1997... The Greatest Turnaround in USFC history

In a keeper league format, it's easy to mange a team with superstars. Any quality owner knows that in a keeper league, you are either extremely excited about your coming season or probably pretty anxious. You get no do-overs. The mess you make is the mess you must clean -up. My brothers and I created the USFC with each owner receiving 8 franchises.

I had teams with a good record of success and they continued to thrive well into 1997, and it's easy to do when Emmitt Smith is the centerpiece. I was still learning the game and with each passing season disappointment followed me. One of my teams in particular was terrible in 1996. The Baton Rouge Armada had back-to-back Number 1 picks in the 95 and 96 drafts. And to no surprise they had finished the 96 season 3-10 under the leadership of RB's Kijana Carter and Lawrence Phillips. Thus begins the greatest turnaround in USFC history.

I started the rebuilding project knowing I needed quality RB's in order to compete. I coax my brother Ryan into dealing RB Barry Sanders to me in an incredible Mega deal. Ryan would receive RB's Kijana Carter and Lawrence Phillps, WR Terrance Mathis(1,000 yd WR for Atlanta) and a number 1 pick in the 1998 draft. To Ryan's defense Barry Sanders was coming off his worst season to date(still over 1,000 yds though) and his net return included some talented players. Now that I had 1 RB position secured I knew I needed another.

I dialed in and traded my brother Derrick the 4th pick in the upcoming draft for Napoleon Kaufman of the Oakland Raiders. Kaufman was a young, small, fast as heck back who could catch and break big runs with the best of them. Adding future Pro Bowl WR Rob Moore of Arizona in the 2nd round and later QB Steve McNair sealed the deal for this team. The Armada opened the year with 10 straight wins only to drop 1 game and finish the regular season 12-1. The playoffs proved no match for other teams and Sanders ran his way to over 2,000 yards and 15+TD's. In a keeper league format, such a feat doesn't come along very often. I started to really understand the beautiful art of making trades.

1993. Expansion comes to the USFC

In the original league that we had, there was 6 owners. At the time my brothers and I decided to break away from the league and just have us 3 be owners. We decided to expand to a large amount of teams (24) to give the USFC a more NFL like experience. We also decided to start having a keeper league. Allowing teams to hold over 1 new player every year to help create dynasties and traditions.
This new set-up allowed teams to draft for example RB Marshall Faulk and hold on to him his entire career. Several players have never left a particular franchise and while it's meant some lean years for some teams there is always the one draft pick that can keep your team on top of their respective division for 10+ years. I owned the first pick of the expansion era with the then Montana Miners (later moving to Tempe). With 6 players off the board already (Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, Jerry Rice, Reggie Cobb, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin).
I knew I wanted to take a running back and the decision came down to then Oiler RB Lorenzo White or San Francisco RB Ricky Watters, who was just in his 2nd year. I went with Ricky Watters and thus paved the way to several years of success for the Miners/Tempe Tornadoes. Jerry Rice led the Jacksonville Gators (Ryan's team) all the way to the league title that year and set-off the USFC on a wild ride that enters it's 20th year of existence this year.

1991. You never forget your first...

As I mentioned in the previous post, our league was comprised of only 6 total teams. The fact that I wasn't the best at naming teams I decided to alter my team name from the Winnebago Indians to the Birmingham Busters. I am guessing you may be wondering as to why the "Busters". Well, Buster was my teddy bear back in the day and it seemed only fitting that I move to that.

The change did me good as 1991 was the first of my championships and favorite because I beat my rival brother Derrick and his Tulsa Rush. Before the Internet days of checking fantasy scores live came the days when I would walk down to get the paper and check the stats Monday morning. Compile the numbers and add them up. That Monday I knew I had won not because I had compiled all my stats but because my brother Derrick returned home from his overnight security job and never said a word to me. In fact he ignored me completely and went to bed.

Needless to say, I knew things were in the bag.

Barry Sanders led me to the title and to this day was the greatest player in the USFC. He won 4 titles with 4 different teams. (The USFC expanded to 24 teams in 1993) The first two years of existence he was on a championship roster. He is now immortalized in the USFC Hall of Fame.

I am a little spotty as to the rest of my players but I certainly remember having Barry Word of the Kansas City Chiefs. You wouldn't think back-up running backs would be a premium in a 6 team league but Kansas City had a awesome attack in Christian Okoye and Barry Word. 1991 was a big year for me. One I shall never forget, one that gave a taste of what winning a fantasy league felt like... and I knew I liked it.

Check out the USFC Fantasy League. 20 years Strong.

http://football18.myfantasyleague.com/2009/home/33396

Starting out young...

Fantasy Football is huge now-a-days. Millions play it around the world in local bars, family and work leagues, and most recently the high stakes arena. Most people consider the game recreation, something that is mostly luck with very little skill. A game of chance that is used for mostly entertainment purposes.

I scoff at that notion as I look back at all I have learned and accomplished. I was introduced into Fantasy Football in 1990 at the tender age of 10. I could hardly grasp the basic concepts of how the game worked much less sit still for more than 10 minutes. My brothers, Ryan and Derrick brought home a magazine one day that explained the rules for setting up a league. When they told me I could name my team anything I wanted; I promptly announced my team would be called the Kansas City Chiefs...

We started up our first league and called it the United States Football Conference (20th anniversary this year) and it had a total of 6 participants. You wouldn't think it was real tough to draft considering some of the leagues you see today but we had only one reference material the Fantasy Football Digest (thanks Cliff Carpentier) and the knowledge of our favorite team; the Green Bay Packers.

My first ever draft pick was QB Jim Everett of the then Los Angeles Rams. It would be the start of a lot of drafts, a lot of picks, ton of memories, friends, and Championships won.