Posted in Fantasy
3 comments
09/29 2010

When Rooting For Fantasy Kinda Gets In The Way of Reality

Posted by Dan Levy.

This was the year I decided I was really going to jump in with both feet and root for the hometown Iggles. Now, I’m finding it hard to root for Michael Vick.

See, I grew up a Broncos fan and, over the years, became disenfranchised disenchanted (ed note: had franchise on the brain) with the organization. Besides, it’s not like they  need me with all the Tebow bandwagoneers anyway. Alas, I found myself following the Eagles for years, but never brought myself to root for them. I suppose, in a way, I was like a lot of Eagles fans in this town: I hated them way more than I loved them.

Two years ago, I wrote something like this for The 700 Level, asking if it was okay for me to switch to the Eagles. I got killed for it, and maybe deserved the treatment I got. It turns out, you’re born an Eagles fan or your not, says the prolific commentariat at The 700 Level. Yes, being an Eagles fan is tantamount to being a homosexual. Hey, they said it, not me.

That information is important background context when discussing the Vick conundrum this year. Nothing made me happier than seeing Donovan McNabb’s lies and double-talk move down the I-95 corridor. On top of that, for some reason, I believed Andy Reid was being more forthright and he had turned a page with the fans and media and appreciated his candor about McNabb’s trade and Kevin Kolb being named the starter. I actually started to like Reid quite a bit. It also helped that I really liked the cut of Kolb’s jib. I even drafted him as my starting quarterback in the Blogger Fantasy League (sponsored by Procter & Gamble, I’m on Team Gillette, legalese below).

So now I’m in a strange predicament. I’ve had to play against Michael Vick on back-to-back weeks in two different fantasy leagues, one of which was my BFL matchup in week two where I had the chance to pick him up on waivers but went with Matt Hasselbeck instead. Why? Because I’m stupid, that’s why. But more specifically it’s because I also lost my backup in week one and felt Hasselbeck would get more reps than Vick throughout the season, because Reid had told us Kolb was going to be the starter. Shame on me for believing him.

Like I said, I was stupid. Meanwhile, Phil from Gunaxin picked up Vick, played him against me and beat me with him. Had it been the other way around, I would have won easily.

This was going to be my first year as an unabashed Eagles fan. Heck, I started wearing Eagles hats and t-shirts around town (note: I got them for free as part of the BFL and wouldn’t have otherwise purchased them on my own. I do wear them a lot though). I won’t be upset if my in-laws buy little Eagles outfits for the baby this year (for a long time it was Phillies or nothing). I’m in with both feet…

But now, I’m a little stuck. I’m not sure if I have any issue with Michael Vick as the starting quarterback from a moral standpoint. I think, as a natural contrarian (an obvious reason why I didn’t grow up as an Eagles fan) I usually take issue with sheep mentality and have been severely questioning why people in this town are so willing to suddenly forget about Vick’s past now that he’s playing at a Pro Bowl level. Does rooting for a sociopath make you a sociopath (says the guy who’s favorite show is Dexter)? And is Vick even really a sociopath, or just the product of his stupid, criminal environment?

Forget that last question, as it just clouds the issue at hand. The issue is not whether Vick is a maniac or has paid his debt to society. The issue is whether I should be rooting for the Eagles — my newly adopted-favorite squad — or my fantasy teams, to which I’ve had more than a decade-long connection.

I found myself tacitly rooting against Michael Vick on two straight weeks, and I’m clearly pissed at Andy Reid for selling us the bill of goods on Kevin Kolb only to pull the rug out from under us two weeks later. It’s a BS move, frankly, screwing over all those fantasy owners. It’s hard to root for a guy who has that little respect toward ownership.

Can fantasy trump reality? At the risk of alienating myself from being “allowed” to root for the Eagles, is it okay if I only root for them when it doesn’t totally screw over my fantasy teams? Or am I just bitter that I have Kolb and now he’s worthless? My chances of going to the Super Bowl hung on a guy who played two quarters and got replaced by an ex-con while a big red belly full of lies ruined my season.

In other news, my BFL team got smoked by Diana Klochkova of National Football Post. Smoked.

Phil from Gunaxin has the official BFL recap of the week and you should go to the Facebook page and win some stuff for sending in cool photos of you in your favorite team’s gear. Seriously, take your baby or your nephew or whoever and put him in an Eagles shirt or whatever team you root for and upload it to Facebook and you can win amazing swag.

Just don’t put him in a Vick jersey. Then I’ll probably hate you…for a few weeks at least.

The P&G Blogger Fantasy League (BFL) is a group of 12 digital sports influencers competing on the NFL.com fantasy platform for the chance to win P&G product, a donation to a local charity, and a trip to Super Bowl XLV, all furnished by P&G. The NFL Entities have not offered or sponsored the sweepstakes in any way.

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Posted on September 29, 2010 at 11:06AM
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  1. Tom
    09/29 2010

    I can’t resist: “disenfranchised” doesn’t equal “disenchanted”.

  2. Dan Levy
    09/29 2010

    Good snag. I updated it. My editor sucks. I actually had franchise on the brain when I wrote organization so it must have come out in the wrong place.

  3. ThunderingBlurb
    09/29 2010

    I’ve been writing and playing Fantasy Football for a decade now (actually paid for it this year WOOO! My addiction is socially acceptable!)and have heard this question so many times.

    For me, reality ALWAYS trumps fantasy. But I am a life long Jets fan and as much as I have come to love and appreciate many teams, they will always trump all. Like the hard corp Iggles fans you mention, I was ‘born into it’. So even getting beat by a good TOmlinson this year won’t bother me much if the team wins.

    Coming into Eagle fandom later like you, it might be more difficult as the passion for that team is still in it’s nascent stages. Your passion for winning is still a little more powerful then your passion for a new team. Add to it that Vick is one of the more divisive peopel in the NFL AND Reid really did do a quick 180 out of nowhere – I think the deck is stacked against you.

    My professional advice? Cheer for the Bills. That way you have a much greater chance of never seeing a player beat you in fantasy. Cause it’s Spiller or nothing.