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| Why can't I draft 10 quarterbacks? |
Watching college basketball, however, presented new opportunities to have fun with the experience. We’d bet who would have to unload the dishwasher or prepare my coffee in the morning. There’s a way to do this, I was convinced, that can be fun and innocent—and that it should always stay that way. No, I am not teaching or conditioning my son to gamble.
Mason was turned down by several of my other leagues (those leagues established a "no kid" rule, likely to salvage their bruised ego). The opportunity presented itself neatly as we needed another owner. Mason maintained that he was ready and so we set off on our journey. Immediately after, I didn’t go out of my way to tell people. Mason, however, was unabashedly excited and told nearly everyone he knew. The reactions were mixed. Some thought it was cool, others didn’t understand it whatsoever, and a few thought I was one step from taking my kid to the casino.
I fall in the camp that fantasy football is good for you; fantasy football is a game, but to be successful, requires luck and actual skills. It’s good for researching skills. Risk-assessment. Negotiation. Balancing trade-offs. Understanding probability.
I get that fantasy football has its issues. We should not bemoan the fact that a real player got hurt and that, poor you, your fantasy team will have to re-adjust. But there in lies the wonder of fantasy football: the value of opportunity.
A few weeks have passed since that initial thought and this is where we stand: my son is officially beating me at fantasy football. He’s undefeated at 6-0 and I’m just plain beat at 1-5. And why is this notable? He’s 7. I’m 34. I’ve played fantasy football for most of my adult life. I have more fantasy leagues than I have kids (for those keeping score at home, I have 3 kids—you do the math). Meanwhile, he’s never played fantasy football before. This week, week 7, I decided that it was time to finally chronicle my son’s journey. Week 7 is the week that we play for naming rights: if he wins, he re-names my team, if I win, I re-name his team. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
Lead up to the draft
In August, like most avid or addicted fantasy football players, we mock drafted. For his first mock draft, I took off the training wheels to see what would happen. He had full discretion to draft with absolutely no input from dad. Admittedly, his draft wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t great. He would up taking four quarterbacks: Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, and Andrew Luck. His strategy was simple: draft what you know and who you know.
After a half dozen mock drafts, we settled on a strategy—take running backs early and then alternate between running backs and receivers. Round 1, Alvin Kamara fell to him at pick 10. On the turn, he picked Julio Jones. Those two players would carry most teams. He kept going. Stefon Diggs, again, a player he liked (if not completely adored) was his in round 3. He stuck to his plan—mostly—but he deviated to snag two “star” players, Travis Kelce and his personal favorite, Kirk Cousins.
In-season interventions
For better or for worse, I am a fantasy owner that can't leave his team alone. I'm always tinkering. I'm the owner that pesters you with trades, I lead the league in transactions, and I’m never fully content with my team. This strategy has worked for me more often than not (last year, as an example, I made it to the championship round in 3 of my 4 leagues). I routinely take the gamble on players that I think have higher upside. I generally try to package 2-for-1s or 3-for-2 trades so that I can (1) fortify my starting lineup and (2) hoard upside players. Most of the trades never make it, but that doesn’t stop me from trying. And so, naturally (to me), I attempted to teach Mason how to manage his team. I told him to not get too content with his team—always look for areas you can improve.
However, my son’s strategy emerged quickly and it’s diametrically different from mine. He works solely on the edges—adding a player here or there. He doesn’t fidget with his lineup. He’s content playing studs in bad matchups. And yet, he’s 6-0 and I’m 1-5. If this experience with my son has taught me anything, it’s to stand pat with the players you like. You may lose, but you played the players you like.
In-season Family Showdown
Week 7 brought us our first matchup against one another. Father versus son. His undefeated team against my almost completely defeated team. Could my tandem of Patrick Mahomes and Kareem Hunt beat his "Four Horseman" of Alvin Kamara, Travis Kelce, Julio Jones, and Stefon Diggs? As fantasy fate would have it, yes--my duo accounted for nearly 70 points, by themselves--and I won the matchup. Mason was introduced to the despair that comes with losing a heartbreaking matchup.
Mason’s Guide to Success:
- Play the players you like. It’s a simple strategy. We all have a few players on our roster that we either dislike or that we hold our nose when we place them in our lineup. Not for Mason. There are different reasons or ways that we like the players we like. Sometimes we like them personally (if likeability were a statistical category, I would draft Larry Fitzgerald first overall). Sometimes we like someone because of their potential and upside. Sometimes we just enjoy watching them play. Whatever the reason, target the players you like and enjoy. You’ll be far less heartbroken when the inevitable occurs – you went in with your guys.
- Draft the players you like, too. The majority of your success is based on the players you’ve drafted. We all tend to leave our drafts feeling pretty good, but alas, we are not all undefeated at the end of the season.
- Don’t overthink it. Rotoworld.com might as well be my home page. “What’s that kids? You’re hungry? Okay, hold on, let me read this practice report.” I have to say that reading these practice reports has not made me any more successful than my son, who reads absolutely zero practice reports.
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