Is the Fantasy ruining Football?

I am a fan of Fantasy Football.  You could say that I am a junkie, in fact.  It is fun; it helps friends keep in touch; and it spreads interest of the most popular sport in the United States of America.

So why is it that I’m wondering if Fantasy Football is detrimental to the game?

I started off back in 2000 playing in one league.  I still play in that one (one of the only ways I’m still in touch with those old, dear friends), but along the way I’ve started playing in more and more.  I think that last year was the worst, when I was in 6 fantasy leagues (2 for money).

I’ve won some, I’ve lost some miserably…but it is always the same: at the beginning I am so gung-ho about it.  I can’t get enough….I am so eager for football to begin that the idea of talking about it and drafting players is like crack for me.  But…by the end of the season, even if I’m winning, I seem to lose interest.  The love of the actual game slowly replaces the love of my personal game as the year goes on.

I have wondered this for the past couple years, but it is more in the forefront of my thoughts after “The Play.”

You fantasy fans know what I am talking about: Brian Westbrook; Jon Runyon; 1-yard line….

Incredible football play.  Smart.  Head’s up.  Solid football.

But is that great move being praised?  No.  All I’ve heard about it is “OOooooo….dat Westbrook jus’ cos me da champyonship!” and similar cries from people who are horrified by the fact that a PROFESSIONAL football player would do something to ensure his team a win, rather than pad his own stats.  I’ve read utterly ridiculous tripe such as “Jon Runyon is probably going against Westbrook in his own fantasy football league!”

Do people really….really believe that crap?

I’ve read on more than one website, and heard on more than one radio broadcast, people stating that Westbrook was foolish to do what he did because: “that would have put them up by two scores…and instead he put them in the position to funble the snap!!!!”  Are you kidding me????

Westbrook, in taking the down, ensured that his team could win by kneeling.  He took time away from the Boys and there was nothing that they could do about it.  It was smart, and he should be praised for that.  Jon Runyon should be praised for his situational awareness and clock management.

So why is it that we’re still hearing whiners talking about how Westbrook cost them their season?

We’re taking Fantasy Football too seriously.  It is supposed to be fun.  It is supposed to enhance the game.  If you are depending on it as a source of income, then perhaps that time and energy can be better spent elsewhere.  I, for one, am tired of trying to keep track of who I have on which team and who I am facing that week…and if I have that player I’m facing on my own team in league X…..oy vey…

I don’t want to sound like I’m bagging on Fantasy Football.  It is what brought me back to the NFL after Bud Adams and the Oilers lied their dirty, sleazy, no-good asses out of town.  Before I was talked into taking the last team slot in my buddy’s league, I was done with the NFL.  It got me back in after that disgraceful episode, and kept my interest til Houston got a new team and then beyond.  I just don’t want to become one of these guys who are damning Brian Westbrook for smart football because it may have cost me some points.

Super-Mario’s World

Could it be?  Have the Haters begun to come around?

For the past two+ years in Houston you could not go 5 minutes without hearing the name Vince Young, or to a lesser degree, Reggie Bush.  I know – I was a big-time Bush-backer heading into the 2006 draft.  I thought that he was the only option and was annoyed at no end by the Youngsters.

The Youngsters, of course, are the rabid Vince Young fans who think that the Texans passing on him was a greater affront to Houston Sports Fandom than Bud Adams lying his way out of town.  These are the people who would call into radio shows saying that we needed to draft VY, hire Mack Brown as coach and trade Chicago for Cedric Benson.  These are the people who are convinced that, if given the chance, Vince Young could cure cancer, bring peace to the Middle East and fix the holes in the Ozone layer.  Let me be clear – I have nothing against Vince Young: he seems like a stand-up guy and someone who truly loves the game; but man…his fans, the Youngsters, are flat-out awful.

For too long, the Youngsters have included many elite members of the Houston Sports Media (fourth largest city…one major paper).  Guys like Richard Justice who today has inexplicably come out stating his support for the Texans selection of Mario over the Messiah.  Here’s a blog entry from Lance Zierlein on the topic as well:

http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootball/2007/12/mario_williams_is_winning_roun_1.html

I am glad that guys like Zierlein are giving Williams the respect he’s earned this season; and I’m absolutely baffled that Richard Justice has backed away from the Vince Bandwagon long enough to admit that perhaps he was wrong about the guy.  My big fear is that this kind of acceptance may be detrimental to Mario’s development, tho.  I think that the big fella needs that fire to always burn; to feel the neverending need to prove that he was the correct player taken.  Fortunately, in the land of the Youngsters he will always have enough detractors to provide him with that kindling.

In our brief history there hasn’t been a lot to get excited about; but this young defense is something that all Texans fans and the NFL at large should take note of.  Mario, DeMeco Ryans, Dunta Robinson, Amobi Okoye, Fred Bennett, a revitalized Travis Johnson…all young, all hungry and all ready to step up.  Or at least that is what we’re hoping.

Great blog, as usual by Zierlein; and it is wonderful to have Justice taking a look around Super-Mario’s World.  I really hope that VY and Reggie have long, productive careers (when they aren’t playing Houston, that is); but I think that Mario will eventually be accepted by all but the most die-hard Youngsters as the correct pick.

We are Puppets and the NFL is our Master

Tonight the Packers and the Cowboys are playing, and I, like many people, cannot watch it because my cable provider does not include the NFL Network in it’s basic package…and I (despite loving football) have no desire to pay for the Sports Package.

Why, oh why are the awful, awful Cable Providers doing this to the poor fans???

 Well, that is what the NFL wants you to ask.  You see, the NFL is fighting with these service providers, and they want to use us, the fans, as their weapon. 

The NFL wants their NFL Network to get the same rates as the highest-rated cable networks, such as TNT, USA or the Discovery Channel…even tho those networks provide hundreds of hours of original programming…and the NFL provides 8 games per season.

Yes, they have other stuff, but only the most die-hard NFL fans would care about it.  I love my Texans; I go to some games; I watch every game on TV; I currently have 4 fantasy football teams; but man…even I don’t care about most of the “in-depth” programming and commentary for the other 48 weeks of the year.  I don’t want to watch the Combine, and I get my fill of draft talk on ESPN and sports radio.

The NFL approaches this as if they have all of the cards, even when they know that they have a weak hand.  They pull these 8 games each year in order to get fans angry about not being able to see the games.  They want angry fans to call their cable providers and demand that the NFL Network be added to basic service, and that the providers capitulate to all of the NFL’s demands.  They don’t have the product to back their demands up…so they want the anger of the cable subscribers.  They want the phonelines of Comcast, Cox, Time-Warner and every other major provider jammed tonight and tomorrow by angry fans who are threatening to leave for the greener pastures of DirectTV or Dish Network.

And you know what?  I bet that it is working like a charm.  They are pulling our (I’m a fan, I am part of this, too) strings and we are dancing for our masters.  The Capitalist in me admires the hell out of the NFL for taking such a ballsy stance against these Cable Providers; playing the kind of hardball that would make Chris Matthews curl up into a ball of insane jealousy.  The fan in me, tho, is pissed about missing this game and does not appreciate how the NFL tries to play it off as “They’re the white hats, and the Cable guys are the villains.”

 Bottom line?  I’m annoyed right now, but by tomorrow I’ll be over it, and by Sunday I’ll be in front of the Tube watching my Texans take on the hated Titans and whatever other games are on.  The NFL won’t be getting me to call on their behalf tonight, but I’m sure that they won’t miss me much, seeing as how I probably wouldn’t be able to get through anyway.

 Talk about a goal-line stand!

Houston, Sports and Me

Well, I just finished watching tonights Houston Rockets-Phoenix Suns game.  This is one of the best games I have seen from this team of Rockets under the Adelman regime.  I felt as if we took a trip back in time watching Steve Francis on a couple plays; but the flashy plays were not what impressed me, instead it was his approach to the game while he was in there.  He was out there just to play – it was not about him, it was about doing what it takes to win the game, and that makes me incredibly happy and hopeful for the future of this team.

We had another good outing by Luis Scola, who along with Bonzi Wells, Dikembe Mutumbo and Steve Francis are making this a team with a bench to be reckoned with.  Shane Battier continues to be Mr. Glue, and Chuck Hayes continues to be the most under-appreciated man manning the PF spot in basketball.  Rafer Alston rose to the occassion as well, and I have to think that Francis’ play helped in some way.  We need solid competition between Alston, Francis and Mike James in order to maximize our potential at that spot.

All that said – we will only go as far as Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady will take us.  It felt good to get that win on the road against Phoenix, but we are still only a couple games removed from that shameful 6-game losing skid and there is a long, long season ahead of us.  Keep feeding the ball to the Big Man and ride that pony to the end!

I guess that you could say that I am a sucker for pain and disappointment, not only being a Rockets fan, but also a die-hard Texans and Astros fan.  Yes, they all break my heart, but they’re my teams, dammit!  I am one of the rare Houstonians who liked the Mario Williams selection, and still think that it was the best way to go.  Leading up to the draft I was all about Bush, but once Mario was ours that was it for me.  I cannot stand the Youngsters around town, who still haven’t gotten over the fact that the franchise passed on that guy who played a good Rose Bowl at UT.  GET OVER IT!!!  I like the direction this team is heading in, but there are so many weaknesses that still need to be addressed, mostly dealing with depth and the RB position.  Don’t get me wrong – I love the Dayne Train, but we have got to look ahead past next season.  I am hoping against hope that a player like Mike Hall or Felix Jones will be available to us in this draft.

As for my beloved Astros…I just don’t know what to think right now.  It was weird enough to watch them without Jeff Bagwell; but to watch them now without Craig Biggio as well is just going to be too strange.  Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Dah, life goes on…and so do sports.  I always knew that they wouldn’t be here forever…but it doesn’t make it any less strange.

So, what to do?  Personally, I was not terribly down on Brad Lidge, but I really like the potential of Michael Bourn, and I am a sucker for the hometown kid making it big with the hometown team.  Add in J.R. Towels and Hunter Pence and we have a strong cast of young’uns; along with guys like Adam Everett (who’s still a liability at offense, no matter how great his defense is); Carlo$ Lee; Ty Wigginton; and of course the man, the myth…the legend – the BIG PUMA, Lance Berkman, and we may have a competitive team, if not a division contender.  Losing out on Luis Castillo hurt my hopes for the upcoming season, but for once I am walking into the Spring not expecting much, so they can do nothing other than impress me at this point.

Of course, I have to give some love to our newest team in the Houston family – the back-to-back MLS Champion Houston Dynamo!  Name issues and unintentional insults aside, it is so easy to get behind this team, and not just because of the fact that they are the only Champs that we have going.  Guys like Brian Ching and De Rosario have made the Dynamo and the MLS so accessible to the Houston market.  They have seemed proud to be here, and that has made me proud to support them.  As much as I enjoy playing Soccer, I haven’t been a staunch follower of it in the professional level, but that has changed with this Dynamo franchise.  I am looking forward to checking out some of their matches at the new Stadium once it is built.  I just hope that the Dynamo fanatics aren’t seriously thinking that they’re getting a retractable roof!

A lot of people look at sports as a waste of time and money.  They see it as kids games and think that those who follow them are somehow inferior to them.  Those people just do not understand what these sports, and these teams mean to communities and individuals.  They don’t see how they can be such a uniting force between people.  We are at our best when we try to be our best, and sports exemplify that better than just about anything.  You could throw me in a room with a Democrat from Boston; an Evangelical from Mississippi; and a Green from Washington, and chances are the four of us could talk for days about last night’s games, fantasy football, the 1985 World Series or the upcoming NFL Draft for hours on end.  Sports are not perfect, but neither is Humanity.  At the very least sports are something that can unite even the most different people, and that in itself is worth the price of admission.

P.S. – the Tennessee Titans Suck!