For yet another time, my dad stubbornly tried to fight away his longing to manage a fantasy football team. Sure, he has (had) fun with Survival Football -- for the whole one week he was in it. But playing Survival and not Fantasy is like going to a movie and leaving after the coming attractions. There's a reason the main topic at offices throughout America on Monday mornings is who got a W in their fantasy league. This phenomenon runs the male football-loving world for four months a year. And I know my dad wants in.
With my senior year class work, college applications, and football practice, I don't have as much time as I'd like to spend on my fantasy team. However, I'm still pulling all the right strings with my players psychologically. You probably just read that and thought, "What on Earth is he talking about? Fantasy football is just Xs and Os, who's gonna have a good game and who's not." Sure, it seems that way. But it goes much deeper.
To be a successful fantasy football manager, you must have the respect of your players, and they have to want to play hard for you. But at the same time, you can't be afraid to put them in their place and send them a message.
For example, I have two great quarterbacks on my team: Tom Brady and Kyle Orton. Brady is clearly my starter, and there is no real need for me to roster Orton. In fact, I could probably get pretty decent value back for him in a trade. But I don't want Brady to get complacent. He needs to be pushed every day in practice. So Orton will remain on my squad for now.
I have two star receivers, Brandon Marshall and Calvin Johnson, who seemingly should start on my team every week. Johnson started off slow this season, and instead of keeping him in the starting lineup like I "should have," I benched him for Malcom Floyd, a lesser-known, unproven player. I didn't do this because I thought Floyd would accumulate more points, but because Johnson needed a kick in the rear end to demonstrate the need for him to perform.
Sure enough, my decision backfired, as Johnson greatly outplayed Floyd while he was parked on my bench. But I stand by it. If I hadn't made the move, Calvin would've kept strolling along at his unsatisfactory slow pace.
You, my dad, pretty much everyone out there probably thinks I'm nuts right now. So be it. Keep managing your team the way you want to. Just don't come crying to me in December when you're watching the fantasy playoffs from your living room couch.
-Robby
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Great news! OLD SCHOOL, NEW SCHOOL has been picked up by the Hearst Connecticut Media Group and will appear on the websites of the Connecticut Post, Stamford Advocate, Greenwich Time, and Danbury News-Times. Check it out here.
