With Boise State on their way to an undefeated season the football season has officially started. That means the kids are back in school and the journey that is the fantasy football season is upon us. Some people may have their own ritualistic habits for opening day. Some may even have fantasy football rituals. Me? I just like getting into the “season” that is football. Read MoreI’m offering up a fantasy football dish of inspiration and a couple things to ponder. As you get ready for those week 1 lineup decisions, you have to first make a commitment to your leaguemates. The black eye of fantasy sports in general is the abandoned team. Don’t be that person. Just don’t. If you don’t think you can handle playing fantasy football for the entire season, get a friend to share the team with or don’t play.
Now on with the show…
Steele: Rudy,are you ready for this, champ?
Rudy: I've been ready for this my whole life!
Steele: Then you take us out on the field.
Locked, stocked and loaded, have some pride when you set that week one lineup! I can almost feel it now. The first “Game Break” of the season. Keeping one eye on the game and the other on the words scrolling across the screen. Good food, great drinks. All the research and planning that went into building your 2009 fantasy football roster is now on display.
Preparing for a fantasy football season isn’t nearly the same as Rudy leading the Golden Domers out onto the field but you should get some joy seeing what your team can do nonetheless. It’s a long season but in week one everyone is in it, everyone has a chance to win it all, including your favorite NFL team.
Pete: Well, you know what my dad always said, Having dreams is what makes life tolerable.
This might just be essence as to why fantasy football was ever created. I mean way back when, someone decided it would be fun to create fictional teams made up of real life players. Something to do for fun, pass the time and perhaps make life just a little more tolerable. Fantasy football has evolved from pocket protectors because people kept dreaming of something even better.
Make sure you have fun this year and be mindful of those people that really don’t care about your fantasy football team. It’s not everyone’s fantasy. Don’t let your dreams of fantasy fame make someone else’ life intolerable.
Fortune: You're 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin', and you have barely a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in there with the best college football players in the land for 2 years. And you're gonna walk outta here with a degree from the University of Notre Dame. In this life, you don't have to prove nothin' to nobody but yourself. And after what you've gone through, if you haven't done that by now, it ain't gonna never happen. Now go on back.
Perspective. It’s funny how we seem to lose our way or ever decided to take the path we are on in the first place. Fantasy football is perspective. No matter what is going on with your real life, no matter how old or young you are. No matter how bad your team was last year. You will always be able to assemble a fantasy football roster and set your lineups throughout the NFL.
Some people consider fantasy football more than a hobby. In the day of Twitter and Facebook, fantasy football is its own little social networking site. Use it as a way to keep in touch with your friends and family members. Or perhaps you need something to talk about with your co-workers at the water cooler. Fantasy football is a great way to connect with people you have known for years but haven’t talked to in months!
Rudy: [laughs] Yea, I have this wish to let my father watch one of his sons play football for the Irish and I was wondering if I could possibly dress for one game next season?
Ara Parseghian: Rudy the NCAA is really strict with this 60-player rule, and in some positions we only have one backup and you know that every year we are competing for the national championship. Is this wish just for your father?
Rudy: No its for everyone who told me that being a Notre Dame Football player would be impossible. My brothers, the guys I work with at the mill they can't come to practice and see that I am a part of this team.
Not only does this shed light on just how far Notre Dame football has fallen, but it should also remind you that every roster spot counts. Don’t narrow your focus solely on your starters. Not managing your entire roster throughout the season can cost you a championship. Trim the fat and load up on the carbs that could energize your roster.
Do you really need to keep Todd Heap as your second TE? At best you might need him during your other TE’s bye week. In most leagues you can find an adequate replacement on the waiver wire that week. Instead of carrying Heap for the first few weeks why not consider a guy like RB James Davis? The Browns are going to lose a lot of football games and may want to get a look at their young back by midseason. Even if that doesn’t happen, Jamal Lewis isn’t getting younger? Always, always, always be sure to maximize your roster’s full fantasy potential for the rest of the season!
Rudy (1993)
Starring: Sean Astin, Jon Favreau, Ned Beatty, Scott Benjaminson, Charles S. Dutton, Christopher Reed, Lili Taylor
Directed by: David Anspaugh
Movie Review, Story and Interview With Rudy | Rudy International
The movie is great but the story is even greater. Sit back and think about the magic that happens each year on a football field. From the NFL down through Pop Warner, you can see inspiration everywhere. To a lot of people, football is a game full of overweight men hitting each other, offering little entertainment value or meriting significant interest. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion I suppose. However, when a Rudy Ruettiger comes along, you find out football is much more.
Fantasy football is a dream every fan can live out. As owner, general manager and coach all rolled into one simplified game people like you and I can live out our dreams of running an NFL team. The best part is there are no NCAA eligibility rules to prevent you from playing more than four years!
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