The research, the arguments, the draft, the auction, the lineups, the winning streaks, the waiver wire, the losing streaks, the trade offers, the back-and-forth, the trade that never happened, the trade that did happen, the disappointment, the rebound, the playoffs, and the fantasy Super Bowl. It's all over.
Well, almost.
There's one thing left to do. Not designate a keeper, not toilet paper Andrew Luck's car and not complain about Jimmy Graham's almost-maybe-touchdown. No, the thing you still have to do is congratulate your league champion.
No matter how big your league is, how close everyone is, how much money is at stake or how close the race was, acknowledging the winner is always the last piece of business you need to conduct. Whether you were 2-12 or undefeated until week 16, it's time to congratulate the winner.
That doesn't mean a passing "congrats" on a message board, or a "u got lucky lol" on social media. It means contacting them personally. If you're good friends, it might mean a phone call, where you actually talk to the person. Offer your congratulations and talk about the season for a few minutes. If you don't know them well, a personal e-mail is fine, as long as you're sincere. Even if you joke around with them all the time, go ahead and be semi-serious for a moment. Let them know you appreciate their role in the league.
Wait a minute. Appreciate? Why would you appreciate someone else's title? Well, you're not appreciating their championship. You're appreciating their role in the league, which led to a championship. The winner is very likely one of your better owners. They scour the waiver wire, they don't start players on the bye, the field and make trade offers and they care about winning. Does every single owner in your league do that? Probably not. So yes, appreciate the ones who make the league what it is, and the title worth winning.
Every owner in the league should do this, especially the runner-up. But how many actually will? Half? Two or three? None, except you? It's a shame, but with a phone call you might deliver the most "personal" congratulations they'll receive. You can't make your fellow owners do the right thing, but you can make sure you always do it yourself. If Little League kids can do it, and NHL players can do it, you can do it, too.
You don't do it to gain anything except the satisfaction of being a good sport. It's simply the right thing to do. But it's not going to hurt your team, either. If only one owner congratulated you properly, would you remember that person? Might you respond a little quicker to their trade offer next year? Go the extra mile to get a deal done? Treat them better than a stranger who drifts away once they're out of contention? I would. Good owners respect other good owners, and relationship-building never hurt a trade.
And if you're this year's winner, congratulations. But please, be gracious if someone acknowledges your title. The time for trash-talk is over. Winning with dignity can be just as hard for some people as losing with it. Good winners are good owners, and vice-versa. I hope you got to be both this year.
Either way, settle in for the NFL playoffs, and maybe a little more fantasy football to go along with it.
Do you congratulate your league's winner each year? Did you ever win and have the other owners barely acknowledge it, or are they stand-up owners? Share your thoughts below.