(Easy Like) Sunday morning

Clearly there was no fantasy football in 1977 when Lionel Richie wrote that.  Lets face it, for many a football fans, Sunday morning is the most hectic, stressful, chaotic morning of the week.   It starts and ends with fantasy football.  Is player X starting?  Will player Y be limited?  Has player Z been cleared to play?  Should I play this guy over this guy? These are among the many questions that fantasy owners face.  Throw in some time constraints in the form of kickoff and let the panic ensue.   There are those of us who try to draw parallels between what has been dubbed "fantasy" and what is reality-being a fantasy owner is somewhat similar to working a "real" job.  Having to tackle difficult situations and solve problems in a short amount of time, gathering enough information to make a rational decision of who to put forth in accomplishing your ultimate goal of success-these are all things we are responsible for at any "regular" job.  Last minute pickups and drops prior to game time...like reinforcements before the commencement of a huge project or presentation.  Instead of getting advice from my boss, I go to guys like Matthew Berry and Jamey Eisenberg.  Much like your standard 9-5 job, there are those decisions that leave you feeling ill for days.  There is nothing more painful than that decision to let a player that you have owned week after week, year after year, walk into the proverbial "waiver wire."  Its like the equivalent of being called to HR and being told "we don't have faith in your abilities to lead this company in the direction we are headed, we have to let you go."  With the short life of an NFL player performing at a fantasy-starter level, these painful decisions come more often than you think.  One of the hardest days of my fantasy life was the day I had to release Dallas Clark a few years back.  He helped me win numerous titles, and in that time became my favorite NFL player.  But in fantasy land, he just wasn't "good for business" anymore.  So with the click of a button, he exited my life, hitting rock bottom as he stood, unclaimed, on the waiver wire.  I can only imagine what that must do to a player.  Growing old with a player is so rare, that loyalty to a player is pretty much non-existent.

Yet, these things all prepare me for the rigors of the workweek.  You know, I have that mantra that "If I can win a fantasy title, surviving a grueling 13 regular season weeks and a possible three additional week, I can handle anything and everything my job can throw at me."  But what if you are 0-5, already down by 40 points after the Thursday night matchup featuring the Bears and Giants?  Well, I guess there is only one thing to do, and that's put on your best Banana Republic suit, tie up that Windsor knot, spike up your hair and look straight into the mirror, uttering those two words that send chills up any employees spine-"You're Fired!"

Enjoy the games!