THE RANT: WEEK 6 REVIEW

 

I'm so cot-damned fed up. 

This league is supposed to be a fun league. Major emphasis on FUN. Now, I know a lot of you have had fun this session. Speaking overall? I have not. Sure - there are instances of fun. You'll see me laughing and joking, meeting folks, hugging beloved friends, etc. But if I'm honest? This hasn't been the FUN I expect. 

And it's because of some of you. 

See, I THOUGHT I'd be writing my article this week about the fact that in both of my doubleheader games last week, my team was down multiple scores and I took over at QB to prevent us from losing (we got a tie and a victory). I THOUGHT I'd be saying something about Cat/Kat Peters, and how I missed her twin but was happy to see her and the rest of the Qwinnsters and Peachy Platoon squad. I THOUGHT it would be a good time to point out how absolutely SOFT Sticky Bandits and Slytherin That End Zone are for crying that non-award winning Tommy Hughes and Chris Cole were heckling from the sidelines, and add in how weak, lame and thin-skinned you folks have become compared to the old days. 

I THOUGHT I'd be concentrating on things like that.

Instead, I'm using my article to address league tomfoolery. AGAIN. 

I'm not going to rehash or give play-by-play of the details of what happened Saturday. What I am going to say is that Topper and I are upset and deeply disappointed. There are a number of things we've always outlined that we didn't want in our league, and too many of them have popped up. Things like:

- stacking teams to beat up on lesser teams in lighter divisions
- chicanery involving teams and players trying to sneak in subs
- drunken rowdiness
- disrespect of teams and fellow players
- fighting

I'm exasperated. I'm over it. I really am. As much as some of you whine and cry like little b***hes, I'm going to call you a complete liar if you say we've been hardcore on anyone this session. We simply haven't. I've let crap slide, and I dare a bunch of you to say otherwise. Topper has done the same. Joe K hasn't remotely tried to nail any of you fools on anything. We've tried to be pretty easygoing. Even when I've said I've had it - I've still been flexible and accommodating. 

No more. 

Having to physically break up a fight this week between a player and a ref is the height of absurdity. Having to explain to someone's parent who was watching that this isn't how we run our league and I will make sure it doesn't happen again is beyond embarrassing. Having to write this article under these circumstances is the height of infuriating. 

Cooler heads have prevailed. Topper and I took two days and came up with a solution. We knew that people would not be happy no matter what we decided, so we're just rolling with the decision. If you come up to me Saturday telling me about what "should" have been done or not done, I'm going to tell you to go f**k yourself. Straight like that. 

Y'all have depleted the cache of understanding and accommodation. Every week I'm at football, I miss Lenny, and I'm constantly personally second-guessing myself as to if he would be happy with certain developments. And I keep telling myself "No - no he wouldn't."

I pray you're not the next person that decides to transgress in this league. I pray you or your team aren't the ones to press my button where I am mentally right now. I like most of you - but I'm not jumping on any more grenades for anyone. I'm not going soft on anything. My last ounce of patience was expended this past Saturday. 

I was really going to talk specifically about the incident in depth, but I thought - why? My desire is for it to die and for us to move on. Why would I throw any fuel on that fire to keep it going if that's my intent? I've talked to both parties, and both understand where Topper is coming from, and where I'm coming from. I've gotten input from so many of you it makes me head hurt. Ultimately, Topper made his final decision based on his gut feeling and input from you guys - and I back him.

But I'm tired y'all. I am. I don't even have the energy to write a truly scathing article - for what? Y'all are supposedly grown men and women. I'm done talking and reasoning. The only thing people understand is action. So going forward, there will be cold, unfeeling actions when y'all decide to act up. And I'm telling you now - even as you read this, there's going to be a lot of crying and whining when one of y'all force my hand. Because one of you WILL force my hand. It's sad to say, but I have no faith that anything that has happened will change the attitudes of some of you gym class all-stars who take this too seriously and don't remember to just enjoy the game. 

Thank you Jeremy Burr for buying me a cider and allowing me to meet your son and see your lovely wife Amie. 

Thank you Taylor Pagano for giving me the only Truly that I enjoy. 

Thank you to all the refs who put up with bullcrap not because of the money, but because you respect the league and me enough to help out constantly. I appreciate that you people care enough to go to bat for me and the league; I know many times you guys don't remotely want to help out. You do it cuz we're cool like that, and I'm never going to overlook that level of sacrifice, no matter how minor some consider it. 

I'm going to leave y'all with this. 

Lenny ALWAYS said to me "When this thing stops being fun, that's when I'm done. That's when we should pack it up and shut it down." There were a few seasons that wore on him, but overall he weighed that he had more fun than he didn't each season. 

This is week 7. I can tell you I haven't had MORE fun than not. I'm not speaking for Topper here, but I will say things have gotten under his skin at times too. 

Do you like this league? Do you enjoy the friendships, bonds, camaraderie, competition, and enjoyment that is had in it?

Then act like it. I don't sh** on things I like. I treat them well and cherish them. I don't act like a moron. I embrace and cherish them, and I don't take it for granted. 

This could all be gone tomorrow. Do you want to be the reason it stays and thrives, or the reason you drove us to say "f**k it"? Cuz this league has never been maintained due to profit or money. 

This wasn't so much a rant as it was me rambling. If you didn't receive your entertainment value from it this week, too damned bad. See you Saturday - I'll be in the cut.  

 

- Rameer AKA "The Build"