I was at the library Monday night on the edge of my seat, nervously fidgeting with my sweaty hands. Had homework become really exciting all of a sudden? No. Was I waiting to pounce on the next available computer? No.
I was closely following the final moments of the Eagles-Redskins contest on espn.com. Some of you may recall my previous columns in which I mentioned I was a Cowboys fan, so why would I care this much about this particular Monday night game? I hate both the Eagles and the Skins and nothing that either team does right now really affects Dallas, because my Cowboys easily defeated the Falcons on Sunday, 37-21, in what was definitely their most solid game this season.
Well, the answer is fantasy football. I'm sure some of you are familiar with this phenomenon that has swept the nation in recent years. This is my third year playing in a league, but this is the first time I've had a weekend come down to the final game's final minutes. All of my players were done playing after Sunday afternoon's late games and I had tallied 111 points. My opponent, fellow Cavalier Daily sports staffer Ben Gomez, had 87 points following Sunday night's Cardinals-Giants matchup in which New York receiver Steve Smith recorded six points for him.
In the Monday night game, Ben could still get points with the Eagles' defense and Washington running back Clinton Portis, which put me in a weird situation of supporting the Redskins. I had to pull for the Skin offense to play well enough to keep the Eagles' defense from recording too many fantasy points, but at the same time, I couldn't endure a Washington offensive explosion, especially with Portis as the centerpiece, because then I would lose because of him. Luckily (and unluckily), the Skin offense has been highly inept this season. I had to hope for Washington quarterback Jason Campbell to have a good game. That was the only way this would work. As a Cowboys fan, it was odd enough for me to root for the Skin offense and all these fantasy issues just made it more complex.\nThe first half of the game was a disaster for me. Campbell lost a fumble and also threw an interception for a touchdown. The Eagles' defensive points skyrocketed. I led Ben 111-106 at halftime. So far, things were not going like I needed them to. Ben had already scored 19 points in one half. I thought I was toast. The only thing keeping me alive was that Portis was having a bad game.
Amazingly, as the second half progressed, nothing really changed on the scoreboard. The Eagle offense did not score any points in the second half, which meant the Skin offense held the ball for a long time. Still, the offense was ineffective. Slowly but surely, the Eagles' defense kept racking up points for Ben. The score stood at 111-110 when Washington started its second-to-last drive of the game all the way back at its own 16. I did not have any faith left in this offense. But somehow, inexplicably, Campbell moved the team down the field, poised and ready to score at Philadelphia's four-yard line.
Then, of course, it fell apart. On the play-by-play on espn.com, it's difficult to tell what happened, but there must have been a fumble during the center-quarterback exchange. The Eagles recovered the fumble and this turnover pushed Ben's team to 113 points. Thanks guys, I'll take the L. A Cowboy can never rely on the Redskins anyway. I might as well reload and try again next week.
It wasn't over though. The Skin defense held strong and Washington got the ball back one last time. I needed a great drive from Campbell - one that would actually end in a touchdown this time. A touchdown for Washington would mean the Philly D would take a hit. Also, Campbell couldn't use Portis in the drive's passing attack, because one point for Portis could spell the end for me. My margin of error was razor thin.
In a revelation that I find still difficult to explain, the Redskin offense found just enough magic to score one more touchdown as Campbell located tight end Fred Davis for a 1-yard touchdown with less than two minutes left in the game. The game updated on espn.com before the fantasy points did. I am no expert when it comes to fantasy scoring, so I wasn't sure what damage the touchdown would do to the Eagles' defensive points. I waited with bated breath.
The answer: the touchdown did just enough. It knocked the Eagles' defensive points down from 22 to 19. I won 111-110 after the Eagles recovered an onside kick. It doesn't get any closer than that, folks. I erupted with joy - at least with as much joy as I could show in the library, where people were actually studying and working on important things.
I texted Ben: "unbelievable finish," I told him. I knew I had to chronicle the journey in this week's column. He begrudgingly agreed when I asked him if I could mention his name in the column.
The point of this is the zaniness of it all. Look at what fantasy football turned me into: a mess of anxiety in the library on a Monday night when I should have been doing schoolwork. But you know, it was worth it, just like when you watch your favorite team for three exhausting hours and it pulls out an exhilarating victory (well, almost). With a win, you don't really mind the time you sacrificed. If the team loses, well, that's another story.
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