Daily Fantasy, Daily Life: Volume XXXII - I just got back from two weeks in Costa Rica
I just got back from two weeks in Costa Rica. And while I won’t bore you with stories of my family’s adventures – we saw a sloth! We went fishing! We didn’t kill each other! – I do want to talk about my … cell phone.
For starters, I’m old enough to remember when we still called them cell phones.
Of course, now they’re “smartphones,” which is one of the greatest marketing terms in the history of history. And boy, they sure do make you smart. I mean, back when I was first cutting my teeth in fantasy football, I had to read the next day’s newspaper to find out if Robb Riddick scored a touchdown (Google him). Today, of course, I can find out in two seconds if Robb Riddick found paydirt (he didn’t, he’s 65 years old, but you get the point).
Smartphones are super great awesome! Except …
I’m also old enough to remember that when I went on vacation back pre-smartphone, I would be hard-pressed to know about anything going on in the world, and that was even more awesome. Heck, as of a few years ago, you could still leave America, and – unless you bought a burner or something when you went abroad – you could be blissfully ignorant of the world at-large. WiFi was spotty at best, 4G – never mind 5G – wasn’t a thing, it would cost a fortune, you name it.
Blissfully ignorant for weeks at a time, and I’m confident I was better for it. It allowed me time to decompress, to not be buried in news and data while trying to relax. In case you haven’t read between the lines yet, I failed at doing that this vacation. I stayed connected the entire time. I wish I didn’t.
Now: What the heck does this have to do with DFS?
As we barrel to week one(!) of the NFL season, I can’t help but think that my best ball summer was the equivalent of not turning off my smartphone on vacation.
The fact is, I’m old enough to remember when fantasy season started in September, not May.
But now? I’ve been mainlining NFL news and minutiae every day since before Memorial Day. I know more about Dameon Pierce ADP journey than I … well, than I need to. Dameon Pierce! Seriously. Five years ago I wouldn’t have thought about Dameon Pierce until I started digging into week one DFS pricing. Rookie running back, fourth-round draft pick, ascended to number one on the depth chart, lousy team. That would’ve been my mental calculus.
But after this summer? I almost can’t understand how Hollywood hasn’t optioned his story. I mean … he’s a rookie running back! A fourth-round draft pick! He ascended to number one on the depth chart! He plays for a lousy team!
See the problem here? I’m building week one lineups, and I’m having a tough time keeping Pierce and his $4.8K DraftKings salary out of it. Take best ball out of the equation, and I’m looking at this guy for what he is: An unproven fourth-rounder on a bad team. Put best ball into the equation, and he’s the next Jim Brown in my warped mind.
As you might be guessing, I’m wondering how my heavy (heavy, heavy) best ball exposure is going to color my week one lineups.
Now granted, I may be better for it – I mean, I am more prepared for the NFL season than I ever have been – but it’s also entirely possible that I’m going to be drowning in meaningless information that I acquired during the summer (and spring).
To be clear: I’m not complaining about best ball. I love best ball. I will continue to play best ball. But by not letting my NFL brain rest – by not metaphorically turning off my smartphone – I am a little worried that I’ll have messed up whatever my previous DFS process was.
Of course, this all may be noise, and once week one is in the books, memories of best ball drafts will fade and I’ll just carry on with the knowledge the NFL fantasy season, once 16 weeks long, is now pretty much year-round. There is no turning it off, there is no turning back.
Oh and by the way: Costa Rica is awesome. Cannot recommend more. Great wireless service.