The Most Wonderful Time Of the Year
Posted 8/20 by David Baker, Exclusive to Footballguys.com
I still remember those ads that Staples used to run around this time of the year, when back to school stuff is all over the airwaves. Did you ever see those? I'm not sure if they still run it, but it shows a father of two kids, a boy and girl, as he frolics through Staples buying them school supplies. He, of course, is happy as a lark because his kids will soon be out of his hair. The kids are moping as the impending doom of the end of summer closes fast. All of this is played out to the tune of the song that Johnny Mathis helped make famous, "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." This commercial always cracked me up. Anyone who has kids understands the father's feelings, and we all remember as kids how we dreaded going back to school. The song, of course, was originally written about Christmas time, and the wonderful feelings that the Holiday season is supposed to provoke. For me, the song has a different meaning this time of year.
For me, the most wonderful time of the year is DRAFT DAY. The thrill and anticipation of upcoming drafts is unlike any other feeling. I look forward to draft day as much as any other day of the year on a regular basis. When it comes to draft day, there isn't anything better than your local redraft league. If you aren't lucky enough to belong to one, you're missing out.
My local league is wonderful for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, it is the oldest league in which I have been involved. I was a founding member back in 1985. It started with only 8 teams, including 6 of us high school grads from the same school. Over the years it has grown a bit, and players have come and gone, mostly all old high school friends. Of the 16 guys in the league now (some are co-owners), 7 went to the same high school, and 5 are original members from when it all began. Guys have moved away, from Atlanta to Portland, from Chicago to Reno, and we are based in Los Angeles. We've seen both NFL LA teams ship out of town. We've gotten married, had kids, and for the most part, had very successful careers. We've had our 20th High School Reunion. We don't get together as much as we used to. We don't talk as much as we used to. But one thing that has kept us together is Fantasy Football. Now, I don't mean to wax nostalgic too much, but even though some live far away, they still are active in the draft and the league, thanks at least partially to the internet. Some even fly out specifically for the draft and use the time to visit family. This year, we have an owner flying in from Atlanta, one flying in from Reno, one flying in from San Francisco, one flying in from Seattle and one driving in from Las Vegas. They are all flying in just for the draft, with a couple leaving the very next morning. I became commissioner of this league in its third year, and remain so today, an added responsibility that only anyone who has done so completely understands.
Ours happens to be a redraft league. In a typical redraft league, you start anew every year. Everyone is in first place on draft day. I believe this increases the intensity of draft day. Who will you get? Maybe you always wanted Tomlinson on your team. Or Peyton Manning. Will players you seek be passed over to you? You've got your eye on that one WR. Will you be able to wait that extra round to increase true value? Will you get that video game you wanted? How about that Red Ryder 200-shot Carbine Action BB Gun you've had your eye on?
After all, doesn't the draft make you feel like a little kid again at Christmas time, wondering what you're going to get, with the anticipation killing you and making sleep difficult? Or am I the only one so transfixed within this mentality? After years of discussion with FF fans across the nation, I don't think I am. It's sincerely a time of the year like no other, and a feeling difficult to describe to those outside of our hobby. OK, maybe having children is a bit more special, and maybe getting married. Or at least having children. OK, at least your first child. But what is it in particular that makes it so special?
Part of it, I think, is the work that goes into it ahead of time. You work hard enough at something, and you want to see the fruition of your labor. You've spent hours and hours evaluating the positions and ranking the players. You hope to see some reward for all of your work.
A lot of it is the competition. The fact that we want to beat our opponents, much like we wanted to beat our opponent while actually playing the game when we were younger. I know some of you never played the game, and others still do, but the point's the same. Only this time, you're the GM and Head Coach and you have the best players in the world on your team. You want your rating list to be better than the others, somehow proving your superior football intellect. You want people to fear your knowledge and immediately kick themselves for not picking the guy you just picked earlier. You hope this fear translates into a poorer draft for all others. Basically, you want to win.
Another part is the love of the game. Most of us are sports nuts, or at the very least huge football fans, and always have been. We eat, breath, and sleep football, and having fantasy leagues is just an extension of this passion.
A huge chunk of it, though, at least for me, is the fun of getting together with old friends. Our local draft is one big party. We're all serious players, but by the end of the draft, we have twice the number of non-players in attendance as players. All are friends mostly there for the beer and food and camaraderie. For several years, we've had a couple guys that literally spend their own money and time to cook up lavish meals and they're not even in the league. The food is serious. As is the drinking. I've been in a couple leagues where the people in it are either jerks, or simply no fun to be around. Luckily for me, this is about the friendliest group of guys you could imagine, even at their highest level of inebriation. Once you find a truly enjoyable league, there's nothing that can tear you away. Even moving to the other end of the country. We're going on 10 years now with every player returning. We talk trash, we laugh, we drink, we eat, and yet when it comes down to a pick, the owners are oddly serious. And as the name is placed on the big screen (we put a bedsheet and hang it on the wall in a room with a 20 foot high ceiling and display all picks with a projector), there is a quick surveillance of what that pick meant to that team and what is now available to the next. This is followed seconds later by more laughing, trash talk, and partying. Continual side bets about players performance for the upcoming year are made. My # 3 WR, will score more than your # 3 WR, and so on.
So, it's the hard work, the competition, the love of the game, and the fun that can makes draft day really special. I can almost feel it now…the heart starts to race a little bit. You crack open a cold one as you greet your friends/opponents as they walk in the door. You talk a little football without giving away any sleeper picks. The lists/paperwork you have by your side is strictly forbidden for others to examine. A football game or Sportscenter is on the TV, and everybody glances from time to time at the ticker to make sure there isn't some injury that occurred that day that was just announced. Smiles are aplenty, as everyone makes their way to their draft location, that particular place in the living room where they will spread out their paperwork and begin final preparation. It is almost time to begin.
Your heart races even faster as you await the first pick of the draft, however predictable that may be. And the setting is set. Your presents are under the Christmas Tree, ready to be opened. You're not sure what you're going to get, even though you asked Santa awhile back for particular things. Unfortunately, everyone wants the same thing sometimes, and there isn't enough to go around. And then it starts…the first pick is made…
I wish I could relive draft day again and again, especially in this league where the competition is strong, the atmosphere is friendly and the party is lively. It is The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, isn't it?
