Viva Murillo!
Right now, the world doesn't care about football. The world cares about futbol, of course, as billions watch the World Cup and the United States wonders what the big deal is. The world cares about NBA free agents, as teams fight like schoolchildren over the best and most-expensive toys. The world cares about Tiger Woods and Wimbledon and the Williams sisters.
But football? No, not yet. Despite a compelling draft, an exciting free agent period and a few interesting court dockets, people aren't really paying attention in early July. You are, of course. Maybe you never stopped. Maybe you've been following every story, from Donovan McNabb's move to Washington to Vince Young's escapades at Onyx. You might have already considered LaDainian Tomlinson's effect on Shonn Grene, or how Thomas Jones will impact Jamaal Charles. You might have even figured how Dez Bryant will affect Miles Austin (and please let me know if you did). That has to put you ahead of the owners in your league who haven't been paying attention, right?
Right. You are ahead -- about an hour ahead. That's how long it will take your league mates to catch up. The payoff in following the NFL in the spring and early summer is simply indulging your love of football. It doesn't really help you in August or September, and it certainly won't help you in December. One day -- soon -- your fellow owners will stop watching prison documentaries on cable and wonder why Chris Johnson wants a new contract. They'll wake up from their hibernation and ask why Vincent Jackson was suspended. And then, a few minutes later, they'll know as much as you do.
That doesn't mean following the off-season was a waste of time. But it does mean you shouldn't have a false sense of security about it. It's not going to help you much a month from now. If anything it might hurt you, since you had a lot of time (maybe too much time) to ponder the important of every tweaked ankle or off-season quote. Your league mates will see them as trivial happenings, while you actually read about them as they occurred. Don't give them too much importance when making your preliminary projections.
The truth is that there's not too much you can do right now to stack the odds in your favor later. There are some things you can do to make your fantasy football experience better (more on that next week) but for now, keep doing what you're doing...for the fun of it. Just be a fan and follow your favorite team on its path to September That's good enough, right?
On the bright side, if you're just getting back into the swing of things...don't despair! One hour from now you'll be all caught up. No matter how long you've been away, you've come back at the right time and you'll be well-prepared to pursue that title.
This is going to be a great season, because we know for sure it's going to happen. Now, 2011...not so much. But 2010 is scheduled and ready. Let's enjoy that certainty while we wait for the world to catch up to football.
You can reach Michael Murillo at vivamurillo@hotmail.com.
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