Fantasy Football

[Wander]

How do you all handle the fan-conflict? Just avoid taking any player from a team you hate? Take the player and reconcile the conflict with your fan soul (ie: I hope witten scores the touchdown but Dallas still finds a way to lose)?

Yeah, I just don't take any Patriots or Jets players. I also try to avoid taking Dolphins (my team) players for similar reasons - I don't want to catch myself being sad if Brian Hartline scores a touchdown instead of Mike Wallace or whatever, but this rule is looser for me than the teams-I-dislike rule.

[Reisen]

Since obviously most people on this thread play fantasy football, I have a question. I played a couple years, then quit 7 or 8 years ago when I found myself cheering when the Cowboys scored a touchdown on a pass to Jason Witten. See, Witten was my tight end on my fantasy football team, and his touchdown, and the points it gave me, helped secure a win in the fantasy football game that week. A big deal, as I was in contention for the playoffs. I know, huge, right? Well, I grew up in Silver Springs, Md, a huge Redskins fan, which, of course, makes me a huge Cowboys hater. So, in the middle of cheering on that Jason Witten touchdown, I realized I was, in fact, cheering on a Cowboys touchdown in a game in which the touchdown could end up giving Dallas a win.

I felt dirty. Ashamed. Unclean. This kind of unacceptable situation is why I always put Duke as champion of an NCAA bracket, and I always pick Carolina to lose no later than the round of 32. No matter how unrealistic either of those options are. I don't want one tiny part of my soul tainted by any feeling of relief or joy if Carolina wins when a loss would have decimated my bracket.

Is cheering on the Cowboys violating my fan integrity to the same degree as being happy about a Carolina win? No. But it's still violating my fan integrity.

So I dropped fantasy football and I've never gone back.

How do you all handle the fan-conflict? Just avoid taking any player from a team you hate? Take the player and reconcile the conflict with your fan soul (ie: I hope witten scores the touchdown but Dallas still finds a way to lose)?

I have the opposite approach. I always pick against Duke in big games, and try to pick players on my fantasy teams from teams I hate, while avoiding players from teams I like.

Basically, I'm hedging my bets. Either my fantasy team does well, or I'm happy with the outcome of the game (my team wins / hated team loses). I have something to be happy about either way.

The worst is having Duke go out early AND your bracket ruined.

[Reisen]

I'm in need of some fantasy football advice. I probably could make this decision on my own normally but I have a biase opinion in this trade.

I give up Aaron Rodgers and Ahmad Bradshaw but in return I get Andrew Luck.

We start 2 runningbacks I usually start Lynch and Ellington (Bradshaw and CJ2K are backups as well as Brandon Oliver). Rodgers has had two great games and two bad so far, Luck is number 1 by a good bit but am I giving up to much.

14 team league btw with normal scoring

I would not make that trade. Rodgers is an elite QB, and I don't see Luck maintaining this high a level of play all season. Even if you feel it's an upgrade, it's not worth giving up Bradshaw.

[JNort]

I would not make that trade. Rodgers is an elite QB, and I don't see Luck maintaining this high a level of play all season. Even if you feel it's an upgrade, it's not worth giving up Bradshaw.

That's why I'm kinda biased. I'm a big time Luck fan, I said before our draft Luck would be a sure fire top 3 qb. I didn't want Ridgers I was just trying to make someone spend to much on him and I ended up with him

[elvis14]

How do you all handle the fan-conflict? Just avoid taking any player from a team you hate? Take the player and reconcile the conflict with your fan soul (ie: I hope witten scores the touchdown but Dallas still finds a way to lose)?

I'm also a Redskins fan. I don't draft any Dallas Cowboys. There was one time where I missed the draft and Yahoo auto-drafted for me and put Witten on my team. I traded him immediately. I tend to avoid Giants as well but I don't have a rule against them like I do the Cowboys. Having a Cowboy on my fantasy football team would be like having a UNC@CH basketball player on an NCAA fantasy basketball team. It's just not going to happen.

Note that I play fantasy basketball during the NBA season and I don't draft any former UNC@CH players.

I'd rather lose than have Cowboys or UNC@CH players on my fantasy teams.