Last night during the ‘real’ Super Bowl XLI in which Indianopolis finally won a title with Peyton Manning, there was supposed to be an award ceremony for the MMQB Football Fantasy Champion at one of the team owner’s place during half-time. Unfortunately I, the champion, was unable to attend due to late arrival home from our ski trip to Mt. Tremblant along with the crazy -30 C and windy weather that was resulting in poor driving conditions.
Thus, the award ceremony was delayed to this morning and reduced to a simple handshake from Pat and the handover of the trophy. The group was a little disheartened that I was unable to attend last night for it was the 1st time in league history that the champion did not receive the trophy in person.
Therefore, I crafted an ‘acceptance email’ that I sent to all the owners in lieu of giving an acceptance speech in person. Here is a copy of the contents I delivered. SInce it may never happen again I was sure to be humble and thankful in order to set a good example for future winners. Because really, it is mostly luck that wins the championship. A good team to get you into position but to finish on top requires a lot of things that are out of your control.
The Acceptance Email:
Subject: Gushing with ‘Pride’ over the Dick Buttkiss Trophy
1st of all: I apologize to all for not attending Super Bowl XLI at Don’s place last night. I heard great things about the party and the spread put on by the gracious host and guests. Unfortunately I was in transit on the 401 until midway into the 3rd quarter due to poor weather conditions and a long trip from Mt. Tremblant
This morning Pat presented me with the Dick Butkiss Trophy. I immediately proceeded to parade around the office holding the trophy high up for all to see. I intend to leave it in my office for a few days so that visitors can look upon it in wonder and awe until they find out what the award is for and then quickly lose interest. It will also be there for Pat to look at covetously each time he drops in for a visit.
I would like to thank the owners of the league for allowing me to enter the league and participate. The competition is very high in this league and I was forced to ramp up quickly on many areas of the NFL that are not necessary in the traditional spread pools that I’ve regularly played. Fortunately, it seems that MLB Rotisserie skills do migrate over to this format and having used the CBS website for those leagues I didn’t have to spend time learning how to use the site for gathering information, etc.
But most importantly I’d like to thank the previous owner of the franchise, formerly known as Steeler Pride. I inherited a team that had the tools to win again this year. Since taking over, I’ve enhanced the team by drafting talent for the future and making a trade to compliment the team but the solid core remains intact.
As for winning the season it simply came down to being in the right place at the right time. There are better teams in this league that in the long run would be the horse to bet on and almost always payoff. From what I can see, the only reason I topped out was that I lucked into having some really hot players down the stretch, most notably Steven Jackson and Vince Young. As for the final game itself, that was literally a coin flip and Tony deserves the trophy as much as I. I know we both left a lot of points on the bench that game and would love to go back and adjust the lineups. But I’m glad we can’t because the outcome would most certainly have been reversed.
Thanks everyone for a wonderful season and look forward to meeting you next season at the draft.
Roach.
By the way, the Dick Butkiss Trophy (the name is a modification of the real ‘Dick Butkis’ who I believed played for the Bears and was in a bunch of Miller Lite commercials in the 80’s) is a beauty. About 2 ft tall with engravings of all past champions including the newly anointed 2006 champions: “Roach’s Ruddigers”. A picture will be posted.