My Hall of Fame Speech

[Tom Kessenich]

When Dan Kenyon and KJ Duke were brought onto the stage in Las Vegas on Saturday to make a presentation prior to the Main Event I assumed there was something being done for one of the other players in the room. We were honoring past champions and Hall of Famers and I reasonably assumed Dan and KJ’s moment was simply more of the same.

Boy was I wrong.

When Dan said that I was being inducted into the NFBC Hall of Fame I was, quite simply, stunned. I tried to maintain my composure on the outside but inside I was running a gamut of emotions. I assumed Dan was talking about someone else and this moment wasn’t in any way, shape or form about me. Because, obviously, why would it be?

So much happened so quickly. One minute I was listening to Dan speaking in Latin (I think it was Latin) about Launch Angles and the next Greg was handing me my Hall of Fame plaque. It was more than bit surreal. As a result, I didn’t feel like I said all the things I would’ve liked to have said given the importance of the moment and how much it meant to me personally. We were also moments away from the start of the Main Event and I didn’t want that time to be about me when it was such a special event for the 90 teams in the room.

So with all that as a backdrop I hope you will now indulge me for a moment so I can share some more (hopefully) eloquent thoughts about what this induction means to me.

First off, as I said on the stage this is an incredible honor and certainly not something I ever expected to occur. When I joined Krause Publications nearly two decades ago (Holy S I’m old) to work with Greg I was a reporter. It’s what I always believed I was born to do, be a writer and reporter and that’s what I had done every single year of my adult working life after graduating from college. I certainly never envisioned all the twists that would occur involving fantasy sports, a hobby I had been immersed in as a player since 1986.

When Greg formed the NFBC in 2004, I ran Chicago. We had fun hosting drafts and auctions and it seemed like something great to be a part of. There was no way of knowing at the time that these events (including the NFFC and NFBKC) would become the dominant forces not only in my life but in the lives of so many others.

I worked Chicago the first year and ran Tampa and Orlando as well for a few brief fleeting moments before settling into New York. The Big Apple quickly became my city and I took great pride in running a first-class event. We’ve bounced all over the place in New York and on the East Coast but no matter where we were my goal has always been the same – to make sure the players participating had the best time possible. Nothing matters more to me than that. When something goes wrong, I feel as if I have failed and the failure lingers with me. When the events run smoothly I feel as if all the hard work and long hours has been more than worth it.

Because, quite honestly, it has been. There is nothing more important in our business than the player. Without you, none of this is possible so we must ensure that above everything else our players are treated well and are provided a first-class experience in everything they do with us. Whether it’s a $50 Draft Champions or the $15,000 Platinum, all leagues matter and all players matter.

I’m immensely proud of how far we’ve grown our contests over the years. It hasn’t always been easy to be sure but when I think about the more difficult times they really pale in comparison to all the great things we’ve accomplished. To think we’ve gone from 195 Main Event teams in our first NFBC season of 2004 to 510 this year is incredible. Then to include the veritable plethora of contests we now offer which so many players enjoy. This has become more than just my life, it’s become a significant entity in one of the biggest hobbies in our country. So much of it is truly mind boggling.

None of this for me would have been possible were it not for Greg. The truth of the matter is I owe him a debt I can never repay. When Fanball bought us in 2009 it was not lost on me that Greg was who Fanball wanted. They had no interest in me and, in fact, that was made clear to me at one point during the negotiations.

This hardly should be considered shocking. Greg was an industry pioneer, an FSTA Hall of Fame inductee and its former President. Hiring him was a huge coup for any company. In the eyes of most in the industry I was just the guy who ran New York, assuming anyone knew who I was to begin with.

It would’ve been easy for Greg to focus only on himself and his family during that tumultuous time. This was a life changing moment and as the father of three he certainly had plenty to consider. To say he went above and beyond when he insisted to Fanball that if it wanted to hire him I needed to be brought along as well isn’t doing the moment proper justice. I went from being possibly unemployed without having any idea where my life could be headed to retaining a job and doing what I had grown to love.

So thank you Greg for all you did then and all you’ve done since. This honor would not have been possible were it not for you. You changed my life and I will be eternally thankful to you for that.

I would be remiss if I did not also mention two other important people who have played key roles in this journey. When STATS hired us, Steve Byrd became our new boss. He believed in us and unlike previous companies I had worked for, he made it clear he also believed in me. I will never forget when he brought me into his office to discuss my new job, salary and title he stressed that I was an integral part of the plan to further grow our contests. He even scoffed at my suggested new title, saying it had to be more prominent so it accurately reflected the importance of my role in the company.

For one of the first times in the fantasy industry, someone in authority was making me feel as if my role mattered and my position was meaningful. Steve, I thank you for that and for all the belief and trust you had in us and the good times we’ve had together.

When STATS bought us, I thought that was the company I was going to work for until I retired. I never envisioned another big change was coming. It did when SportsHub Technologies bought us last year. Greg has known its founder Rob Phythian for many years and I knew him as well. Like Steve, Rob has always treated me with great respect and has always made me feel as if I was more than just the guy who ran contests with Greg. He’s also stressed my importance in the company’s present and future and it’s among the many reasons I’m more excited about our contests’ prospects than ever before.

I feel as if we are finally positioned to have all the elements we need to grow our contests in ways we only dreamed of before and Rob is the central figure in all this. I look forward to doing all I can to make it happen. Thank you, Rob for including me in this wonderful journey.

All of this brings us to the here and now and this incredible honor I have just received. I’m usually not one for public displays of emotion. I tend to be reserved and even protective of my feelings. But this is something that truly overwhelms me. I don’t do this job for recognition. I do it because I genuinely love it. To be inducted into the NFBC Hall of Fame is something I will cherish every day for the rest of my life.

I’ve been in the fantasy business for nearly two decades. At no point in that time has anyone ever given me an award and at no point in that time did I expect to receive one. Doing the job (hopefully) well had always been the reward. The incredible growth of our contests had always been its own honor.

So to receive something like this now brings with it such powerful feelings that I cannot completely express or articulate. But believe me when I say this means more to me than all of you will ever know. I am humbled to be inducted alongside the greatest fantasy baseball players in the industry and with my good friend Brady Tinker. This is something I will never forget, and I promise it will only inspire me to do the work even better than I have done before.

Thank you for this and thank you for changing my life and making it much better than it had been before.

[King of Queens]

[Ando]

Congratulations Tom. A well deserved honor for you. Thank you for who you are.

[mbendar16]

Congratulations Tom. Ando said it best - a well deserved honor.

[Brock]

Congrats Tom. Having attended live drafts in NYC for a few years I could see the difficulty in organizing and overseeing the entire event. There are lots of guys to keep happy with many different requests and opinions. You handled it like a champ. You deserve this honor and I'm very happy for you. All the best.

[Roy's Outlaws]

Congratulations Tom , A well deserved Honor, that was long overdue. Greg finally listen to something I said (amazing). I told him 2 years ago at the Arizona Fall League that you deserved to be in the Hall of Fame. Enjoy It

[Money]

Congratulations Tom!! Thanks for all you do and taking the time to describe for everyone how your truly feel and how much it means. Here's to many more years to come!!

[rockitsauce]

Well deserved Tom. Congrats !

[Outlaw]

Congratulations Tom- Well Earned!!! Many more years to go....

[Lunatic]

Congrats Tom, well deserved. It has been a pleasure to know you all these years.

[Bronx Yankees]

Congratulations, Tom. This is a very well deserved honor. Thanks again to you, Greg and Darik for two awesome weekends of live events.

Mike

[headhunters]

congrats tom. well deserved

[KJ Duke]

Great belated speech, Tom.

Being here from the beginning as a player, I know how much you do for myself and many others to make sure things get done quickly and correctly. A lot of businesses don't have someone like that, and they and their customers suffer for it. Not only was this well-deserved, it was overdue. Plus, you and Greg and Brady make these events the highlight of the year for many of us players, and they seem to get better each year.

[Sack]

Tom:

I was happy for both you and Brady and honored to be in the room. Like you, I had no idea it was coming
but as things unfolded it became quite clear where this was headed. As a player from Day 1, both you and Brady ARE the NFBC and NFFC. Countless times via email and in person you have made my life as a player so much easier. I'm
glad to see that your loyalty was rewarded in such a great public forum. I for one, thank you for all your hard work.

Congrats.

Team Sack

Ken & Kenny Magner

[MadCow Sez]

That was a well-placed honor. Congratulations!

[Glenneration X]

I was very happy for you Tom. For as much grief as I occasionally give you (Hotel Penn, Random Optimizer, refunds, etc, etc, etc ), you are one of the people I truly look forward to seeing each and every spring and fall draft season and you are always one of the people that I know I can go to and count on in times of need for these contests.

Enjoy the accolades and well deserved honor.

[CC's Desperados]

Congrats and thanks for the hard work...CC

[Greg Ambrosius]

Very well done Tom and thanks for the kind words.

However, I think it was important for everyone in that Grand Ballroom to see the raw emotion that both you and Brady had when presented with these lifetime achievement awards when you had absolutely no idea you would be receiving them. I've never seen you so speechless. You couldn't put your thoughts together, other than to keep saying thank you. It was raw and exactly what folks wanted to see.

As I looked out into the crowd, I saw Brady moving forward and clapping as hard as anyone. It's as if he was so happy for you that he wanted to get nearer to the stage. He had absolutely no idea what was coming next, but he was so happy FOR YOU. I saw that. Everyone saw how grateful you were to receive this award, so your speech was very good.

To see Brady choke up and actually struggle to say his thank yous was very special. As he said to me later, he always was there just to help everyone enjoy the drafts and auctions. He was never there for accolades, but by receiving this award he really felt it came from the feedback I've gotten from the players through the years. It meant more to him than you can imagine. You guys know that he just loves being there with all of us and wouldn't miss it for the world, so the award for 15 years of dedication and service meant a lot to him. Like Tom, he wishes he could have had a speech prepared in advance, but like Tom, seeing the raw emotion of the honor was PRICELESS.

Good job all. We did it right. And next year we'll do it again for someone very deserving of the honor.