Monday, March 16, 2009

2003 - A New League is Born

Initial posts will be longer than the norm, since I will first publish a history of the league to try to catch up to where we are right now.

In 2003, Jorge Parrales created a fantasy football league, primarily because he was discontent with what he considered an unnecessary imbalance in the value of different positions in fantasy football. Knowing that he would never be able to make them perfectly equal in value, his only goal was to lessen the gap between various positions. This was achievable by adding more statistical categories. Instead of scoring settings being strictly limited to yards gained and touchdowns scored, points could be earned for completions, carries and receptions. By giving points-per-completion, the quarterback would [usually] become the highest-scoring position in the league. By doubling the credit for a reception, quality receivers became as important to their fantasy teams as they were in real life, and it also increased the value of a running back who could contribute as a receiver as well as they did to the running game. Perfecting the system would take some time; it still might not even be complete. But there's no doubt that what has resulted has raised the competitive element of fantasy football. No longer is a championship practically guaranteed simply by getting the best RB in the draft. Strategy and good management decisions are more important than ever.

In 2003, Yahoo was also just getting started in the world of fantasy football. Commissioner powers were limited and league requirements were minimal. This is why the League of the Crust (LOTC) was able to have an odd number of teams.

Lazily named "Have Some Fun", the LOTC was filled with nine teams, five that continue to be a part of the league to this day. With an odd number, one team per week had to sit out on a 'bye' week. With 15 games in the regular season, this meant six teams would have two bye weeks, resulting in a different number of games played. This would prove to play a mildly controversial role in determining the four playoff teams.

Final regular season standings are as follows.

Team Name
*The HD King (Hybrids)

W
10
L
3
T
0


Points
2731
*The Master Plan (Texas Thundermonkeys) 9 5 0
2558
*Carmen Sutera (Phil Massine - NLIL) 8 5 0
2889
*Djiboutti Crust

8 6 0
2685
Beatubad


7 6 0
2895
The Hatian Sensation (Tenacious D) 6 7 0
2614
Great to be Kings (John Jemison - NLIL) 4 9 0
2446
19-10 (I'm a Texan)

4 9 0
2326
Regulators (Steve Fiedler - NLIL)
4 10 0
2018

In the semifinals, both lower seeds won as Djiboutti Crust and Carmen Sutera moved on to the championship, where Carmen Sutera emerged as the league champion.

Carmen Sutera's owner, Phil Massine, is the only league champion that is no longer a member of the league. Additionally, the 2003 season stands as the only year where the league's highest-scoring team did not make the playoffs.

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