Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen

I want to start by thanking Rich for devoting an entire Monroe Doctrine to my retirement from the ownership ranks of the CFCL. Wow, if I had known I’d receive a tribute like that, I would have bowed out a long time ago – I haven’t had that many nice things said about me since … well, ever, really. Before I get all Sally Field on everyone, a couple other reactions to Rich’s piece:

• 9900 days? Really? Geez, if I had known we were that close to 10,000, I might have played another year (or at least held off on announcing my retirement until next February). “10,000 Days of Fantasy” would have made a great title for my memoirs…
• It’s phrases like “vile, despicable scum” that make the CFCL so special. Now that phrase probably means nothing to anyone other than Rich and I (and maybe The Professor) since it harkens way back to the earliest days of the league, but it’s something that’s entered our permanent vocabulary, ready to be broken out at anytime, but also reserved for very special uses. CFCL lore is littered with similar phrases and memories.
• Good god, I had forgotten that I used to actually type out the standings on my mom’s old manual typewriter – it wasn’t even an electric! I don’t know what’s more amazing: that I actually had the time to do that each week, or that I was such a loser/geek that that’s how I chose to spend the time I did have.

Pretty much everything Rich wrote is true, though I wouldn’t say it exactly tells the full story, because I had plenty of help all along the way, from Bob Monroe (who, as the CFCL’s original “Computer Mole-Man”, was the first to compile Draft Day lists and assisted with early computerization of the stat process, up to Michal C. and Matt G. (who took on some of my Front Office responsibilities over the past couple years.

And of course, there’d be no CFCL without Rich. All I did was show him a book – he’s the one who actually said, “hey, we should do this!” The league has been a true partnership from the very beginning, and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner – y’all are in good hands, as you’ve seen for the past couple years.

Speaking of which, I also want to thank Rich for giving me those. As I’m sure you’ll all recall, I had originally decided to retire before the 2009 season, but it was Rich who suggested I step back on my League Office duties and focus just on the team management aspect. It did give me one last shot at a Championship in 2009, but I could have seen the writing on the wall when I couldn’t even show up at the right damn place for Draft Day in 2010.

Thanks to all of those 39 different CFCL owners who partook in the journey over the years – many of whom I did not know before the CFCL, but who I still call friends, and especially to the current group of 9. And thanks to Rich for the Monroe Doctrine tribute, the chance to play a couple more season, 27+ years of incredible experiences and indescribable fun, and for the many years of friendship still to come.