Best Championship game stories..... (1 Viewer)

Ok I will start.

In my very competitive 12 team hometown league (20 years) have made the playoffs every year and finished second 7 TIMES .....never winning a championship!!!!

Our message boards and emails have been ruthless and unending. For years couldn’t win the big one....Marv Levy....Bridesmade....choker ...you name it!

Finally last night the dream came true.....an 8 point lead with my hopes seemingly dashed again because he had Adam Theilen and the reserve tie breaker. 
 

To make it worse- I had traded down from #3 to 6.....and he had CMAC fall right into his lap!!
 

My poor family has suffered along with me,and I informed them of another bleak final. I did not even check the score till 1120 pm!

Christmas came early.

My team put up 190+ in consecutive weeks to win me my 4th title in our big league. Never had a stress free title game ever, still can’t believe it!

This year I survived injuries to DJ Moore and Ertz in the championship game and had to sweat D. Adams on MNF but pulled out a narrow win.

Last year is a better story.  I had a good team but was facing the best team in the league for the championship  (12-2 regular season with Mahomes, Barkley, Hopkins, M. Evans and E. Engram leading the way for his team (it's a 4 player keeper league).  Mahomes played on MNF that week too so I new I needed a massive lead heading into that game.  Anticipating/hoping to make the finals I traded for AB specifically for his match up against NO.  That turned out pretty well:  14 rec.185 yards, 2TD.  Was streaming QBs last year and played J. Allen in semi-finals and S. Darnold in finals (both choices were correct).  My lineup for the finals also included Ertz and R. Anderson who had big games.  And I started Dallas D over CHI D (who dominated from a fantasy POV last year) which was a 10 point swing to the good.  The final correct decision I made was adding CJ Anderson to my flex spot when Gurley was a late game scratch.  The result of all this was the most points scored in a game for the entire year in the championship game.  Feels good when all the decisions turn out to be correct  

I forgot to set my line-up championship week with Henry being out... and I had 22 points on the bench with Mack/Ekeler.

Down 11 last night with Aaron Rodgers to play. 
He scores 9

I lose my championship by 2.

Wire to wire championship for me -- Won the first 9 games in the row, best record, most points and won in the playoffs. Hasn't happened to me before in 20+ years of fantasy football.

And the team I beat had the dominant player at 3 different positions (Jackson, Thomas, Kelce).

I got to team up with my son for the first time ever in FF. Opening weekend I found out he wasn't as into football as myself...he fell asleep by 1:15 of the Kickoffs. 

This year we decided to build a team, we didn't keep a lot of the guys we drafted as I taught him how the waiver wire worked. 

He picked the starters each week, he made the moves but I would just share some thoughts and let him run. 

He played in a league where the same owner had won 2-3 years in a row beating up on a lot of owners who were NOT NFL savvy we'll say. 

He won the league on Sunday despite not starting the Indy defense on our bench, passed on D.Freeman, we were lucky we had a pretty loaded team, even our bench. Never thought Ryan Tannehill would be our QB and helped us a lot as Dak faded. 

Cheers and Merry Christmas everyone, I'm having a terrific holiday season, was fun to watch him win for the first time. 

Ministry of Pain said:

I got to team up with my son for the first time ever in FF. Opening weekend I found out he wasn't as into football as myself...he fell asleep by 1:15 of the Kickoffs. 

This year we decided to build a team, we didn't keep a lot of the guys we drafted as I taught him how the waiver wire worked. 

He picked the starters each week, he made the moves but I would just share some thoughts and let him run. 

He played in a league where the same owner had won 2-3 years in a row beating up on a lot of owners who were NOT NFL savvy we'll say. 

He won the league on Sunday despite not starting the Indy defense on our bench, passed on D.Freeman, we were lucky we had a pretty loaded team, even our bench. Never thought Ryan Tannehill would be our QB and helped us a lot as Dak faded. 

Cheers and Merry Christmas everyone, I'm having a terrific holiday season, was fun to watch him win for the first time. 

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Merry Christmas MOP....and “thank you for your service” to our message boards over the years.

Much appreciated!

I would have one but I followed Bloom's 30th TE ranking on Higbee and his projected 6 pts in 1.5 TE PPR format and pulled him Saturday night right before the game so instead of winning by 6 I lost by 6.

This yet once again reinforces that "expert" rankings is nothing more than just guessing like you and I do.  Having access to "expert" rankings really sways your coin toss decisions and really most times you would be better off not having access to such info and making up your own mind.

Dez said:

I would have one but I followed Bloom's 30th TE ranking on Higbee and his projected 6 pts in 1.5 TE PPR format and pulled him Saturday night right before the game so instead of winning by 6 I lost by 6.

This yet once again reinforces that "expert" rankings is nothing more than just guessing like you and I do.  Having access to "expert" rankings really sways your coin toss decisions and really most times you would be better off not having access to such info and making up your own mind.

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If you made it to the championship game that should tell you that you have enough expertise to rely on your own rankings. I look at it this way: I buy my team, I draft my team, I mange my team and set my lineups. No one is as invested in my teams success than I am. Yeah, I'll look at rankings, but they're not ironclad. Ultimately I'm the one in joy or anguish, so I'm the one calling the shots.

Not much of a story for me, except that I took risks on Perriman and Higbee when I could have easily gone with guys who had a higher floor. Usually I am too conservative, but this year I said to myself, "Sometimes, you just gotta say, 'What the heck.'"

Won championship in 2 leagues (one dynasty, one redraft). 
redraft: won it with Tannehill at QB, Perriman at WR,  Drake RB and AJ Brown (all waiver wire pickups in the last few weeks  10 team league). Best part is my opponent was far and away the best team with Lamar Jackson, McCaffrey, Mike Thomas, Hill, Ingram.  just an amazing lineup.  he was 1st overall seed  I squeaked into playoffs at 6-7 in the 6 seed. And, yes, I just beat him by 12 points to win it all! Shocking upset  

dynasty: another QB cursed team with Luck retiring, Cam sucking and Stafford hurt. Another 6th seed team that just won the finals with Tannehill, Perriman, Drake, and Mostert. Band aid squad at most positions but my Zeke, THill, Mark Andrews, Kelce, (TE PPR premium) carried me through with amazing weeks from those other late bloomers. I might just stay in this FFPC league another few years because of this win even though their web site is a sad joke. 

I lost 122.35 to 122.30...

I got my A waxed by 60+ points (280 - 217)

- the end

 

KiddLattimer said:

I lost 122.35 to 122.30...

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omg - that’s rough.

I’m really hoping that I took ALL of my fantasy football bad luck for the next couple seasons all at once this past week.  Made the finals in 3 out of 4 leagues.  In two of them I was best record and points leader, in the other I was the 2 seed, tied for top record. But had too many common players and the stars aligned in the worst way.  Multiple shares of Watson, Hopkins, Carson, Moore, White each. Single shares of Jameis, Conner, Boone, and Lockett.  Even in my biggest money league my CMC/Thomas/Higbee trio couldn’t overcome Watson/Lockett/White.  

Finished 2nd in all 3 leagues.  Thought there’s no way I don’t walk away with at least one title this year.   Where’s my shirt to point at?

wlwiles said:

I’m really hoping that I took ALL of my fantasy football bad luck for the next couple seasons all at once this past week.  Made the finals in 3 out of 4 leagues.  In two of them I was best record and points leader, in the other I was the 2 seed, tied for top record. But had too many common players and the stars aligned in the worst way.  Multiple shares of Watson, Hopkins, Carson, Moore, White each. Single shares of Jameis, Conner, Boone, and Lockett.  Even in my biggest money league my CMC/Thomas/Higbee trio couldn’t overcome Watson/Lockett/White.  

Finished 2nd in all 3 leagues.  Thought there’s no way I don’t walk away with at least one title this year.   Where’s my shirt to point at?

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That's a tough beat. Sorry about that. Sound like good teams at their core.

Won one and lost one. Had Mahomes and Drake in both. Luckily I won the big money one and lost the little money one. Both decided by Sunday at 7 so rather uneventful.

I took over an orphan team in a keeper league last season. Didn’t even make Playoffs year one.

 We can keep up to four. If you keep one you gave up your first round pick. If you could do you give up your second round pick. And so on. 

 From the base I started with and what I was able to draft last year, only Mike Evans was really worth keeping. 

 Crush the draft made the playoffs as the four seed. Won in the semi finals by 0.2. 

Was projected to lose horribly. But luckily both of our teams crapped the bed. Mine a little bit less so.

 The league is PPR, 150 is a pretty average week. I scored 130 he scored 120. 

He had Russell Wilson, Tyler Lockett, and Metcalf.

 I made a post thanking the Seattle Seahawks for taking the week off.

Hot Sauce Guy said:

omg - that’s rough.

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Yup... 1 freaking passing yard. Also had DK Metcalf's 0

Here's to a Christmas stat correction!

KiddLattimer said:

Yup... 1 freaking passing yard. Also had DK Metcalf's 0

Here's to a Christmas stat correction!

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I was thinking the same - maybe they’ll add a yard to one of your players. It’s definitely possible! 

Nothing among the craziest stories, but WOW, what a year. 
 

Ain’t as young as I used to be, and my dads pushing 85 though thankfully in great health... Born in Baltimore and raised in NY at my moms house - dad was still in Bmore and we’ve always bonded over sports. I was an O’s fan and then when they came to be, Ravens. Doug Decinces was my first fav player, along with Jim Palmer and Eddie Murray.

My dad - also ED-DIE ED-DIE - has a tradition of doing a SHOT for every score, small one for FGs... generally a small one regardless but gotta love the spirit. I’ll often join him from 1200 miles away and we will coordinate shots by text. Or just announce SHOT! His is fireball, mines Rye or Rum.

Lamar was a joy and then some.  

I’ve never had a player on any of my teams AS fun and exciting to watch as this years Lamar Jackson. Guess the closest would be LT (and he was amazing to watch), and Gooden/Strawberry for a three year stretch.

Still, this was another level of funness.
 

I’ve long been an NFL fan, and haven’t seen a runner that fun to watch since my fav ever, Barry Sanders.  Only other runner I’ve seen tape on that was as amazing to me, personally, was Gayle Sayers.  In some ways I saw glimpses of each in Lamar in terms of skills, style, and results (see ya, ankles). 
 

In terms of fantasy, it felt like having Faulk in the glory years where you basically got a top 5-8 RB AND WR. Lamar was a good enough fantasy QB AND RB.
 

The result was consistency AND stupid upside. And even a meh day was upside unto itself. 
 

Best game was that week 12 EXPLOSION against the Rams. Big rivalry week that basically meant getting a bye in two of my big leagues, ultimately my two rings.  I was down something like 35 in one with Lamar, and 50 in the other with Lamar and stacked Marquis “Hollywood” Brown since I needed upside.  I’ve made my share of boneheaded decisions, but that - along with taking Lamar with two tenth round picks - were among the better ones I’ve made. 

This weekend, I had a very up and down, back and forth two championship games in my money leagues... I was behind from Saturday games and needed Lamar to be Lamar as he was my QB in both.  If not for Miles Sanders (owned in both leagues) second half explosion, would have been toast. Was for and against Elliot and that result was best I could ask for at that moment in time. Second half RBs would become a theme.  
 

Needless to say it was a tense household with two min to go in the first.

Then BOOM. BOOM. Halftime. BOOM.  I was back in the game. 

And pretty damn tipsy. Dad and I commiserated and bonded while celebrating then greatest regular season any Raven has ever experienced. And few others, period. In terms of sheer joy, arguably the best ever.
 

Of course, both my championships went down to the last game... I had and was going against Boone (Jacobs replacement and didn’t want to start Singletary against NE), and I also started Aaron Jones - he of everyone talking tough matchup, another 3.8 coming, all that. But Boone was gonna to go off, beating me and leading me to or just short of a champs tip sip.  
 

Long story short, needed 25 from Jones/Boone and Boone to have under 18. 
 

Boones awfulness basically won me one league, but the biggest money play was looking pretty dim as a result. Nothing in the first half of that Monday game from either back.  Needed Boone to stay quietish and a big or huge half from Jones.

That 50+ yard TD scamper took me from a loss to a win. Was yelling go-Go-GO!!! the whole way like a kid. 
 

As my dad would say...

SHOT!!!
 

PS: I know that’s a TL;DR, but was fun enough just to relive as I typed it...

Summed up: Family bonding over sports is great, Lamar makes it greater. 
 

And GB the halves from Miles Sanders and Aaron “championship run” Jones.

MERRY CHRISTMAS (and Happy Chanukah )

OK, sadness, anger, acceptance & all the other stages of grief from this year have passed. 
 

Today is the anniversary of my best LCG story.

6 years ago today (or maybe it was last night?) i was in the LCG against a heavily favorited team In my big main IDP league.

the score was Virtually tied at 214.6 to 214.3

I had a linebacker left, and my opponent had a solid RB2. 

As such things go, both of our players had a solid night. My LB had a sack, and several tackles, couple of ATK & a PD. My opponent’s RB had 100+ with a TD, and I was down 4.7 points with something like 3 mins to go. 

On 3 of the last plays of the game, a WR caught a short pass, my LB made the TKL (+2), down 2.7

My opponent’s RB ran 5 yards (gah! -.5) and my LB made the TKL (+2), down 1.2

His RB ran another 5 (gah! -.5) down 1.7, and my LB chased him out of bounds - which, of course, is a TKL in NFL scoring (+2!)

And so on XMas eve I won the championship game by .3 on a tackle that my LB didn’t literally, actually make. 

And that’s why IDP is the best way to play FF. 

20 year dynasty... first ever finals match up of arch rivals (commish/co-commish, who had each been in several championships, but never facing each other). Twenty years of trash talk all to be resolved. Heading into MNF, the score was 84-79 with Dan Bailey left to kick. It was 84-83 by early in the 2nd quarter and only 1 xPT needed due to tiebreak advantage... then Minnesota shut down completely for the rest of the game. 84-83, confetti, congratulations, torture for the loser (me). But wait, Elias/NFL announces a stat correction on Dec 24, giving Balt DST a sack, which was updated at 10:00 EST today on MFL. Flip the outcome, 85-84. 

Playing the 12-1 regular season champ without my Godwin (#1 WR to that point) and Henry (#2 RB). I plug in Chark and Myles Gaskin. Watching Lamar struggle in the first half against Cleveland, feeling like I have no shot. Suddenly, 2 TD passes in a matter of minutes to my TE (Andrews) gives me hope.  Add in Michael Thomas being Michael Thomas, and Gaskins giving me quality points, and I'm able to pull off the upset. After losing the last 2 championship games, this one was really sweet.

Hot Sauce Guy said:

I was thinking the same - maybe they’ll add a yard to one of your players. It’s definitely possible! 

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Unfortunately no stat correction unless they're delayed for Christmas or something (doubt it)

I kinda don't want to win that way though, even though losing by 0.05 sucks

Dynasty league where we can have 16 active spots with 2 reserve and 2 developmental players. Each player is signed to contract with designating years with a cap of 35 years for Active spots.  My son in law was loaded with McCaffrey and Thomas but to secure his flex spot he added Chase Edmonds around week 6 and dropped .....

Kenyon Drake because of the contract year cap. I picked up Drake and moved AJ Green to reserve.  With Zeke, Kamara, and Kittle I got in the playoffs.  And of course, we meet in the finals.  Kamara only scores 4 TDs all year.  2 against him in the regular season and then 2 in the finals!  Drake of course goes off and I win.

When he walks into my house Christmas Eve he's carrying gifts.  I say to him "You didn't need to get me anything this year, you already gave me Drake."  My wife said I'm the worst father in law ever!  Two coveted titles in one week!