A chance email announcing a weekend fantasy football experience at the Pro Football Hall of Fame started the ball rolling. We live in Northeast Ohio – an easy hour’s drive from Canton – and yet we had never been to the Hall of Fame together. Don wanted to attend the event; I wanted to see the Hall of Fame and thought it sounded like a fun time. The email said three Hall of Fame players and several experts would spend the day giving us advice and answering questions. As good as it sounded on paper, we had no idea what was in store for us.
Don is as close to being a fantasy expert as you can get without the official title of “Expert”. His fantasy football resume’ is quite impressive. Four championships in a 16-team league including a 3 year run of bringing that huge trophy home to reside in our living room. Last year he lost the Super Bowl by one point. Three years ago he won a work league – and was not invited back the next year…come on, guys! He plays daily leagues, weekly leagues (won 2nd place in a Fantasy Guru contest) and locally sponsored contests. You get the idea – Don is all about Fantasy Football and he knows his stuff.
I, on the other hand, have a more casual view of fantasy football. I have played once before and retired after winning the championship. Eliminator/survivor pools were more my cup of tea – until the Fantasy Football Experience. Saturday morning started bright and early with breakfast at the Hall of Fame. As I was about to pour a cup of coffee, Hall of Famer Warren Moon asked me if I was ready for this. Yes! Absolutely! My goal is to learn fast and beat Don this year at his own game! With a high five from a Hall of Fame player, my Fantasy Experience began. Midway through the day I was 100% in. I had caught the fever!
The level of expertise at the Experience was beyond amazing. Hall of Famers Warren Moon, Anthony Munoz and Chris Doleman joined fantasy experts Michael Fabiano (http://NFL.com), John Hansen (http://FantasyGuru.com), Jeff Ratcliffe (http://ProFootballFocus.com), Mike Clay (http://ESPN.com), Bob Lung (http://BigGuyFantasySports.com) and David Dodds (http://FootballGuys.com). All of these guys graciously answered questions, offered opinions and bantered back and forth like old friends.
The Fantasy Football Experience at the Pro Football Hall of Fame was an unbelievable weekend. It was so far beyond our expectations that we are still constantly talking about it, and it is one of the main reasons we decided to start this blog! We want to help make sure there is a “next year” so our friends can all go too.