Buffalo Bills: Fantasy Football Draft time at Bryk’s House

Buffalowdown’s Scott Bryk discusses what we are all feeling as summer takes a backseat to Fantasy Football….

Well the Canal-side concerts commenced picking up momentum on divergent evenings as the once Thursday night only (square) tradition has continuously and increasingly flexed to other days. The pays off is obvious with  indubitable attractive lineups. James and the Psychedelic Furs brought several generations together to hear the iconic retro alternative bands luring the fans in to singing along to song after song.  Social Distortion and Flogging Molly are in the queue. Mind the Gap!

Lawn Fete beer tents are rocking Holy church properties as rock n roll, booze, “the forbidden dance” and gambling seem to be the most successful fundraisers. Festivals big and small are packing in locals. Campers, jet ski’s and boats are  piling on the mileage. (Side note: Cameron…. running the vehicle in reverse does not roll back the miles no matter what your friends Ferris and Sloan tell you. Sausage King of Chicago or not. )

Above-ground and in-ground pools are  filled with swimmers at all hours as the weather has been browning the lawns, hopefully children are not browning the pools.  The pure heat has made any hour of the day or night a perfect time for a dip.

Larkenville and the Outer Harbor continue the resurgence. Darien Lake concerts pack the amphitheater on Route 77 under the Six Flags brand yet again. Art Park continues to get solid headliners.

Many of the great times, cookouts and get together based on the date would say summer is more than half over. But it really hits home with an abundance of reality as two NFL teams downed the pads and competed in an organized game of American Football, real football, the only football.

The Hall of Fame pre-season game has come and gone.

Fantasy Football drafts are occupying Polish Living Rooms (garages with screens and furniture).  The common theory is incorrect as these functional rooms do exist outside of Cheektowaga. I recently saw one in Lancaster.

Man-Caves, on decks, patios, basements, backyards…contain intoxicated team owners selecting in auction style or snake drafts. On occasion some folks may inquire the next morning exactly which style draft he/she participated in. Drafts all fully complete on smart phones, tablets or potentially  heavy packers lugging laptops.

Remember when it was all Fantasy Football magazines, chalk boards, charts, erase boards, signs and having to pay close attention? Cheat Sheets. Don’t forget the Cheat Cheats.

Each drafter would have piles of paperwork in front of them, maybe an ash tray, certainly Labatt Blue or Budweiser products. (no 10% IPA’s with a name as if given by a child with a wild  imagination). A pager was on the table in front of several participants and those on the cutting edge may have had a big cell phone with a wired antenna or possibly some early Nokia flip phones. Minutes were very expensive, so if you reached me on my cell phone, I would call you right back from the host’s land line. So just page me. The phones “FOR SHOW”.  “For Show.”  ( Interpretation: FOR SHOW..phone is for appearance or perception only. An image or status material possession.  For Show…for certain.)

“Ya guys on MY SPACE?” I digress.

Every league has that guy who over does hitting the sauce every year, never knows when its time to go home and it takes many people an entire year to get past some of the comments the enthusiastic obnoxious player blurts out.  I apologize in advance if I step up to handle that role this year. No politics or religion. No politics or religion. No politics or religion.  The guy that back in the day would select Payton Manning or Marvin Harrison hours after they were off the board.

Please do not forget about the guy that is so very serious. He pays three years early, has the top 20 players at each position memorized in order given by three different major publications.  He shushes people trying to retain order. That same serious “all business” player evolves in to that player that by Week 3 hands out victories to your competition by not updating his starting roster as he starts injured players, players on the bye week, does not have a kicker..ya all know that guy.

In the old days he would call the commissioner during the second quarter of a game and leaving a voicemail to change his starters. Of course he tries saying he left the voicemail in the early hours of the morning before the London game transpired.

Many of these pre-regular season football traditions are the equivalent of a concerts opening acts. Similar to the AMC Theaters twenty minute previews up to and including the dancing popcorn explaining the use for the strategically placed trash cans. Soda and candy with arms and legs helping drive home the importance of silencing cell phones.  Hot-dogs riding a psychedelic roller-coaster getting you all giddy before seeing MY GIRL, The Pursuit of Happiness, Steel Magnolias, Changeling, My Left Foot, Blind Side, Crash or Pay It Forward. 

All of this means, well, things. Things like summer is well past almost over. Halloween Costumes are available to purchase. Finding swimwear for a cruise is much more difficult now than finding corduroy pants and jackets.Swimming pool stores have leftover floating devices and are fully stocked in winterizing kits. Things changing in many ways while its still routinely in the 80’s outside.

The reality is  gaining momentum and soon, very soon, Men will not be available on Sundays as their mornings are filled with pre-game shows right through post game Sunday night highlights. Don’t plan on many people being available Monday evenings and Thursday evenings. Plan on low productivity at the office on Monday mornings, Tuesday mornings and Friday mornings. Call offs will increase even as the weather quality decreases.

Go Bills, for we are here to cheer for you.  Are you ready for some football?