The stories that I can share as a fantasy sports commissioner are
numerous. Some are ridiculous, some are trivial, but most deal with
controversy. It may be the questioning of when a line-up was submitted.
Or maybe the accuracy of the scoring on the website. But there is
nothing that compares to the arguments that stem from trades. The
following is a short version of true but ironic story of such an
incident.
Background
Our league is a 14-team keeper league that uses team quarterbacks
as opposed to individual ones. We field a team quarterback, two
running backs, three wide-outs, a tight end, a kicker and a defense.
We also have the same amount of players on the bench. As a league,
we value our original draft, so we like to draft deep and do not
like to rely on mid-season pick-ups to win the season.
This was our first year of implementing the keeper aspect. We also
expanded from 10 teams last year. Two teams were created from existing
teams and the other two were brand new people to our league. One
of them I knew personally, and had no doubts, while the other, I
didn't know much about, except that he wasn't to good of a baseball
GM. However, I was told that football was his sport.
The Trade
Week two ended, and the rookie in question was in trouble. He was
off to a 0-2 start and I knew it was just a matter of time before
a crafty veteran of our league would move in for the kill. That
person took the form of another 0-2 team that is known to the rest
of the league as the smoothest talker of the bunch. Maybe people
think he is, due to his profession (lawyer), or maybe because he
has pulled off many good-looking deals in the past. Whatever the
reason, when the trade was announced, the phone started ringing.
Not to mention, he was also the one who brought this new guy into
the league. The deal itself was the following:
Rookie gets: New Orleans QB's, James
Allen, James McKnight, and Tai Streets
Veteran gets: New England QB's, Doug
Chapman, Randy Moss, Joe Horn
The league went wild. "Tai who?" "Are you kidding
me?" These were just some of the things that were said after
the trade. Then came the e-mails. Owners were attacking the integrity
of other owners and threats to quit the league came after that.
All of this was due to a trade. As commissioner, everything came
through me. I was dumbfounded. What do I do? How do I calm everyone
down? Best friends quickly became enemies as the name calling started.
I needed to think of something quick. Now since our league had a
policy of letting all trades go through unless collusion was evident,
my hands were tied. I knew I had to announce to the league that
the trade was going through, but how do I say it and keep people
from jumping ship?
I put out an e-mail. I first reminded everyone that it is a game.
I then reminded everyone that, while this deal may look bad on paper,
there is a lot more to look at regarding any deal. There is the
keeper factor, which in our league excludes players drafted in the
first 5 rounds, and also excludes quarterbacks and defenses. Next,
there was the roster of our rookie. This trade helped him in areas
he needed, such as quarterback. I finished off the e-mail saying,
"if anyone can read into the future and tell me that one team
is guaranteed to gain from this trade and another is guaranteed
to flop, please let me know because I have a few games I would like
to bet on and need your input." After long talks with various
owners, things calmed down. And by the end of the week, everyone
was friendly again.
Ironic Outcome
The "football god" shone down on me for the next four
weeks. Our veteran owner faced loss after loss and sat at 0-6. I
felt bad for his team and the attacks he took for his trade, but
good for the reason that the trade looked a lot better now. While
our rookie didn't fair much better, he actually beat his trade counterpart
for his first win of the season. Both teams are not making the playoffs
this year and the craziness of the week of Game 3 in our league
is a distant memory.
Going Forward
This story proves a valuable lesson about head-to-head fantasy football.
Any team can beat any other team on any given week. And while many
may claim to know who to start and who to draft, it should all be
taken with a grain of salt. This information is a valuable tool,
but luck is a major factor in this game. How so? Scheduling, injuries,
and uncertainties can determine the outcome of a fantasy football
game regardless of whom you put in your starting line-up. Our league
needs to fix the problems incurred from trades such as this or the
owners have to understand the point I am trying to make. What does
a commissioner do? Create a trade committee? This would be too biased
since most owners don't want to see anyone get a good deal. Use
a "majority rules" standard? Same bias problem arises.
The other alternative his for the commissioner to make the decision,
which I feel is too much responsibility for any one person. That
is why we are stuck with "all trades go through", or are
we? Any suggestions?
