Fantasy Football is anything but a fantasy. In theory it is. You make a team full of your favorites, or the best players available and then watch them perform on the grandest of stages. That is where the fantasy ends. The reality is a week full of doubts, decisions, and dreams of “what if”. If you have a fantasy team and are also a die-hard fan, undoubtedly your allegiance has been tested.
We have all had to root for that one team we loathe just so we can salvage a disappointing week. Sunday night’s Eagles/Giants game was no different. As a cowboys fan, I hate both teams, but as a fantasy owner, I was chained to Victor Cruz. I held a 3 point lead and was in a tough spot facing Hakeem Nicks and Alex Henry. As a fan, I knew the implications of a Giants win, yet was forced to “cheer” for a great performance for the Giants upstart rookie. As it turns out, Cruz ended up being my leading scorer for the week and Vince Young was able to get the victory against New York and help my Cowboys move into a first place tie. This situation is never-ending for countless fantasy owners. If you’ve given your heart to fantasy football, I’m sure you join in my lamentations when I say that it doesn’t end happily. Yet, it is only one facet of this fantasy world of which we subscribe.
Another common situation is when one fantasy owner has a team’s defense and the opposing quarterback. This one ends with a smile right? Either Drew Brees throws for 385 and 4 TDs or the Ravens wreak havoc causing 3 sacks, two fumbles, and add a late game Ed Reed touchdown to seal it. It can literally drive a person insane and that is why I love fantasy football. It makes every game worth watching and following. So, the real question is where does your allegiance lie, fantasy or reality? You can’t have it both ways.
For bonus coverage, let’s talk pay cuts and raises. Who should get a pay cut? The obvious answer would be Chris Johnson. Mr. 2000 has only 509 yards this season on 160 carries. That is barely 3 yards per carry and he has only found the end zone twice. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “pay cut? he just inked that deal!” Looks like somebody knew how to take the money and…well, do something other than run. His yards per carry are worse than his backup Javon Ringer’s. I’m hardly alone on this stance. Someone who should be getting a raise at the end of this season is the young stud “Shady” McCoy. I don’t know where the Eagles will get the money since they blew it all on the other members of the “just dreaming” team. To complicate matters, consider the fact that both Shady and D Jax are playing on rookie contracts. McCoy leads the league in rushing with 1,019 yards and is second in rushing TD’s with 10. Maybe he is the problem; after all, there would be no fourth quarter lead to blow without his help through the first three. I am sure the Eagles will find the money, and if they’re smart, given how CJ2k has soured the market, it will be incentive laced. There are several other stars putting up big numbers this year who should expect to get paid well during the offseason including Matt Forte and DeSean Jackson, assuming the Eagles have a few pence left to toss his way. Those deserving to give a little bit back to their team due to their poor performances include Kerry Collins, who inked a $4 million deal with the Colts. He and his teammates then proceeded to “suck for Luck”. Irsay can say it isn’t so, but they’ve too much talent to be winless and too much money on the bench to watch Purdue alumni Curtis Painter continue where the elder Collins left off. This list would be incomplete without Donovan McNabb, who signed with the Vikings for $5.05 million following the lockout only to change Ponder’s status from “future” to “now”. McNabb's departure coincided nicely with the arrival of the McRib. Coincidence, I think not. Both are worth around a buck and satisfy but briefly. We could also throw Miles Austin onto that list, but for now we will credit his less than stellar stat line to the fact that he can’t get healthy enough to last full four quarters now. And to think, most Americans are just happy to receive a raise of an extra 75 cents an hour.
--- Edward Jennings
