With the end of the season in sight, I can see that the end won't be pretty. I couldn't pull off the miraculous surge to make the post season, my team was injury plagued all year, and now I can't even win when the pressure is off.
There's a moral dilemma which seems to present itself around this time in the season. Does an owner, whose team is dead in the water, need to continue to try to win games?
My league has an interesting feature that keeps lame duck owners interested. The team with the most overall points accumulated throughout the season gets a piece of the prize money. There is a problem with this however. If you are in last place, like myself, chances are that you do not have anywhere near the most points among the teams.
So in all actuality it's kind of insulting. You spend all season trying to put together the best team possible, only to fail over and over again. Sure there were bouts where you thought you were on top of the world, but in the end you have to slump back to the reality that your team flat out sucks. Now your expected to keep the charade going even after you have no business in winning a dime.
It's over... Everybody knows it, yet we continue to set our line-ups like the responsible fantasy managers that we are. When it's all officially said and done, there's a good chance that I will still be in last place, which continues to add insult to injury. I guess I can look forward to receiving my leagues toilet bowl shaped trophy for coming in last place.
You and my boyfriend are both in the same boat, and I've discussed this issue with him in the past.
ReplyDeleteI'll ask, "Why are you still involved if you know you're not going to playoffs?"
He'll tell me, "Well, I can still knock other people out of the playoffs," which simply sounds awful.
I think the fact of the matter is that fantasy managers have pride, and they don't want to see their team go to, well, shit. Any opportunity to score points -- to not come in last place -- even if there is no incentive (like your league has thoughtfully arranged) to do so is worth the effort to some. I guess it is an individual decision. I'm not particularly competitive in these terms, so I'd probably have lost interest much earlier on, but who knows!
Your writing is always solid. Very few grammatical issues, if any, and the moral dilemma is definitely a nice touch. Well done!
While I have no practical understanding of fantasy football, or regular football, you make this post interesting by conveying the emotions associated with your season with your fantasy league well. You express yourself in such a way that the audience can really connect with your sorrow and frustration.
ReplyDeleteYou are able to make the readers feel your passion for this game as well as you disappointment when you didn't do so well. I like how you bring up the topic of continuing to do something though you know its over. It shows how frustrating and consuming it could be. You transfer emotions to the reader well.
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