"Even if those Cowboys are better than you guys..even if they beat you 99 times out of 100..that still leaves.....ONE TIME."-Danny O'Shea Little Giants
The most fitting quote for a final ever in the history of our league. Nobody gave Matt a chance in hell of beating Mayra in the finals. He barely got through the previous round against Albert via a tiebreaker and scored a measly 78 points. How in the hell was he supposed to compete against Mayra's team loaded with stars at every position?? Well...let's just say that's why games are played on the field and not on paper.
Dr. Light's Robots (1-0-1) 119
Bigger Balls (1-1) 113.5
Yeah...this was NOT how everyone had this ending. Week after week of nothing but destruction. 14 weeks of undefeated dominance. No real challenges, just the best damn team in the league doing it's job. There was one more hurdle though..but it was Matt and his Dr. Light's Robot squad. She had just finished destroying Eugene and his much more talented team..Matt shouldn't be a problem right? Matt's decision to play Toby Gerhart over Trent Richardson ended up being the most crucial decision of the game. He loses if he stays status quo. So what happened after that..well after that, the start Saturday was typical. Matt got a 1 point play from Jordan Reed and Mayra got 24.5 points from Antonio Gates. I mean right there..it just looked like the writing was on the wall. Gates is like her worst player in her lineup and he just went for almost 25 while Matt's tight end got 1? The 1st wave of games wasn't any better..it was the patented BARRAGE of Mayra's guys going off. Forte...TD...Wallace...TD...Antonio Brown...TD..Le'Veon Bell TD....Wallace AGAIN...TD. It felt like a knockout blow while Matt's guys (with the exception of Jordy Nelson, who managed to somehow have the most quiet 21.5 points I've ever seen) did NOTHING..especially Matt's BEST PLAYER..JAMAAL CHARLES who for the 2nd straight week was dogshit with only 6.5 points (he even fumbled). When I talked to Matt on the phone he had all but conceded that this matchup was over and he was content with tripling his money at $150. Then the afternoon games started....and ALL HELL BROKE LOSE. Matt quickly got TD's from Odell Beckham Jr. and Sammy Watkins. Dez actually would have a TD called back due to a penalty on DeMarco Murray, but he would score on the next drive, so at the time nothing much was thought of it. That looked like it would be the end of Matt's "mini comeback" but then something strange was going on in the Cowboys-Colts game. The Cowboys were DESTROYING the Colts and more specifically just totally eliminating Andrew Luck and the Colts offense, who were just in disarray all game. I kept waiting to see Luck turn it on and rack up some points but it just never happened and by the time it was total blowout in the 3rd, the Colts, with nothing really to play for, did what something that cripples most fantasy owners...they benched Luck and he was done for the day. His final point total...1 point. Just a KILLER...in the Finals no less. The double edged sword of it was with the Cowboys up so much..the passing game was basically phased out rendering Dez useless in the 2nd half. Totally a lose-lose situation and as the Luck benching was going on..who else but Odell Beckham Jr, Matt's Savior, scored an 80 yard TD and all of the sudden the blowout was turned into a somewhat manageable margin. Thanks to some extra yardage, Matt was able to get the lead dwindled to 16.5..with Mayra out of players and Matt left with one play left...on Monday Night...and it was Emmanuel Sanders. You couldn't ASK for a better scenario with the championship on the line. Here's Matt, the underdog of all underdogs, who look to be just completely knocked out silly, all of sudden with a chance to actually do what no one had done alllllll season...get a win against Mayra. Now 17 points is NOT easy. It wasn't a given at all. Emmanuel Sanders though was very capable of that kind of game so it wasn't unthinkable. When the game finally started, Sanders caught a 21 yard pass on the 2nd play of the game. It looked like it would be a sign of things to come. But then......NOTHING...THE REST OF THE HALF. At halftime Matt was down 15 still, and the Broncos offense was just looking absolutely awful. Once again..it seemed like things were slipping away and the big magical comeback was going to be stopped dead in its tracks. Then...it started gaining traction again. A 30+ yard bomb to Sanders led to a short yardage Sanders TD and all of sudden Matt was only down 2.5 points with over 8 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. It was basically a given that Matt would complete the unthinkable. Of course the agony of waiting for a player to score 2.5 points in any game, much less a CHAMPIONSHIP one had to just be the most helpless feeling ever, and the next drive, the Broncos were driving with NONE of it going to Sanders. Then...once again...Sanders with a 2nd TD sealed the deal. Matt had slayed the giant. In hands down the most shocking upset in our leauge's history...Matt became the one who put the 1 in 14-1. All year...Mayra's team had just dominated, obliterated, an decimated all challengers in front of her. We all tried...we all failed...miserably. It didn't look like anyone could stop the machine. Then there's Matt, who quietly finished 3rd place and then made the finals on a tie breaker technicality after only scoring 78 points. Just such a hopeless mismatch. Except once again..it's the old adage of "Games aren't played on paper...they're played on the field". For Mayra...I can't imagine how the sting feels. It doesn't take away from what was a truly historic season. She broke a ton of records in the process and though it was a bitter bitter ending..she still gets 2nd place and $150. Also it's not like she got blown out...that game was hers to win..if Andrew Luck just has a BAD game she wins (to me a Bad game is 8-10 points..what Luck did was just so beyond pathetic..there's no way she keeps him now)..he just had the worst game you can possibly have. She STILL only lost by 5.5 points despite that. The Luck play would've DESTROYED most normal teams. That's how strong her team was. She did nothing wrong..the right players were played..no wrong decisions or anything. It's just how the cards fell. Fantasy Football is mostly about luck...with some skill involved. It's unpredictable, no matter how much research and effort you put into it. It's going to sting, but hey..next year..she'll have two solid keepers, and she'll be ready to go next year and take another shot at Fantasy Gold. For Matt...what a story..you couldn't write it any better. Matt, an "Original 8" member, was the only active member from that group who hadn't even PLACED. Matt's been a 1st seed only to fall in the next round after getting a bye and then getting bounced in the 3rd place game twice. He knows the feeling of playoff disappointment. All that...is gone now...he's a CHAMPION. And like Albert, Leland, and myself..that's something that can never be taken away from him. He's in that elite group and it's a well deserved win. Just like the quote on top...Mayra's team is better than Matt's. If they played 99 more times...no doubt Mayra's taking them all....but all it took was one....one time...that's all it took and those two words are now immortalized into Wane McGarity Bowl Folklore. Congrats again Matt..you are offically the Champion of The Wane McGarity Bowl.
Wane McGarity Bowl MVP
Odell Beckham Jr. (Dr. Light's Robots)
8 Receptions, 148 Receiving Yards, 2 Receiving TD's, 30 Points
I don't think there's ever been a bigger waiver wire pickup in our league's history than Odell Beckham Jr. He's the main reason Matt finished the 3rd and the main reason Matt won both semi finals and now finals. It's going to be interesting to see what Matt does with him next year as he also has Jordy Nelson and Jamaal Charles to think about, but there's no doubt Matt won this finals because of Odell Beckham's 30 point finals performance. He came up so huge when it was needed.
Other League Notes: Eugene easily dispatched of Albert to take 3rd place so in the end Dante Moncrief did indeed cost Albert $150. Kenny took home the Michael Wiley Loser Bowl title for the 2nd time in 3 years by beating Ryan. And now...the final standings of the Wane McGarity Bowl for the 2014 Season.
Champion-Dr. Light's Robots (Matt)
2nd Place-Bigger Balls (Mayra)
3rd Place-Rocket Man (Eugene)
4th Place-Channel 4 News Team (Albert)
5th Place-Winter Is Over (Alex)
6th Place-JTG's Warehouse (Drew)
7th Place-Woe Is Me (Kenny)
8th Place-Hoosier Daddy (Ryan)
9th Place-The Bad Robofies (Dad)
10th Place-Shock The Monkey (Mark)
11th Place-NEXT!!! (Leland)
12th Place-Arturo's Beans (Me)
I'll be posting year end awards in the following days throughout the next couple weeks.
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