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Viva Murillo!

If you saw a friend walking in your direction at the mall (not your best friend, but let’s say a general buddy), would you stop and say hello?Or would you give him a quick wave as you kept walking? If you saw him at a holiday party, would you shake hands and make conversation, or would you wave from across the room and not acknowledge him the rest of the evening?

On top of all that, suppose you knew it was his birthday. Would you say something, or would you just let it go?

I would hope that those scenarios seem silly to you. Of course you’d take a moment to say hello, have a conversation and wish him a happy birthday. It would be rude to ignore him, wouldn’t it? Yes, it would. And when you ignore your league’s champion, that’s equally rude.

A number of guys (14, 12, 10, whatever) got together several months ago and decided to play a game. They played for weeks and weeks, until finally one of them became champion. Normally, these guys are friends, or at least general acquaintances. I think the least you can do is take a moment and acknowledge the one who took the title.

And that doesn’t mean a generic “congrats” e-mail sent to the league or a word on a message board. That’s like a quick wave to someone in the mall and walking right past them. Pretend it’s the person's birthday. If you talk to the person on the phone ... make a phone call. If you only converse via e-mail, send them a private note. Take a minute out of your day and do the right thing. You don’t have to gush over his championship like a fan, but you can congratulate him and look like a good sport.

After all, he's probably the kind of owner that makes the league fun in the first place. He pays attention throughout the year, works the waiver wire, makes trades and stays active. Compare that to the cowards who abandon their teams after a few weeks and force the league to deal with that orphaned franchise. Your league’s champion is the kind of owner who should be encouraged and congratulated, and good owners like you are the ones to do it.

Now, if you happen to be your league’s champion, I offer my congratulations -- and a bit of advice: Be humble when accepting these calls and e-mails. After all, we all know that luck plays a role in every title. A fumble here, a yellow flag there, and it would be you congratulating somebody else. Don’t forget how close your opponents were to claiming your spot, and try to appreciate the owners that made the league worth winning.

Whatever you do, don’t pretend it was simply your awesome skill that blew everyone away. Let me tell you a personal story that illustrates my point. I won a title this past weekend (back-to-back in this particular league), and this is how great I am at fantasy football: I had three big decisions to make in week 16.

* Brett Favre vs. Sage Rosenfels. I went with Favre (3.65) instead of Rosenfels (17.65). There’s 14 points down the drain right there.

* Deion Branch vs. Steve Smith. I was sure about this one; I went with Branch (2.4) over Smith (19.7). That brilliant move cost me another 17 points.

* Bobby Engram vs. Santonio Holmes. This one is great: Despite Holmes’ match-up and his improving health, I was torn between whom to play. I even had Holmes in my lineup for most of the week. But despite the mounting evidence and a personal e-mail from Ian Allan advising me to start Holmes (“I think he might hit a long one in that game,” Ian wrote hours before he caught an 83-yard pass), I shrewdly started Engram instead. As I’m sure you know, Santonio (14) was better than Bobby (6.9).

As a result, my wise decision-making cost me more than 38 fantasy points. So how did I win? Was it my incredible skill at fantasy football ... or the fact that my opponent suffered a couple of injuries and had the lowest score in the league last week? Sure, I had some productive guys in my lineup and I made some good decisions over the course of the season, but my poor line-up choices could have cost me. They didn’t, and I won. But I know luck played a big role in that championship -- just like it did last year. Just like it does in all fantasy championships.

So while it’s okay to do some good-natured trash-talking, be a good sport like the guys who are congratulating you. Together, you make the league what it is. And when the situation is reversed (and eventually, it will be) remember to be a good sport on the other side, too. The ones who don’t are the real losers.

Michael Murillo congratulates himself and Sam Elliot on their fantasy championships. More to come next week. In the meantime, feel free to share your happy (or sad) week 16 stories below. You can also reach Michael Murillo at vivamurillo@gmail.com.

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