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46 1
A LIFE IN PROGRESS
By Ray Lucas
f you ask people about
their favorite holiday, you will
hear a lot about Christmas
and Thanksgiving. My dad
is partial to Halloween, and I
have a few Irish relatives who point to St. Patrick’s
Day as their favorite.
As for me, my favorite holiday each year is
Fantasy Football Draft Day. It is the official kickoff
to a holiday that spans the next 16 Sundays. Just as
I prepared for Christmas as a kid by researching
the toy section of the Sears catalogue for months,
these days I pour over dozens of fantasy football
websites looking for just the right players. With
Santa and draft day, you don’t want to leave too
many things to chance.
In case you’ve never played fantasy football, it
is a game made up of imaginary football teams
that each manager (my friends and I) have put
together during a football draft. We pick from a
pool of real players and score points based on
how our players do on the field. The better your
NFL players perform on Sundays the better you
do in your fantasy football league.
In many ways, fantasy football takes me back
to playing football as a kid at recess. You pick
your teams, play hard until the bell rings and the
winners have bragging rights until the next recess.
In fact, many of the lessons I learned on the
playground translate well to the fantasy football draft
and season. Here are a few that have served me well:
110 EXTOL : OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018
PICKING TEAMS THE OLD-SCHOOL WAY: The
key to winning the kickball game starts before the
first roll. The same is true of your fantasy draft.
Captains in kickball and fantasy football pick their
players based on who brings the most to the team.
So, while I am a Dallas Cowboy fan in real life, I
know better than to pick too many players from
my team as they have won only three playoff game
in the past 22 years. It’s no fun being picked last
but finishing last in your league is no fun either. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR PLACE IN LINE:
We all knew that kid who lost their spot in line
while paying kickball and never got their turn to
kick because they weren’t paying attention. In
fantasy football, we all know the friend who takes
five minutes to pick their player only to discover
that their pick was taken two rounds ago. Don’t
wander out of line if you want to kick, and keep
track of players already drafted.
BE READY: When you’re finally on top of the
slide and it’s your turn to go, you had better not
dillydally around. Be ready to slide and make
room for the next on the ladder. In your fantasy
draft, when your turn comes around, you had
better be prepared to pick. If you respond too
many times with, “It’s my turn?” or “Does anyone
know if that QB is hurt?” you’ll find yourself
getting pushed out of the slide line for good. USE YOUR TIME WELL: Recess only last 15
minutes, so don’t spend all your time wandering
around deciding what game to join. You have
to make your decision quickly and jump in a
game or you won’t get to play. In fantasy football,
there is always the one team manager who waits
until it’s too late to change their roster and loses
games they shouldn’t because they started the
wrong players. If you’re checking your starting
line up Sunday evening, it may be too late.