The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Contributing Writer: Liliana Macias

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly....

That phrase probably makes you think of one of the most famous Western films and Clint Eastwood (And ladies… his oh so handsome son Scott Eastwood!!).  This film catapulted Clint Eastwood to super-stardom, a legendary tale of three bums who go around the civil war looking for money.

As exciting as blowing up bridges and being an outlaw may seem, that is not what I’m referring too.
You see, Fantasy Football has its own version of “The G.B.U” and here’s my version of it.

It’s finally draft day and we’re all feeling pretty “Good” as we take a look at our keepers.  I mean come on, those players who gave a superb performance last season are on your roster. Even better, you picked them up from the free agent list for an AMAZING DOLLAR. Sometimes that’s not the case, you actually pay top dollar for a player and that’s ok, what can possibly go wrong?! No matter what else happens during the draft you have your keepers.
​
As the weeks go bye and you're actually able to stay in this magical good place, you feel like you have earned the right to start calling yourself the F.F.J (Fantasy Football Jedi)  There is of course those of us who start to experience the “Bad.” Players that you paid top dollar for get placed on IR. I mean toes, thumbs, hips and every imaginable body part start to deteriorate. Why did this have to happen to me??  And then we have those who live by greed. Remember folks, the love for money is the root of all evil! (Stinkin’ Bell)

​So, what do we do next? We desperately start looking at those free agents even if the guy that got injured isn’t ours! Why?  Because we all want the next big thing.  You bid $30 on a guy who you know everyone will be bidding on to only find out that you were the only one who thought this guy was the next Brett Favre or Marcus Allen. Yup, that transaction list is pretty clear.  You could have saved yourself $29 and still kept him. Or how about when you get outbid by just $1? Ah that stings a little. If we only knew what everyone else was thinking. 

​Can it get worse?  Oh, you bet cha’.  Two words……. “Trade Proposals” A.K.A the “UGLY” 

Why do trade proposals cause skepticism?  Because we all fall short of the certainty of what the outcome will be for us. Sometimes it only takes a few seconds to decline a trade because there’s just no way we’re giving up our RB1 for 3 mediocre players. Other times we take a closer look, compare stats and after much thought we make our decision. We have 3 options, accept, decline or counter offer and hope that we’ve made the right decision for our team. 

But wait there’s more. We also get notifications when fellow league members have accepted a trade proposal.  Madea can best explain my thoughts as to how I imagine things went down for some after looking at the trade proposal that ignited the league page on week 13.   With all joking aside, we all have the opportunity to voice our opinion about these trades by either accepting or vetoing them.  Sometimes the vote goes exactly how we want it to but what about when it doesn't?  We suck it up and show good sportsmanship, knowing that it goes a long way. 

​For those of you who made it to the playoffs, congratulations.  To my fellow toilet bowl contenders, I feel your pain.  To our wonderful league manager, thank you so much Janelle for all the dedication you’ve invested in this league for the last 15 years!!  In your famous words “Start a fantasy football league they said, it’ll be fun they said.” Please know that you have accomplished that. What a great way to get distracted from the “real world” and “real problems”. Thank you for always keeping things positive.  You got something real special going here.