They say "It ain't over 'till it's over." But if you're sitting at 3-8 or worse, it's over. You're not going to the playoffs this year. There's no advice or pep talk I can give to change that.
Still, while it's over, it's not completely over, is it?
You still have a couple of games left on the schedule, and it's your responsibility to play them out. But you don't have to coldly go through the motions of entering a starting lineup and hold your chin up while the ship sinks. You can actually have fun with it. If you see opponents left who are in a must-win situation, you can try to do the next best thing to making the playoffs: Keep someone else out of them.
If your league has bragging rights, there's nothing better than taking the title and mentioning it to everyone for the entire off-season. But if you defeat a team that needed a win, you get bragging rights over that team. Sure, neither of you made the playoffs, but you were the reason they didn't make it, and you can remind them of that for the next several months. And yes, it will hurt them to hear about it over and over.
You see, you're not supposed to care at this point. You're just playing out the string, so even if you start healthy players you're not expected to use the waiver wire and really think about putting the best guys in the lineup. And if you decide to just abandon the team, even better for them. You're supposed to roll over and let your buddy march into the post-season.
Is that you? Are you going to sit back and watch them step over your husk of a team on their way to glory?
Of course not. You're going to rise up and claim a piece of the trash-talking pie. You can keep good players out of their hands on the waiver wire, you can declare victory on the message boards and you can make each week a dramatic, one-game season where you have nothing to lose but your opponent has everything on the line.
How often do you get to be in this position? If you lose, so what? It doesn't matter. But if you win, it ruins a friend's entire season and you get to own that until next year. They're the ones who have to sweat lineup decisions, they have to make last-minute changes, then change them back, then change them back again as rosters are about to lock. But you can sit back, relax, and watch your team drag another one away from the playoffs.
I'm not saying this is where you wanted to be, but it's not a bad consolation prize when you think about it. Fantasy football is supposed to be fun, and this year might not have had enough fun moments. But right at the end, here's a chance to simply have a good time with no risk and plenty of reward. If there's a bubble team on the schedule, take advantage of it.
And if you're the bubble team, this is probably the last outcome you want to see. A team with nothing to lose doing everything it can to win, and derail all your work in the process. But if that's your opponent's mindset, try to respect the attitude. This is one of the good owners. It would be better in the short-term if they gave you an easy win, but long-term it's bad for the league. What if next year you need another team to lose to make the playoffs, but they get a pass because their opponent gave up in October? That would be frustrating. Let every team face a worthy opponent each week, including you.
So put some meaning into a "meaningless week." Enjoy what's left of the season, win a game or two you don't have to win, and make a buddy regret facing you at the wrong time. Good luck this week.
Ever enjoy the fun of keeping a friend out of the post-season? Ever have a buddy who kept you out of it just because they could? Share your stories below.