Many Wesleyan students start to seem distracted every year come Fall. For many, September is the most important month of the year. Why you ask? Labor Day weekends at the lake with friends? Nope. The beginning of Fall and the feel of crunching leaves underneath your feet? Nope. Starting to get spooky in preparation for Halloween? Possibly, but none of these things even come close to the level of commitment and excitement that fantasy football awakens in Wesleyan students every September.
Fantasy football brings out the best and the worst in its participants. It has the power to turn C-level students into A-level statisticians and Honor Council members into conniving, colluding little imps. It has been known to ruin relationships, careers and sleep schedules. Even junior Honor Council member Harrison Larner said, “As long as collusion isn’t caught, it doesn’t really count.” One student, who prefers to remain anonymous, even admitted to taking an hour-long bathroom break at work to draft his team.
One of the most important parts of your fantasy football team is your team name. Your name is what your opponents see on the first day of match-ups. Your name is what decides whether your opponent will have fear struck into their hearts or if they will just laugh you off. Some of the most intimidating names to ever step foot on the earth were born through fantasy football. This includes the likes of junior Will Parrish’s “coolwhip,” senior Henry Beltrami’s “The Nightman Man Cometh” and junior Liam Coxhead’s “Team Coxhead.” When asked what “coolwhip” meant, Parrish responded only with, “You’ll find out soon enough.”
Think of the greatest rivalries in history such as Hatfields and McCoys, Alabama and Auburn, Mayonnaise and Miracle Whip. All of these pale in comparison to the rivalries created in fantasy football. This sport has the power to define who are your friends and who are your enemies.
One of the most legendary rivalries of recent years is the matchup of Juniors Daniel Woods and Harrison Larner. For years now, these two have been going at each other’s throats. It started as just a friendly, regular season, matchup freshman year. It has now escalated to a rivalry of legendary proportions. Even their team names are just jabs at each other. Woods chose the name “Team Undefeated Against Larner” (This fact cannot be confirmed and could very well be false), while Larner opted for a more explicit title. Woods even said, “I will do anything it takes to beat Larner, and I mean anything.”
This 2017-2018 season, while young, is already turning into one to remember. Are Falcons players worth drafting after that awful Super Bowl upset? Is David Johnson ruined for the whole season due to his game one injury? Who is going to pick up whatever defense is playing the Browns? These are just a few of the questions that Wesleyan fantasy football players will be asking over the next four months. This season is already turning into one for the ages.
