The 2007 football season was my first ever, and some of the stuff I learned was interesting. First off, fantasy football became almost an obsession. Picking up free agent, trading with fellow players and trying to make my squad the best. Since the decision to do fantasy football came in August, I didn't have time to prepare for the draft. It was a weird experience. I picked quickly, filling my roster spots. My first 4 picks were,
Marvin Harrison (12th overall)
Tom Brady (13th overall)
Cedric Benson (24th pick overall) and
Adrian Peterson ( 25th overall). So my first 4 picks were a dud, a star, a dud and then a star. I also picked
Eagles DST,
Kellen Winslow,
Jason Witten,
Ben Roethlisberger, and
Reggie Brown among others. I had a solid team to begin with. With both Ben and Brady at QB, I would have to choose between them, same with Kellen and Jason. I should have probably traded them but I didn't. We won opening week, then lost our next two games. Suddenly, we ripped off 6 in a row, being led by stars Brady, Peterson, and Witten. We finished poorly, going 2-3 finishing with a record of 9-5 and the 1st seed in the playoffs. Because of some poor lineup decisions, (none you could really see coming) and lost in the first round. Overall, I was happy with my first year performance. Each week I really got into reading what the CBS writers wrote, setting my line-up and playing the waiver-wire.
But even though I was happy, somethings in fantasy football weren't right. As you might know, there are conflicts between fantasy and the teams we cheer for. For me it really started in week 12, Sunday Night Football. The Eagles were playing the Patriots. I started the game cheering for he Pats, because I needed a big performance from Brady. Then I started to see the game become close, and the Eagles could possibly win. Then I started to cheer for the Eagles. Because I saw I didn't want to see Brady & co. go undefeated, didn't want them to set the records. Tom Brady was still my starting QB, so I needed him to perform. I wasn't going to start Big Ben and possibly put my season in jeopardy. I had mixed feelings from then on about Brady, but eventually hated them. He hated me back appearantly, and he had a sluggish second
half of the season for me. I cheered against them each step of the way, for the Raven, Giants, Jaguars, and Chargers. Fantasy football can spin a tangled web of loyalties, leading to one ultimate question; Who am I really cheering for? Sometimes it can take the pure joy away from football.
But still, I'm probably still going to have a team next year. Any Thoughts?
