I'd like to think not as a token member. Given that I've been in this league since the 1900s, I believe my participation is somewhat legitimate. My lack of a championship would seriously indicate otherwise. I think there is a rule named after my team, though.
That's power, baby!
If memory serves, this will be season 20 of the LSFL. Crafty Andrea and I began our participation in the fall of 1993. Go Heathens, again! How excited were the boys that some girls wanted to play? Who can say? We managed to participate without humiliating ourselves or them, so the Heathens stuck around. The duration of our participation is math I can't even do. But, I can say this: Marriages don't last as long as this endeavor has. Nor should some of them. I think at least one marriage in the group didn't last.
Hmmm...let's not speak ill of the derelict. Although safe to say he didn't deserve that.
Am I the only one annoyed by these Joe Montana-Shape Ups commercials? Maybe I'm the only one still annoyed by Joe Montana.
I'm not going to be sentimental and say this association has been an emotional cornerstone. I can't say that setting a lineup every week has somehow helped me in my daily life. Pouring over esoteric statistics about bench riders has done nothing for me professionally. But, and I say this with just a touch of schmaltz, there is this sense of conviviality in our group. Members have come and gone with varying degrees of fanfare. Some we miss; some couldn't get out of there fast enough.
Not to say that there has been a lot of animosity. We're a pretty content, democratic, respectful group. We joke with each other. We joke about each other (some, more deservedly than others). We rage against each other. We stand up for each other. It's your typical dysfunctional family dynamic.
I'm sure someone smarter than I could sit down and observe our group and assign familial tags to each of our number. It's there. If I weren't constantly side-tracked by this special on the Knights Templar on History, I might even be able to dust off the English degree and give it a shot.
But, does it really matter? What matters is that this goofy group started at a Hardee's in Kilgore back in the day when someone had to compile statistics from AP reports cut out of actual newspapers (you remember those, right?) and carry them around in a huge 3-ring binder. The drafting of players used to take hours, and I mean that literally.
Heck, even figuring out the results of the games took hours. I don't know if I would have stuck with it this long if our league wasn't managed online.
Fantasy football has benefited greatly from the Internet. Truer words will never be spoken.
This year, the 20th of our humble existence, we will be taking the draft to Las Vegas. Vegas hosted the draft not long after we all graduated from college and we all had our first real jobs. Real jobs meant more disposable income. Disposable income meant we could take a trip or two!
Vegas is where we stuffed at least 7 people in a rental sedan. Good times, indeed.
Vegas is also where we uttered the now-famous Heathen phrase, "We left our draft strategy in the cab."
All efforts will be made to keep the draft strategy from falling into the hands of some drunk tourists similar to those who found that epic file folder and didn't have a clue how awesome John Elway was and how Heathen Greatness was on the horizon, baby!
As the years have passed, our obligations outside the league have limited the grandiose travel plans. Marriages, house payments, children, jobs without the benefit of paid vacation have all contributed to the LSFL keeping the draft in the Lone Star State. But, this 20th anniversary deserves some celebration and reflection.
In addition to the colorful group of owners, we have an awesome media guide. All of my scrap booking friends could learn a thing or two from that bad boy. It has inspired awe in those not fortunate enough to be in our league. It may even be responsible for landing a job for one of our number. It has certainly granted me the opportunity to write a "column" or two. How many other leagues have the design staff that we do? Not that dweeb I saw actually cutting and pasting his sad little media guide together at Kinko's a couple of years ago. How many other fantasy leagues have 20 years worth of history that need, nay, demand an actual media guide? No wonder the media guide has to be digital. How cool are we?!?!
Don't answer that.
Will we still be meeting during the nascent days of the football preseason to assemble a team in the hopes of glory that will only extend to our own group 20 years hence? I'm thinking yes. Whether it be in Las Vegas, or the pressbox at the Homer Dome in Nacogdoches, or the club house in the retirement community at Sun City Georgetown, the LSFL will still be alive and kicking. Somehow, this silly notion of fantasy football has kept us together.
I think after 20 years, we're stuck with each other. (Insert schmaltz here).
Oh yeah: Go Heathens!
