Fantasy

October 23, 2020

I have been in a ten-person Fantasy Football league for the last several years.  This is moderated by my son and is mostly comprised of people in his extended family.  During the first year several of the younger participants decided we needed to make it more interesting and were all asked to send in $50 to be divided among the top three finishers.  I placed first that year but never received a check for winning.  The next year I did not send in money as I felt I was already ahead in payments.  I finished third that year which had a payout of $50 so I figured I broke even anyway.  Even though there was great enthusiasm to ante up the first year, it waned as several realized they would never see a return on their investment.  By the end of the third season there were several who had even given up playing.  They opted for an auto-draft and then rarely checked their players or lineups after the first weeks, meaning they would have a few “byes” (not playing) on their team roster on certain weeks.  We have not bet for the last two years.  It did not bother me one way or another, but I am glad because I have finished out of the money both years.

We got started late this year as Alex was busy and did not get it together in time.  When he did, several participants dropped, and he was forced to find replacements.  By the time ten people willing to play were secured we were already two weeks into the season and had yet to draft.  I suggested we just do an auto draft for everyone, which he did.  In the auto-draft the computer matches the next best player with each team, depending on what positions you needed to fill.  While I was not pleased with the players I was assigned, I really could not complain.  The computer also auto played the first two games and I won both.  That compares to last season where I picked my own players and started by losing the first six.  I ended up in fifth, but it was a long road back.

I usually check my roster and matchups for the next game on Tuesday.  That lets me add or drop players and switch lineups to make sure the best player is in each position.  That has been a challenge this year with multiple Monday night and even Tuesday night games due to positive tests of players.  There was a Thursday night game this week and I realized I had not set my lineup yet.  I logged onto the site with my new computer and found there was no way to change players.  While I could have just left it, I had a bye in one of my positions and was predicted to lose badly.  I tried logging off and then back in, but nothing worked.  I finally texted Alex to see if the system was down, but he said it was fine.  In desperation I went back to my old computer I keep in the office.  It logged me in, and the system worked fine.  There are times when technology baffles me.

𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦:  I took a computer repair class thirty years ago when I toyed with that being my occupation.  The one thing I came away with was that if you have a system problem you cannot resolve, turn the machine off, wait ten seconds for the computer to completely power down, and then turn it back on.  If the problem goes away, do not worry about it, and go on.  While I wonder how this “fixes” the problem I have used this advice over the last 30 years.  Some have tried to use this same advice on dealing with the pandemic.  If we ignore it, it will just go away.  If that does not work, we shut down for a month and hope it will go away.  Viruses are not like computers.  Hoping it will go away only allows it to mutate into other forms, usually more deadly.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.