Enjoy the Here and Now

Do you ever look back and wonder what it would have been like to play fantasy football back in the 80's? Do you ever think how awesome it would have been to be a Jerry Rice owner in the strike-shortened 1987 season? In only 12 games, the all-time NFL leader posted 22 TD's and over 1,100 total yards. Or how cool would it have been to be the guy who stole Dan Marino back in 1984 fantasy draft? You have to figure Marino went pretty late considering he was entering his second professional season and had been less impressive in his inaugural campaign than Matt Ryan was as a rookie in '08. The reward for those savvy owners would have been 5,084 yards and 48 TD passes. Unheard of at that time.

I, for one, often look back at those days and wish I could have owned the "Diesel" John Riggins as my RB1 in 1983 and 1984. As a Redskins fan, nothing would have been sweeter than steamrolling the competition with Riggins' 2,600+ yards and 38 TD's over that two-year stretch.

That being said, enjoy the era we're playing in now. Believe me when I say that years from now fantasy players will wish that they would have had a chance to experience the greatness that has been LaDainian Tomlinson. The consistent airborne proficiency of Peyton Manning. The human highlight reel(sorry 'Nique) known as Randy Moss. And the list goes on and on...

As much fun as it can be to look back at the players of the past, don't forget to appreciate what we have going right now. This is the golden age of fantasy football, and we are smack dab in the middle of it. Millions upon millions of people participate in at least one regular fantasy football league each and every week. The numbers are as eye-popping as ever as the athletes continue to evolve into football playing machines while the information available to us is infinite.

It's cool to reflect but, when you sit down in front of that big HDTV on Sundays this fall, make sure that you take a sec and understand that you are witnessing history unfold right in front of you. The things you are watching and taking part in, from a fantasy football aspect, are the same things that the next generation will long to have been a part of.

And it'll always be okay to hate on the guy who picked up Kurt Warner after Rodney Harrison dashed Trent Green's 1999 season. Damn you Shawn Singleton!