Boy was I wrong.
I thought it would be fun to have a fantasy football league. So eight of us signed up at ESPN with a small amount of difficulty and awaited the beginning of the season.
And it all went downhill from there.
I am the league manager. Not because I really wanted to be but because I took the time to set-up the league.
Before week one I was already being accused of “rigging” the game by Kris. Yet this league owner cannot pinpoint exactly what is wrong with the set-up. My husband was trying to be sneaky and stack his team with QBs since they score more points. He didn’t realize that you could only have one QB per active team.
Then came game one and a small Steelers party at our house. While most everyone was rooting for Mendenhall in overtime, Seth was yelling for him to stop short of the goal line. Jeff Reed is his kicker and he wanted the extra fantasy points.
Kris is still accusing me of rigging the game.
My dad is 0-3. And he is as horrible as a loser as he is a winner. Every week he whines. I should have played him … I should have dropped him. I just hope he wins at some point. Preferably before I have to play him.
At breakfast last Sunday he informed me that he looked up the Houston Chronicle to see what local sports writers were saying about one of his players. He also started listening to the Sirius fantasy football channel. And yet he still loses.
This week was especially hard for my dad because he lost to my co-worker Katie who, in all honesty, has no clue about fantasy football.
Katie cannot remember her login information. It took her a few weeks to remember Brett Farve was her QB. She forgot to make any adjustments before the draft.
Kris thinks the game is rigged.
Last Sunday I was sleeping when by phone went off. Seth secured his fantasy victory with Brandon Marshall. All week he has declared Marshall is his favorite player. (Don’t worry paper towel abuser, he will come back around).
At least there is Larry. He will probably win the entire league since his bench scores more points than my active roster. When I pointed out to him that he handed me my first loss this week he was surprised — he had thought I won.
Kris continues to accuse me of rigging the game.
But the icing on the cake is when I told Seth I was writing this blog today he changed our nice lunch conversation to “waivers went off. I wonder who I got in waivers.”
So at the end of the day my dad is still losing, Seth’s alliances depend on his fantasy roster, “Team Tap Out” still thinks it is rigged, Larry is still dominating and Katie is has no clue what is going on.
Oh I forgot about the Daniels couple. I am not sure if they even remember they are in the league.
And yes Kris is still accusing me of rigging the game.
So now I need to figure out what to do about my injured group of RBs and figure out if I should still hang on to Reggie Bush just in case he comes back this season. If I release him someone may pick him up and hold him. But with a broken leg will he even be 100 percent?
I’ll admit I am a bit of a monster too.
(I welcome any comments, suggestions and criticism at michelleg@dailyamerican.com)
Archive for September, 2010
The monsters we create
Thursday, September 30th, 2010Passing on the curse
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010Did Drew Brees symbolically hand off the Madden Curse to Reggie Bush?
In Monday night’s matchup against the 49ers Bush suffered a right leg injury during a punt return in the fourth quarter. Several media outlets have said the severity is anywhere from a fractured fibula to a broken leg. All report the star running back will be out at least six weeks.
This has not been a good week for Bush. Earlier last week he gave back his Heisman Trophy surrounded by a cloud of controversy. According to published reports the NCAA said Bush should have been ineligible for the 2005 season because he received improper benefits from sports marketing agents.
While his eligibility was in question no one can question Bush’s talent. Scoring the first touchdown of the game in a beautiful pass from Brees quickly reminded football fans of that.
Then in the fourth quarter the party since the 2010 Super Bowl stopped in New Orleans when Bush went down for the count.
As I pointed out in my last blog post tradition was not on the side of Brees who appeared on the latest cover. Could Brees’ fate be to lose one of his targets?
Only time will tell — now I need to get back and reconfigure my fantasy roster.
(I welcome any comments, suggestions and criticism at michelleg@dailyamerican.com)
Will the curse continue?
Thursday, September 9th, 2010Tonight is the NFC rematch between the Vikings and Saints. Sportscasters have been talking about the match-up all week.
While a rematch makes headlines I am a bit more curious about Drew Brees.
The quarterback is featured on the newest Madden football game cover. The myth is if you are on the cover of the game you will either get injured or have a bad season.
I’ll be honest, I made sure Drew Brees was at the bottom of the list for my fantasy picks.
Up until 1999 John Madden was featured on the cover. In 1999 RB Garrison Heart was on the cover, then broke his ankle missing two full seasons.
In 2000 Barry Sanders announced his retirement right before training camp, after being chosen for the cover. Then EA released a cover featuring Dorsey Levens who missed the playoffs after injuring his knee. He never started again.
It seemed the curse turned around in 2001 when Eddie George had a great season. But he bobbled an easy pass in a playoff game against the Ravens. Some say it cost the Titans a super bowl spot.
There was a time that Dante Culpepper was a MVP quarterback. He earned the cover spot in 2002 then led the Vikings to a 4 and 7 record before a season-ending injury.
Marshall Faulk helped the Rams win two super bowls in three years. (Depending on your opinion of New England-gate he should have won three) While he was not out for the season he did have an ankle injury in 2003.
While I cannot mention the next player by name because of a deep-rooted hatred the 2004 quarterback picked to appear on the cover broke his leg in the pre-season and played five games that year. Oh and he also got arrested for dog fighting.
Ray Lewis did not catch a single interception after appearing on the cover in 2005. The Ravens failed to make the playoffs and Lewis’ season ended with a torn hamstring.
Donovan McNabb injured his groin in the first game of the 2006 season. After playing eight more games he further injured his groin, requiring surgery.
After facing my Steelers in the super bowl Shaun Alexander and his smile graced the 2007 cover. Then he broke his foot and missed six games.
QB Vince Young not only sustained two injuries after gracing the 2008 cover, but then he lost his starting job to Kerry Collins.
Since Brett Farve was supposed to retire the Madden curse should have been broken in 2009. But Farve came back and played for the Jets, tore a bicep, and finished the season with two touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Jets watched the playoffs from home.
My heart stopped when I saw Troy Polamalu would share the 2010 cover with Larry Fitzgerald. I was hoping Fitzgerald would suffer from the curse. But no. In the season opener Polamalu sprained his MCL, missed four games. Then he came back and was injured again. Fitzgerald had a good year until a rib injury forced him out of the playoffs.
So Drew Brees be careful because you never know when the Madden curse will strike.
And to the member of my fantasy league that picked Brees — GOOD LUCK.
(I welcome any comments, suggestions and criticism at michelleg@dailyamerican.com)