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Devin & I started a fantasy football league through ESPN back in 2001. Joey's league had ended after the 1999 season and I still hadn't gathered everyone to begin the UDFFL. It was a cool Sunday morning on November 4th, 2001. My team, the "Alabama Exit Wounds" was taking on Devin's that particular week, and I wanted to make sure I came away with the victory since we didn't know anyone else in the league.
While rummaging through the free agent pool, I saw the great white hype: Joe Jurevicius. Quite possibly the best mediocre white receiver since Drew Bennett.
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Rather than play it safe, I decided to take a chance. Jurevicius only had one touchdown through the first seven weeks of the season, but I was feeling lucky! I grabbed him off the wire just minutes before kick-off and threw him into my starting lineup.
Wouldn't you know it? He went on to get two touchdowns. The only touchdowns he would catch for the rest of the season. If memory serves, Devin was aghast at the fact that Jurevicius was the instrument of his destruction.
Ever since that day nearly 15 years ago, I've been enamored with finding that gem of a player who will shine on the one day I pick him up and place him into my lineup.
It was the points earned by that longshot sleeper which keeps me chasing the big score. This must be how gamblers feel when they want to roll the dice one more time, knowing that success is just around the corner.
On Sunday, just before after 12:00PM, I came across Zach Zenner:
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Or as I liked to call him, the second coming of Joe Jurevicus. Seeing as how Matt Forte had been a huge disappointment the previous four weeks, I decided to try my luck once again.
As is the case every time I pull someone out of my lineup at the last second, they outperform all expectations. While the player I substitute manages to have an off day.
Forte's 29 points on my bench, versus the 8 points Zenner earned single-handedly cost me the victory this week.
The moral of the story: Don't trust your last minute judgement, it will only betray you. Congratulations on the win T.