Tuesday Morning Hangovers

“And then there were six…” #weekthirteen

Thank you, Rob Ryan!

Rave of the Week I

From my college days you’d think Kanye was my favorite rapper, but he’s not. (Although he is the greatest secular musician of all time. Yes.) T.I. has always been my favorite rapper. Way back in 2006 when he released “King” I thought, “can he make anything better than this?”

I bring all of this up because (as I’ve mentioned before) I wasn’t excited for this season at all. After last year my season could only be a downward spiral. Even optimistically thinking, this year could only imitate, but never represent a perfect year. I had accomplished what I had set out to do and the only thing left to do is lose. However I’m here to tell you this year was even better than last season: last year it took me seven weeks to clinch my division, this year it took all thirteen weeks, but the journey was worth it. Last year I started with a lead and maintained it, this year I fell as low as ninth and came back to clinch a bye. (Hence the new name, CBK: “Comeback Kid”) There’s still a long road to the Superbowl but we don’t always play to win the game…

Realistically, Eric Decker just played the highlight of his career and recorded stats he’ll never see again. Under my former philosophy, he should hang up it…I mean, isn’t that how it always goes? Ride out into the sunset as a winner and never come back...In FF, I’ve already played the highlight of my career and accomplished something I’ll never do again. However Eric Decker isn’t going to retire due to accomplishing something spectacular, he’s going to continue to play because he loves the game of football. I decided I’m not playing because I want to reside on top of the mountain, I play because I love the climbing the mountain. You ride off into the sunset when you’ve given it all you have and there’s nothing left to give. I’ve won it all twice and honestly I couldn’t tell you a single thing about what happened in the Superbowl. What I can recall is all the highs and lows of the season because within there lies the true story of victory. You get to the playoffs because of what you did in week 3, you get to the playoffs because of the waiver pick you made in week 7…everything you’ve done up to now is why you love the game, it’s not only summed up in the conclusion. “You play to win the game..” but you continue to play because you love the game…

Rave of the Week II

It's impossible to have followed TMH all season and overlook my broaden use of the English language in 2013. At the end of the last year, I had an epiphany: "I worked my butt off to win this title, why can't I apply the same voracious tendencies to all else in life?" By no means am I a slacker, but if I'm this diligent to a hobby, it should be evident in other areas of life, too. Life isn't a competition, but you are meant to always strive to do your best in all you do.

At the end of last season, I decided I wanted to apply to work for NFL Fantasy. I curiously browsed for a fantasy football job and found one. I seriously considered applying: I started playing the game before it went mainstream, I {sort of} write a column and have a respectable fantasy resume. Also, if you've seen from FB/IG I published my first book. Why not try? However I decided against it primarily because I felt that my examples of writing we're too minimum so I decided to take another year to further practice my writing & ability tie all creative ideas, subjects and tie them back into fantasy football. I spent the majority of the offseason learning new vocabulary...flashcards and all. There are 1,013,913 words in the English language and the people whom know the most are teachers, executives and writers. I would like to join that select group, not just for football, but for life. 

On another note (especially belonging to the Elite) you're going to find yourself with some free time once the season ends. Last year I pretty much gave all that time to Twitter and at my peak had 2,500 followers. However I quit once the season began so maybe I'll return. I haven't fully decided what I'm going to commit this year's offseason towards...I enjoyed all of Steve's videos this year. It's always been another hobby of mine so maybe I'll get back into it. I loved JB's podcast; it reminded me of my former, "Commish Report." I just got the Adobe Creative Suite 6 so we’ll see what I master by next season. Also, I recently was given all five seasons of “Breaking Bad” (all of this is aside from regular responsibilities, of course). I’m pretty much done with video games…I’m now 27 which pretty much is 30 and I don’t think 30 years olds play video games. If you’re a book enthusiast, I have some great reads. I’d strongly recommend you all find some productive way to fill your time; you’d be surprised how much this game took. (And the page has already begun asking me to pre-activate for 2014) When we come back, we’ll aim for an even better year than this year; see you back in seven months.

I’m out like the regular season… 

CBK

[Elite History Fact #7: The regular season champ and highest scoring champ have gone on to win it all 100% (7-0) of the time. 2013 marks the first time the two awards have ever gone to multiple teams…]