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A few weeks ago in
this space, I revealed my disgust of fantasy football, and, by
extension, fantasy sports in general. I have received word from
some readers of this column that I am wrongheaded about this
stance. None of these comments were more forceful than from Ian
Van Anden, a true scholar of sports. In his retort to my claims of
fantasy football being a mockery, he tried and failed to convince
me of my folly.
He then took a
tactic from the playbook of my beloved wife. Since I met her, she
had been trying to convince me of the “quality” of country music.
After putting on my “earmuffs,” I would state simply that country
was not my style. Then, about a year ago, she ran an end around.
She came to me, with a beautiful smile on her face, and said
“Would you listen to Johnny Cash if he did a cover of ‘Rusty Cage’
(one of the finest songs, by one of the finest musical groups in
the history of mankind, Soundgarden)?” Convinced I would dislike
it, I smugly agreed to give it go. And, damn, if Johnny Cash
can’t sing. So, now I am hooked; I have three Cash CDs in the car.
Listen to them on road trips. Might even give Willie Nelson a go.
I tell you that
story to tell you this one. Ian sent me an article about the
increasingly popular fantasy game of Fantasy Congress. Yep, right
there on the web (www.fantasycongress.com). And, damn, if it isn’t
interesting. You can draft legislators. You can bench them, trade
them, grab free agents. You get points as your team of Senators
and Representatives introduce bills and as the bills continue
through the legislative process. If it passes out of committee,
which is no small feat, a guaranteed 10 points. Forthcoming
options include points for floor time and newsworthy efforts in
their home district. There is even a source allowing educators to
use Fantasy Congress in the classroom. (My apologies to my
current Congress class for my delayed entry into this venture;
but, next time, watch out.) Yes, an interesting, in depth, current
look at the inner workings of Congress and, soon, the work members
do in addition to the progress of bills.
Mr. Scholar of All
Sport, Ian, also mentioned an interesting potential side note to
the certain mass popularity of this game, because, really, who
could get enough? The political equivalent of point shaving and
the potential for mass political scandal is upon us. What would
happen if liberal Democrats drafted arch-conservative Republicans,
whose bills passing through and being signed into law became
required to win late in the legislative season? In an effort to
win their Fantasy Congress league, might these same liberals try
to convince their own representatives to pass conservative
legislation to eek out a sweet victory? The Black Sox would have
nothing on this.
So, I stand
contrite. But, Fantasy Football still needs to go.
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