Champion of the West

I've been playing fantasy football with (nearly) the same nine guys for seven or eight years now. The crazy thing is that I barely know most of them outside the realm of fantasy sports. However, I'm probably in more daily contact with them -- mostly via AIM conversations -- than most of my non-fantasy friends. It's a nice little set up. I love being able to geek out and talk to people who are really into the same thing I am. There's very few people in my ordinary day to day life whom I can talk sports with so I gotta get my fix somewhere right?

Half the guys in the league are friends of mine from Michigan, the other half are my childhood friend Evan's friends from Stanford. Plus two guys from UCLA, one whom I've known since way back in middle school but never talk to now, and the other whom I've met just once but I talk to all the time. It's crazy how these things work out right? Friendships formed over the Internet and around a common hobby. I love it.

Typically speaking, the fall months are amazing for me as football Sundays are in full gear and the NBA is just taking off. This fall in particular was spectacular as my keeper fantasy team, The Dirty Birds, finally won a championship. For so long I've been shut out of the championship circle (since 2002) that I had to tell the whole wide world about my biggest accomplishment this year. Yes, fantasy football is that serious to me.

I used to play fantasy football with Evan back when there were hardly any computers and we had to rely on the newspaper every Monday in order to tabulate scores. I feel like I was there at the beginning of fantasy sports and I've seen it grow into a behemoth. Now, it's become a dependable source of joy in my life and I can't wait to order my Jostens championship ring and flash it for all the world to see.

The craziest thing about this win is that my Michigan roommate and fellow team owner, Greg, is the co-champion. Get this: In the Super Bowl game, we tied! It's rare enough to see a tie but to have the championship game between two really good friends go down to the wire and then end up tying, that's pretty much miraculous. A recap of the final game is located on our league's blog -- Catch the Damn Ball -- and I couldn't be prouder to share a championship with someone.