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How long have you played fantasy football? (1 Viewer)

Tornacl

Tornacl

Footballguy
When did the rest of the sharks start playing fantasy football? I remember my first season was Billy Sims' rookie season in Detroit ('80-'81) in a family league with my brothers and my dad. He's been in the same league since the late 1970s. We didn't have weekly lineups or waiver wires, it was a TD only league, with a chance to add/drop players only after week 8. Those were the league rules for my father's league, and they pretty much still use the same rules. I don't even think that they use a web site.

My first money league was '83-'84, with my brothers and the kids from members of the above league. I remember being upset because I didn't get the QB I wanted (Montana) and had to settle for a 2nd year guy (Marino). 48 TDs in a TD only league helped out a lot.

I can't say that I've played every season since then, but that's when the addiction started.

 
Oh my. How long has it been? I don't recall NOT being active with FF. I'm thinking 22 mostly enjoyable seasons.

(By the way, I won championshps a lot more often in the first half of my 'career'. It was men against boys for many years. Now is certainly more fun.)

 
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TC said:
Oh my. How long has it been? I don't recall NOT being active with FF. I'm thinking 22 mostly enjoyable seasons. (By the way, I won championshps a lot more often in the first half of my 'career'. It was men against boys for many years. Now is certainly more fun.)
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:cry: I don't win quite as often as I did (access to info really levels the playing field, or maybe I'm getting old) but I'm having more fun than ever. Some of my best memories are from times I didn't win. Funny how that works.
 
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Back in the day my friends and I sent in results but I have been playing in the same real league for the past ten years. In that time four people got married, many kids were born, and two managers died. Seems like a long time ago.

 
I saw an ad in a magazine, I think Street and Smith's, for a free, by mail league. I was so excited every Thursday or so because I knew I'd get that thick report in the mail about my league. I'm 30 now. My first team had Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Pepper Johnson (IDP, baby!) and other people I can't remember, so I think this means I was about 15 or so?

I've played fantasy football every year since.

 
It was sometime back in the late 80's, can't remember exactly what year. I worked at a large corporation in Columbus, Oh., about a mile or so from the Horseshoe actually. They had a league there and asked if I wanted in after quickly determining how much of a fan I was. The money players back then consisted of the likes of Warren Moon and Andre Rison, among others. I remember that. As best as I can recall, it's always been at least one money league I've been a participant in since that very time. I was hooked from day one, although I'm not the real gambling type.

 
Hi, my name is Chuck and I'm a FF addict. I started playing in 1999. A friend turned me on to the game, first one league, then another, then another, the next thing you know I'm a junkie. Now I have to pay arount $880 a year for my habit.

 
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1989 was my first year playing. 10 team league basic scoring. Dan Marino was my first draft pick. I played in a very serious rotissire baseball league and the guys suggested we do a fantasy football league that year. Back in those days we drafted at my freinds baseball card shop...had ton;s of pizza, beer and wings...all scoring done by hand every week.

Those were some great times. That league died in 1998 then i joined a new one that was more high performance, long distance TD league. Awesome commish, great owners. That one lasted till 2003. Then I discovered dynasty leagues and playing online. That is what made me go nuts. I own 14 teams all but one a dyansty. The other a 3 player keeper. One of the dynasty teams is local which was drafted last season (and is my best team hands down).

 
Hoss_Cartwright said:
Hi, my name is Chuck and I'm a FF addict. I started playing in 1999. A friend turned me on to the game, first one league, then another, then another, the next thing you know I'm a junkie. Now I have to pay arount $880 a year for my habit.
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Good one Hoss!If you had stuck with your Dad, you could have supported your habit from royalties for the Alpo commercials. LOL!
 
20 years, since 1988 the year I lost both my parents. My brother got me into after my dad died early June of 88. Said it would help take my mind off my father. It did for a while,then lost my mother in October of '88 . Not a very good year family wise but I'm forever grateful to my brother for introducing me to fantasy football. There have been a few years here and there where I just wasn't really into but I still played. I still have a great passion for it and I play in numerous leagues every year. Free and money leagues. Not gettin' rich off it but I've won my fair share of coin over the years. My wife likes FF especially when I win some money because she knows she'll get some of it. So she checks my status,lol, during the year. I actually played Rotisserie baseball for the first time this year and I'm far enough ahead in points I should win the league. Lot more work with lineups everyday but I'm still enjoying it and will play next year.Must be the fantasy addiction. Once you get it you're done. Fantasy football's the best though. The baseball gave me something to do while waiting for football to start. Not just the sport but I've met interesting people over the years and made a lot of new friends, so it's been a win-win situation.

 
1993. I remember drafting Dan Marino .... "He's played in every game since '87, he's money." Game 5 ... out for season. :censored:

Good times, good times.

 
Arthur Andersen CPA firm (SF office) is where I started my career in 1981.

The AAFL was started in 1981. I learned of it too late but joined in 1982.

AAFL is still in existence, with me as Commish. AA&Co is not (thanks a lot Enron :censored: ).

 
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I'm thinking it was 1988 or so ... the Sporting News contest.. Like McBokonon, the highlight of the week was Thursday when "the envelope" arrived !!.... if you were savvy enough to have a fax machine, they would fax you your results and you didn't have to wait until Thursday .....

gotta love the internet!!!

 
My first league started in 1992 and is still going strong into its 17th season. All but two of the original members remain, which has created pretty fierce long-time rivalries. Love this game!

 
1988 was the first year i joined GONE POSTAL fantasy league the orginal members all worked at the post office. the league actually started in 1986. we still have 3 orginal owners it an 8 team dynasty league

i've only won twice, finished in the money more than not

it's a great league with great people

 
jaxfan8 said:
1988 was the first year i joined GONE POSTAL fantasy league the orginal members all worked at the post office. the league actually started in 1986. we still have 3 orginal owners it an 8 team dynasty league

i've only won twice, finished in the money more than not

it's a great league with great people
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as well
 
About 11 or so years - a buddy got a raw deal in another league he was in (one owner, the stat guy, subbed a player in after the games were over without notifying anyone and tried to pull an "Oh, I thought I told you..." shtick :thumbup: ) so he started his own league. 10 teams, mostly the same owners, lots of good draft day and in season ball busting.

 
Since 98' when I was 15. First shark move was to convince one of my best friends that Kord. Stewart was worth a number one pick...I quickly took TD (and the championship trophy). :football:

 
1995. Curtis martin's rookie season. Made the playoffs that year (after I think I took brunell with my first round pick...and was laughed out of the room).

 
I first started in 2000 in a money league with some college buddies.

I remember having Jeff Garcia as my QB, with David Boston. Kevin Johnson and Coles at wideout, and Rhodes, Anthony Thomas, Kevan Barlow and Travis Henry as my RB stable. I remember picking up Bob Christian from Atlanta late that season to give my team an extra push. But finished 4th that year at 8-6 and just missed the playoffs.

Been a complete addict ever since, winning my competitive money league three times and a bunch of Yahoo Winner leagues numerous other times. One primary reason for both my success and my love of FF has been this site. I found "Ole Yeller" pretty much right off the bat, and immersed myself immediately in the FFA as much as the S'Pool, if not moreso.

I've held a lifelong passion for the NFL. But I credit my complete obsession with FF to Joe and the crew, and the legions of posters, both in the pool and the FFA, who have made this hobby so much fun for almost a decade.

 
I have to laugh at how much things have changed since I started. Back then, the commish in my dad's league would print a list of all of the players on all the teams. The guys that were really serious would go out and buy a magazine. Now, you hope to get people in your league that rely on magazines!

 
Got invited to a ff draft in 1991 and started my own auction league the next year, which is still going strong.

Signed

Former Marion Butts owner

 
1989 was the first league I ran.

Jim Everette, Chris Miller, B.Sanders, T.Thomas, E.Metcalf, M.Fernandez, Flipper Anderson, T.McGee, Anthony Miller....that's all I can remember from that team. Came in 2nd place. Been hooked ever since.

That league is long gone

 
Believe this will be my 15th season. Started FF by joining a league after being invited in by a client. Redraft was done in a bar. Scoring tracked with pen and paper then recorded on a spreadsheet. $200 fee...another $400 in side bet losses. It took another few more years to recoup those loses from that guppy season of mine.

 
Started in 1995 when I was 11

I was a 2 team league - my and my pops and 1 of my friends and his.....Hah

 
McBokonon said:
I saw an ad in a magazine, I think Street and Smith's, for a free, by mail league. I was so excited every Thursday or so because I knew I'd get that thick report in the mail about my league. I'm 30 now. My first team had Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Pepper Johnson (IDP, baby!) and other people I can't remember, so I think this means I was about 15 or so? I've played fantasy football every year since.
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My experience is just about exactly the same, except I was about 13 or 14. I'm also 30, so it was a year or two before you. I actually won a gay little mini-football as a prize for finishing in the top 5 scorers of the week, which is pretty good for a kid, I figured. I then joined a "real" league when I was 17 or 18.
 
1991 was my first year. It was a TD heavy league and my QB was John Elway...he disappointed. We conducted the draft over the phone...land line!

 
20th year with the same 12 guys. We've moved apart over the years but getting together once a year for the draft is pretty cool.

We've progressed over the years and the pot has gone up considerably. It is nice having a jackpot of $5000 as apposed to the small amounts we use to deal with.

 
I've been playing since the 1985 season. I was dragged to the mall with my mom and asked if I could hang out in the book store while she shopped. While waiting, I found this book titled' "The Official Fantasy Football League Manual - 1985 Edition", by Jim Donaldosn. I sat and read that thing as long as I could, bought it when mom came, and pitched the concept to my high school buddies. That year, I served as commissioner of a 5 team league that featured mostly TD with bonuses for yardage and distance of TD.

That league lasted until I joined the Navy in 1991. I was unable to play FF until I finally got stationed on a ship, in 1993. There I started a new league made up of guys in my unit. We went on a 6 month underway starting just aftr the first week of the season. I had my wife send me the weekly scoring section from our newpaper, but my ship only receieved mail every 3 weeks or so. Everyone would gather around when I would receive the package full of weeks of scoring and I read off the scores of each game as I scored the players who played in it. The guys would cheer or boo depending. It was WEIRD, but it worked for an addict.

That league lasted for 3 years until I got out of the Navy and could restart the old league. I have been playing with those guys ever since.

When I married my current wife (upgrade), I joined a league her 4 brother play in. That's my big money league. Been in it since 1997.

 
Not even sure of the exact year, but it was in the early-to-mid 90s. I still have fond memories of buying a newspaper on Monday morning, going to the tile shop (where most of the other owners hung out), having umpteen cups of coffee, & BSing about FF (& adding all the scores up by hand as Commish, LOL). Good times.

 
I think mine was 1989 as well.

I remember that I had Don Majkowski, but I also teamed up Mark Rypien paired with Gary Clark and Art Monk. I also had Brad Muster as a running back, but don't remember who else. Shannon Sharpe was my TE and he was money.

USAToday was our OFFICIAL stat sheet.

 
Started a league up with my highschool buddies and a couple of our fathers, after a friend's dad told us about this Fantasy Football game. We still have about 7 of 12 original owners from our first season - 1988. Twenty years later and we are still going strong. Our current group of 12 have been around for the last 5-6 years.

I have been the commish of this league since the beginning, when I had to go get the monday morning daily news and do the scoring by hand from the box scores printed in the paper.

I currently play in 6-7 leagues and commish for 5 of them. If it weren't for the internet and MFL, there is no way I would be able to commish or play in this many leagues.

Information is key though, in the beginning I won easily the first 3 years, because I was the one tracking the scoring and creating the standings, each week etc. So I was in the know and could tell who was doing well, getting more carries each week, etc. Then once the internet starting popping up with Fantasy Football sites it really did level the playing field.

I used to create my own cheatsheets in the beginning, used the paper and ProFootball Weekly as my bible, then got in early on with a fantasy football message board (i think it was the pre-curser to this site alt.rec.fantasy.football or something like that.) But once sites like this and huddle and all the rest took hold, everyone used their cheatsheets and the information from those sites to improve their play.

I won 6 times over the years but my last title was in 1999 so its going on 8 years since my last championship in this league. Hopefully, the 20th anniversary season is good one for the Foxholes.

 
gilpdawg said:
McBokonon said:
I saw an ad in a magazine, I think Street and Smith's, for a free, by mail league. I was so excited every Thursday or so because I knew I'd get that thick report in the mail about my league. I'm 30 now. My first team had Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Pepper Johnson (IDP, baby!) and other people I can't remember, so I think this means I was about 15 or so? I've played fantasy football every year since.
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My experience is just about exactly the same, except I was about 13 or 14. I'm also 30, so it was a year or two before you. I actually won a gay little mini-football as a prize for finishing in the top 5 scorers of the week, which is pretty good for a kid, I figured. I then joined a "real" league when I was 17 or 18.
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I was in a similar league in '86 or '87 when I was 12 or 13. My current league started in 1995.
 
Andy Herron said:
It was sometime back in the late 80's, can't remember exactly what year. I worked at a large corporation in Columbus, Oh., about a mile or so from the Horseshoe actually. They had a league there and asked if I wanted in after quickly determining how much of a fan I was. The money players back then consisted of the likes of Warren Moon and Andre Rison, among others. I remember that. As best as I can recall, it's always been at least one money league I've been a participant in since that very time. I was hooked from day one, although I'm not the real gambling type.
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This was exactly the time I started. 12 team league - I joined a long time ago - only 2 owner changes since I've been in the league. Phenomenal.
 
North said:
20th year with the same 12 guys. We've moved apart over the years but getting together once a year for the draft is pretty cool.

We've progressed over the years and the pot has gone up considerably. It is nice having a jackpot of $5000 as apposed to the small amounts we use to deal with.
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You guys smoke pot???????? :popcorn:
 
Started in 1991, scoring only league. Brad Baxter was my best RB and I was a not so proud owner of Jim Everett.

 
fsufan said:
11th year for me
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:unsure: Started by sharing a team in a work league - only chick playing at the time and got hooked.....11 years later, it's still a huge rivalry with 5 of us originals in a 12 team league.....we draft online now, but I sure miss the good old days of using paper and pen in a bar after work.....
 
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BigTex said:
North said:
20th year with the same 12 guys. We've moved apart over the years but getting together once a year for the draft is pretty cool.

We've progressed over the years and the pot has gone up considerably. It is nice having a jackpot of $5000 as apposed to the small amounts we use to deal with.
Click to expand...
You guys smoke pot???????? :popcorn:
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Let me tell you about two of the guys at our auction......
 
First league was 1985 in Denver. I later moved to PA. and started a league in 1989 that lasted 15 years and spawned at least 4 other leagues. It's been fun.

 
1990. As a Sophomore in college.

And I'm still in the league with almost all those guys from college.

I remember scouring out-of-town newspapers at the Library in August trying to get the local beat reporter's take on that city's backup running backs.

The internet has changed a lot about fantasy football.

 
Stared the second league in out town in 91. Gave up being commish in 2000 since I had three sons and wanted to get rid of the extra work. Four guys have played every year, one guy came in year 2. All but two guys have played in he league for over 12 years.

Our draft takes place Labor Day which is also the weekend fo the county fair. Our Commish house is a block from the fairgrounds and turns into a small hotel that weekend for football, drinking, and trash talking.

First draft the league shared two fantasy football books that we found, all of had some preseason book but there were very few fantasy dedicated products out there at the time. Now you can find information all over.

Jerry Rice was my first pick and scored 5tds in one game that year. Gary Anderson of the TB Bucs was my sleeper RB that year.

 
fathermurphy said:
1995. Curtis martin's rookie season. Made the playoffs that year (after I think I took brunell with my first round pick...and was laughed out of the room).
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Same here 1995.And I remember CuMar as my favorite draft pick (his rookie year where he scored about 15 TDs) - pulled him out of the pre-season newspaper stats which was my 'shark training wheels' back then.
 
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