Wednesday, December 22, 2010

What I Learned From Playing Fantasy Football

My fantasy football experience this year taught me many things. The most valuable lesson I learned is that I would be a terrible owner of a professional sports team. My decision making process has fatal flaws that would ultimately hamper the success of the franchise. Here are the reasons I would fail.

1. I'm too loyal. If you've produced for me in the past I would find it difficult to trade or replace you. Even when the writing is on the wall that it's time to move on or a player's production has fallen off dramatically I would still hold them to the standard of their past glory rather than the reality of their present play.

2. It takes me too long to recognize my mistakes. In all 3 of my fantasy football leagues my teams were deficient at the wide receiver position. By the time I realized I needed to make a change it was too late to do something about it. All the good receivers were taken and I ended up with scrubs.

3. I'm too superstar oriented. I ride or die with superstars and my teams revolve around 1 or 2 players. If I have Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson (arguably the best at their positions) I neglect the other players on my team and assume the stars will turn in heroic performances every game and carry my team to victory. It doesn't work that way.

4. I hold grudges. Ryan Mathews and Brandon Tate are dead to me at this point. I don't care if they go on to have hall of fame careers I'll never have a kind word to say about either one of them. They let me down in crucial situations too many times. If I put my faith and trust in you and you disappoint me I can't forgive you. I think that's a Scorpio trait.

5. I point fingers. If I lose a match up someone's going to take the blame for it. I know one play doesn't determine the outcome of a game and one player isn't solely responsible for the teams fate, but if you make a mistake or fail to capitalize on a golden opportunity I'm throwing you under the bus.

6. I play favorites. Reggie Bush cost me a gazillion points this year. I played him because he was one of my favorite players in college and when he's on his game he's sensational to watch. I often play players that I like and enjoy to watch rather than players who are producing.

The best fantasy football owners are the ones that make lots of transactions, follow trends, and don't let their personal feelings about players and teams affect their judgement and decision making. This is a difficult lesson to learn since I'm a die hard passionate sports fan. In the end I'll learn from my mistakes and re-group for next season better than ever. As long as I get one of the first 3 picks in the draft of course.

No comments:

Post a Comment