Oz, Coz, and Broken Glass

[DOUGHBOYS]

I remember walking into my first Las Vegas Main Draft. Seriously, it was a little like walking through a port hole of a Major League Stadium and seeing that field in front of you. As I walked through the door, my wife saw the fellas in the room, gaga over draft boards and spouting baseball jargon and stats, and exclaimed, "Omigod, they're all like you!"
Indeed they were. And indeed they are.
And I love 'em all.

This past Saturday, I fanagled a family trip into a visit to see my friends who were drafting Saturday.
My wife and I were supposed to drive from Colorado to California on Saturday without a stop.
Instead, we 'just happened' to stop in Vegas for a visit.
I never thought I could enjoy a draft so much without, you know, actually drafting.
I likened myself to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.
Leaving my humdrum life in Colorado (Kansas) for Vegas (Oz)
We have characters at home.
We all do.
But nothing like the folks in Vegas. Like Oz, they're more colorful.

I had breakfast with members of a text group that has been together for three years.
A memorable breakfast made even more so by John Pausma putting a foot through the glass of a display with a priceless (exaggeration) uniform signed Tony Gwynn.
John felt so bad.
So bad, it was humorous to all at the table.
He will not hear the end of it for years.
NFBC headline- "Hall of Famer Pausma kicks Tony Gwynn's Glass!"
The breakfast was everything hoped for. Baseball talk galore. Chiding. Teasing. Munchkins.
Ok, maybe no Munchkins, but we were as giddy.

After breakfast, we went down to the hall to the drafts.
I tried to meet as many of you good folks as I possibly could. Some conversations were just a short hi. Some short conversations. Some longer.
Loved each and every one of them.
There is nothing like being swept up in a tornado and landing at a draft room at the Bellagio among so many friends.
If I tried naming all the folks I met, I would fail miserably (even if sneaking one in the title).
So I won't name them. You know who you are. Each one of you a cherished friend.
It was especially gratifying to meet with those that I had only shared prose with in the past.

I hated leaving.
I hated leaving because I wanted to be drafting.
I hated leaving because I wanted to talk about those same drafts after they were done.
I hated leaving because I wanted to see and meet more of you.
Somebody new to the NFBC would never understand.
It is the best community by far.
In time, you will find out.
And if lucky enough, you'll be swept away to that wonderful fantasy land that are live drafts.

I've said it before and I'll say it again....
If you have not gone to a live draft put on by the NFBC, you're screwing yourself out of one of the best experiences in life.
Don't make excuses. Do it.
I have already resolved to be there next year ...and actually draft.
I strongly encourage those within earshot of this post to do the same.

[Ando]

It was great to see you on Saturday, Dan. I hope I get to sit at a draft table with you next year at the Bellagio. Take care of yourself and best of luck this year.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Always glad seeing you, Matt.

And Thanks for commenting!
It reminded me of something else.
It was an absolute pleasure to see the Midwest Mafia out in Vegas.
Matt, John, Coz, Russ, Doug in spirit, and all the rest.
I realize that Chicago had it bad this year in terms of sign ups.
But I hope the NFBC gives Chicago one more chance.
Meeting folks like Mike Diedrich, Van Der, and others such as those great men mentioned above make Chicago what it is.
A blue collar style draft with a lot of 'in your face' thrown in.
Hopefully, they get a 'regular year' to make good again for NFBC drafts.

[KJ Duke]

Dan, wish we had more time to chat. LMK if you're still in SD county ... come on by with the family for dinner if you're nearby.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Dan, I'm so glad you got a chance to come to Las Vegas and hook up with the old gang for breakfast. I didn't even know you were coming to Las Vegas or I would have stopped over to say hi.

Lest anyone forget, Dan was one spot away from joining others on the Stage of Champions in Las Vegas. It was many years ago, but Dan took the silver medal in the Main Event!! And he's going for the gold medal this year, just from Online.

Once the drafts started, Dan came over to say hi and immediately I heard Darik shout "Greg, we're missing Team 3 in League 3." I barely touched Dan's hand and raced over to that league to contact the owner in question. It never ends for us on Draft Day. Sorry for the abrupt departure Dan, but maybe next time we can talk for more than 2 seconds!!

It was a special day, I'll say that. Glad you and 105+ of our friends had a good time at the Las Vegas Main Event. Stay well because like I said that day "NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER take this for granted." It's too special not to enjoy it while we can.

[BATS]

Great write up Dan. I did the Vegas Main for 5 years straight. Always hated my team. Always hated the outcome. Always hated losing the faab bids. But for the last several years I have always hated not being there. You are so correct...an experience. What an experience. This year I resolved to do it one more time. And I am so glad I did. It was amazing. Almost everyone was so cool. Darik did an amazing job running the league. Team 3 showed up right after he got autoed Tatis and didn't seem to discouraged! Thanks for your always wonderful contributions to the board. Fun reading. Also, I kinda like my team...

[COZ]

While many have noted the Wizard of OZ as an allegory about monetary policy and the gold and silver standards as true "money," as opposed to fiat paper as money, the use of the Wizard of Oz as a metaphor for going to Las Vegas for NFBC drafts is perfectly symbolic as well.

As we as a society become more digitized, our reality shaped by staring at screens (TV's, computers, phones, etc.), our ability to communicate near instantaneous yet done behind screens, it really is, much like the Wizard of OZ, the "liveness" of the drafts themselves, the people, the faces behind the names, the personalities, the characters, the different accents, the personal connections that truly brings the color and the life to the NFBC experience and why as Greg has said never to take the live drafts for granted. And as someone himself who is twirling the baton at the front of the hide-behind-screens-social-isolation-parade, I have resolved to try to always draft live when I can, even though at times it is easier...strike that, it is ALWAYS easier, to just draft at home behind a screen. However much like Dorothy on the farm in Kansas, much of the character & color of the experience is missing by staying home in Kansas drafting behind a screen.

So having already taken Dan's Wizard of Oz metaphor too far, I would like to reiterate as many of have already stated, it truly was a pleasure meeting and seeing the faces of the names behind the teams, however brief it may have been, if just simply to have a face to envision as we retreat back home behind our screens to compete in the marathon competition of the greatest fantasy game created to enhance our enjoyment of the greatest sport invented. Dan in particular, however brief, it was great to put a face to the words, or the prose as you say, and say hello to the man, who, much like it has been said of Dorothy, to me represents old-school traditional American values, Americana, hot dogs, baseball & apple pie and helps to remind me, as Earl Jones said, "all that once was good and that could be again."

[KJ Duke]

While many have noted the Wizard of OZ as an allegory about monetary policy and the gold and silver standards as true "money," as opposed to fiat paper as money, the use of the Wizard of Oz as a metaphor for going to Las Vegas for NFBC drafts is perfectly symbolic as well.

As we as a society become more digitized, our reality shaped by staring at screens (TV's, computers, phones, etc.), our ability to communicate near instantaneous yet done behind screens, it really is, much like the Wizard of OZ, the "liveness" of the drafts themselves, the people, the faces behind the names, the personalities, the characters, the different accents, the personal connections that truly brings the color and the life to the NFBC experience and why as Greg has said never to take the live drafts for granted. And as someone himself who is twirling the baton at the front of the hide-behind-screens-social-isolation-parade, I have resolved to try to always draft live when I can, even though at times it is easier...strike that, it is ALWAYS easier, to just draft at home behind a screen. However much like Dorothy on the farm in Kansas, much of the character & color of the experience is missing by staying home in Kansas drafting behind a screen.

So having already taken Dan's Wizard of Oz metaphor too far, I would like to reiterate as many of have already stated, it truly was a pleasure meeting and seeing the faces of the names behind the teams, however brief it may have been, if just simply to have a face to envision as we retreat back home behind our screens to compete in the marathon competition of the greatest fantasy game created to enhance our enjoyment of the greatest sport invented. Dan in particular, however brief, it was great to put a face to the words, or the prose as you say, and say hello to the man, who, much like it has been said of Dorothy, to me represents old-school traditional American values, Americana, hot dogs, baseball & apple pie and helps to remind me, as Earl Jones said, "all that once was good and that could be again."

[Baseball Furies]

I remember walking into my first Las Vegas Main Draft. Seriously, it was a little like walking through a port hole of a Major League Stadium and seeing that field in front of you. As I walked through the door, my wife saw the fellas in the room, gaga over draft boards and spouting baseball jargon and stats, and exclaimed, "Omigod, they're all like you!"
Indeed they were. And indeed they are.
And I love 'em all.

This past Saturday, I fanagled a family trip into a visit to see my friends who were drafting Saturday.
My wife and I were supposed to drive from Colorado to California on Saturday without a stop.
Instead, we 'just happened' to stop in Vegas for a visit.
I never thought I could enjoy a draft so much without, you know, actually drafting.
I likened myself to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.
Leaving my humdrum life in Colorado (Kansas) for Vegas (Oz)
We have characters at home.
We all do.
But nothing like the folks in Vegas. Like Oz, they're more colorful.

I had breakfast with members of a text group that has been together for three years.
A memorable breakfast made even more so by John Pausma putting a foot through the glass of a display with a priceless (exaggeration) uniform signed Tony Gwynn.
John felt so bad.
So bad, it was humorous to all at the table.
He will not hear the end of it for years.
NFBC headline- "Hall of Famer Pausma kicks Tony Gwynn's Glass!"
The breakfast was everything hoped for. Baseball talk galore. Chiding. Teasing. Munchkins.
Ok, maybe no Munchkins, but we were as giddy.

After breakfast, we went down to the hall to the drafts.
I tried to meet as many of you good folks as I possibly could. Some conversations were just a short hi. Some short conversations. Some longer.
Loved each and every one of them.
There is nothing like being swept up in a tornado and landing at a draft room at the Bellagio among so many friends.
If I tried naming all the folks I met, I would fail miserably (even if sneaking one in the title).
So I won't name them. You know who you are. Each one of you a cherished friend.
It was especially gratifying to meet with those that I had only shared prose with in the past.

I hated leaving.
I hated leaving because I wanted to be drafting.
I hated leaving because I wanted to talk about those same drafts after they were done.
I hated leaving because I wanted to see and meet more of you.
Somebody new to the NFBC would never understand.
It is the best community by far.
In time, you will find out.
And if lucky enough, you'll be swept away to that wonderful fantasy land that are live drafts.

I've said it before and I'll say it again....
If you have not gone to a live draft put on by the NFBC, you're screwing yourself out of one of the best experiences in life.
Don't make excuses. Do it.
I have already resolved to be there next year ...and actually draft.
I strongly encourage those within earshot of this post to do the same.

Dough, you and I go way back...since my beginnings in the NFBC when I started doing DCs after foolishly thinking I could just jump into a Main Event in NYC for the first time with no pre-season prep. Bad idea. But thankfully, we met through the DC's back in the 8-hr clock days when all we had to do was talk about baseball and everything else in chat and via texts between picks until the wee hours of the morning because there wasn't a whole hell of a lot else to do! You were and still are the original NFBC Ambassador way before I was MTM aka "Mike the Mouth" let alone @GodfatherNFBC. I was the newbie and you made me feel welcome in this community and accepted as one of the guys, so Greg and Tom should thank you (and probably curse you as well ). You are a true friend, champion, and elder statesman of the NFBC, and I am eternally grateful for having met you and now being able to call you my friend. It was so great seeing you (and thankfully a healthy LOT less of you ) even for the short while that we had a chance to catch up. Looking forward to spending some extended quality time with you back out in Vegas next year for the 20th Anniversary. Consider your seat at the Main event draft table and spot for the party already reserved, my friend. Good luck this year and continue to be well!

-Mike