Re: Frenzy League Check In
Sorry guys, I have been trying to force myself to sit down and write out a comprehensive list of all the reasons I won't be participating in the Frenzy this year, but the main reason (lack of time) has prevented me from doing so. Well, as long as I'm here, I might as well draft a list now.
Reasons I'm Leaving the Frenzy
Category 1: Time
1a: Work. The job I've been in for the last year is much more time-intense than
my previous one. I just don't have time during the day to check the boards like I used to. And just last week I learned that the other programmer in the department is leaving, and I'm going to be positively swamped.
1b: Home. I've decided this year that I need to get serious about writing. I've made it my goal to actually write something decent and, most importantly, finish it. I sold a screenplay in 1998 for $100 and a case of Coca-Cola and I've done squat since then. I'm feeling a driving urge now to try to fulfill my potential in that area. But I won't be able to do that without dedicating as much free time and concentration to it as I can muster.
Category 2: Pleasure
2a: Real football. If the pleasure I took in fantasy football were to remain constant, it would appear diminished over the past few years by my increasing pleasure in real football. A couple of years ago I instituted a personal "No FF on Sundays" rule because I found FF was impacting negatively on my attention to and enjoyment of real football. I found I enjoyed watching the games more if I wasn't keeping track of fantasy performances. If I started a RB who was playing against the Bears that week, for example, on Sunday I rooted wholeheartedly for the Bears to shut him out. Similarly, I was better able to appreciate real football strategy: RBBC, dreaded by any fantasy owner, I love as a superior football strategy. And I was paying better attention to the defensive and special teams sides of the game.
2b. Fantasy Football. Until last year, I prided myself in never relying upon fantasy football resources, only getting my information of real football journalism. Last year I finally caved in. I got caught up in the arms race. I subscribed to a fantasy news service. And I realized with time that I was paying somebody else to do the part of fantasy football I used to enjoy most. It had been extremely difficult and time-consuming to compete in this league without being privvy to the intelligence everyone else was using. But to my surprise, it was also getting toughter in the league I commision, which had been a very casual league. It's not that those owners suddenly became hardcore. It's that fantasy football news increasingly encroaches on real football journalism. In fact, to my dismay, journalism for the casual football fan is actually metamorphing in to fantasy football journalism. This, in my opinion, is a Very Bad Thing. Increasingly, journalism about real football strategy is becoming the niche market. My "No Fantasy Football on Sundays" rule became essentially meaningless this year, as the television broacasts gave me fantasy updates while play was in progress and announcers discussed fantasy angles during halftime. The strategies of fantasy football and the strategies of real football have a little overlap, but only a little. Mixing the two diminishes my enjoyment of either.
Well that's it in a nutshell. Reason 1b is the real reason I've chosen to leave
the league. The other reasons just set the stage to make leaving more palatable, I guess. Quitting isn't something I really want to do, and I apologize for not giving you more time to find a replacement; I was hoping I would realize that I didn't have to leave. But the reality is that I haven't been on these boards since the season ended. You can't play if you don't show up. You are all a great bunch of competitive, dedicated owners, and you deserve an opponent who can put in the effort it takes to whup the lot of you. I mean that in a good way. I've really enjoyed playing with you all and I remember too many nights lying awake at night in a feverish desire to compete and win in this league. Now I must spend those sleepless night feverishly crafting my point of view on theology and justice as expressed in an action movie about Santa Claus. I do hope I will be permitted to remain a member on the boards so I can pop in now again.
With best regards, I remain,
Sincerely,
Jeremy Morse
Owner and General Manager
Ypsilanti Undead
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