FTL Champ Flying High

Greg Burge is enjoying life as our new FTL Champion. Earlier today, I caught up with Greg, as we helicoptered over Norman, looking for a good tennis court to play a few sets. Ah, there’s one right below! I take a photo as we approach our final destination. On the left is Barry Switzer’s house. And to the right (the one with the tennis court) is his daughter’s house. Anyway, we parachute onto the court near the far baseline, and we start our warm-ups. The day butler even brought out some lemonade for us during the changeovers. All in all, it was a marvelous day! Here are a few excerpts from the interview portion of our afternoon together.

How will you be celebrating your FTL championship?

Tons of Champagne, dancing & loud music lasting all night, spray paint graffiti, all while re-watching the classic videos we made of me walking the hallowed Wimbledon grounds, considering what my picks were going to be. So pretty much the same way we roll most nights.

Is Sam old enough now to appreciate what his father just accomplished?

No way. I'm not even old enough to take in the full magnitude of this. Although, I do feel more confident now, so the extra chest-puffing probably lets Sam know SOMETHING is up. But I've been humble. I've only told him to stop calling me dad and instead use the "Champ" designation I deserve a handful of times. [Once he got it down pat, I could obviously let up.] I just have this overwhelming feeling that when I'm old and gray, I'll think of my life in terms of the pre-FTL championship phase and the post-FTL championship phase. Given how close the leagues totals were, it honestly makes for a nice RD design. Surely I'll be the focus of future studies along with our former Champions.

What lessons do you take with you moving forward as you try to defend your title next year?

Just that I can't be afraid to embrace my own Fantasy Tennis greatness. Over the last few years my doubts got in the way....those have to go. In the words of the great life-coach Jimmy Cliff, "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (brights), sunshiny day."

And just to add a bit of seriousness. A truly heart-felt thank you goes out to Rob Clark for managing a kick-butt league that a lot of people have fun with. The competition this year was fierce and fun. I love how awesome so many team's US Open picks were compared to my uber-conservative picks. Let's see more great tennis and more great FTL moments in the years to come!

Very kind of you to say, Greg. Thank you! I hope everyone enjoyed this year as much as I have.

As we exit the grounds, we take one more photo to remind us of our time this afternoon (if you look closely, you can see the tennis court on the right behind the tree). And, who knows, maybe next time we'll even get to play with the net up!