Johnson, Dave Williams, the Quarantillo brothers, and some other people I never met.
Joey told me to bring a magazine so I could draft appropriately. I randomly chose Athlon Sports Fantasy Football Guide. Since it was a new league, we drew cards to determine the order in which we would draft. A nudie deck was used. I got the second overall pick. Brett Favre went #1 overall. I took Barry Sanders with the second pick. Yeah, that's how old I am. Joey went 3rd and took Kordell Stewart, and Terrell Davis went 4th.
The rest of the night was spent in a drunken haze. I got laughed at when I drafted Chris Chandler in the 12th round. Even though my Chandler/Tony Martin combo led me to the playoffs. I lost to Kurt Johnson who had Seattle's defense and a rookie wide receiver named Randy Moss.
In 1999, Joey set up the league again. Same draft format, same location. I took Terrell Owens and Marvin Harrison with my first two picks. Even though it was a running back heavy league, I still did well. But it was all for naught since Joey picked up Kurt Warner off the free agent wire. Joey Slomba, your 1999 Fantasy Football Champion.
In 2000, Joey decided not to renew the league. But it was too late for me to walk away, I'd been bitten by the fantasy football bug. So I started a league on ESPN's website with Devin. I was the Matthew Good Team, and despite having Kurt Warner & Issac Bruce, I finished second. As a result I got absolutely 0 dollars (this was when ESPN charged you to play fantasy football). Getting nothing burned me, but I didn't have enough people to do what Joey did and start my own league, so I took it in stride. I even played on ESPN again in 2001. This time I finished in 3rd place, but I decided that I'd had enough, it was time for the Underdogs Fantasy Football league to begin.
By now you should understand that I had no idea what I was doing. I just decided I wanted to get as many of my friends together as I could, and share with them the joy of competition that can only come from battling against the people you know best.
In the beginning, I went back to Joey's 1998 roots and had everyone put their lineups in by calling me or using AIM to let me know who they were starting. The buy in was only $25, and final score tallies were determined by a computer program that would update on Tuesday mornings (A far cry from the real time scoring system we enjoy today). It might have been outdated, but it was free. It was the first example of my ongoing goal to maximize profits to the league's winner.
I think the best way to describe the 2002 season would be to say it was an Alpha Test. Vic won, but there were no keepers, and there was a complete overhaul once the season ended. The original 12 team league got cut down to 10, Cam & Santos were out. We went to ESPN (Even though we still had to pay for their scoring at the time). But for the most part, the 2003 season is when it all began for us.
We've undergone teams leaving (Derek Wright, Bob Leising, Tim Yaple), and rule changes (adding PPR, changing it to .5 PPR, Interception Rule). Teams being added (Davie & Don) in the expansion year of 2009. Bickering over draft picks. People not paying until after the season has ended.
Now, we stand at a point where we relish in Rock's defeats. Where I was so pissed at Devin this last week for picking up Pitta after Gronkowski got hurt that I wasn't sure I wouldn't want to punch him in the face the next time I saw him. Where Spae had to fight back a near overpowering urge to punch me in the face for the 2008 championship game (and a whole lot of other matchups we've had).
Fantasy football has brought out some of the worst traits in us. So much so that there are a lot of times I've wanted to turn it all in and give up the league altogether.
In short, there are plenty of occasions when I've lost sight as to why I started playing fantasy football in the first place.
But through it all, despite the incredible highs (my 2008 championship), and devastating lows (every year other than 2008). No matter how bad things get, we always need to remember the journey that has brought us to this point. It's one that began with my best friends, and a desire to bring us all closer together. One that I hope will continue until the end of our days. Because the league, much like the our friendships, will always be mired with good times and bad. And at the end of the day, that's what makes the entire experience worthwhile. We cover the entire spectrum of emotions over the course of four months, that most people will never understand in their entire lifetime.
Long live the Underdogs Fantasy Football League!
