My name is Chris Beam, and I have a Fantasy Football problem. "Hello, Chris" from the others in the FFA (Fantasy Football Anonymous). I have been participating since 1996 and fell in love ever since. My first draft pick ever was Drew Bledsoe, and in that year I finished 3rd. The next year I won the whole thing, and the year after that I took over the league as commissioner and still won. In 1999, I had enough with the lack of competition in this local league that included plenty of spares, and ventured out on the internet to find something more strategic and different to satisfy me.

I joined a free Dynasty League that included Defensive players and less performance based scoring system. Despite being a free league, this was one of the most competitive leagues around. Everyone traded and talked smack. This was the league you wish your local league was. In the first year of the new era of this league, (it had a past, but in 1999 it was blown up and started over fresh) I won it all. I barely slipped into the playoffs the next 3 seasons, and was quickly knocked out in the first round each year.

Also, in 1999 I found a brand new 16 Team Auction Keeper League. The scoring and lineups were from most basic leagues, but the challenge was the Auction and size of the league. I fared pretty well, considering it was my first in the Auction setup. I had 2 older studs at RB (Eddie George and Curtis Martin), and several sleepers at WR that never panned out. I managed to finish 4th that year. The next couple years, I struggled not having a quality young stud to keep cheaply. In 2002, my team started off on the wrong step again. At this point I had Bledsoe, Garner, Jamal Lewis, Chad Johnson, Darrell Jackson and Jerry Porter, and ended the season as 1 of the hottest teams. I had all these players at a nice price, so I was beginning 2003 with 1 of the teams to beat. I added McNair and the KC Defense/ST to this roster, but the Porter injury and some average performances down the stretch caused this team to fade.

Extending myself in more leagues, meant a little less focus in the inaugural league. I missed the playoffs for the first time ever. Adler, finished 2nd. If I remember correctly, this was his 2nd year in this league that was slowly transitioning in all of my GoodBuds. His Rookie season was definitely a season to forget. He proceded to dominate the rest of us pions for the next 3 years, while I still construct a quality team, but just missing the playoffs every year since. Last year, I was determined to get back to glory and I had the secret weapon, my newly developed QBD system. I had a late 1st round pick, and as always stud RBs were going fast. It was my pick and the QBD told me to take Marvin Harrison. Just think of the QBD as a talking Magic 8 Ball. Then, it serpentined back around to me for the 12th or so pick, and the Magic QBD Ball had Randy Moss and Terrell Owens ranked 7th and 8th, but within fractions of a point of each other. I draftad Moss the last 2 seasons and I blamed him for me missing the playoffs both years, and Owens was a can't miss Contract year Stud. I ignored the QBD, and am suffering ever since. Moss slipped down to the guy who drafted a discounted Priest Holmes and cruised all season long.

The Ultimate League

The different leagues I participated in were fun, but I still needed more. I was tired of the dumb luck and I wanted to incorporate more strategy on a week to week basis. With most leagues, there is very little strategy outside of the draft. I wanted a league that you started a lineup based on who your opponent has, instead of a lineup to score the most points regardless of who you play. In this league, the Home Team selects the Offensive Lineup and the Away Team selects the Defensive Lineup. Now, that is strategy on a weekly basis. You play the matchups going with your strengths and/or away from your opponents weaknesses. To begin things off it had to be an Auction league. Every team starts the same way, and it isn't your normal Auction draft. Instead of an owner nominating a player and then bidding continues until that player is sold, all players are available at all times. This system resembles that of an actual Off Season. Any team can make an offer to as many players as it wants and when it wants to. Same concept goes for this league. Owners make offers (or bids) on a player. If a better offer does not come along in 72 hours, the player accepts the offer. One of the catches is that no matter how many bids you have outstanding you must be under the cap, and you can't refuse an offer. You can't bid on 5 QBs and only want 1. If you get all 5 QBs, you buy all 5 QBs. This obviously was a long process, but it was pretty intense at times. Last minute stealing became a common occurance, and caused instant rivalries. 2003 was the Inaugural season of the Ultimate League, and it was an instant hit. Before the season started, I figured the Home teams would dominate, but it wasn't necessarily the case. Several teams seperated themselves from the rest of the pack, which was another suprise. *Plug Alert* I ran away with Home Field Advantage, thanks to the QBD. Trent Green was my consistency at QB, and I had a stable of decent RBs with Garner, Brian Westbrook, Rudi Johnson, and Eddie George. I figured everyone would go after RBs and I could scoop up WRs relatively cheaply. Never did I imagine my WRs consist of Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss, & Chad Johnson, which I rode to most of my victories and I have them signed for another 2 years. Too bad I dropped Keenan McCardell early in the year. I don't know how I lost my 2 home playoff games to finish 4th, but I am looking forward for some revenge and the crown to my own league.