Daniel McHugh's Blog - Posts Tagged "matthew-berry"
Double Fantasy
No, I'm not talking about the iconic John Lennon album of 1980. Although "Double Fantasy" has a lot in common with this post. I'm talking about some recent news I received. Double Fantasy explains it in more ways than one.
Ever since I was a kid, I loved myth and fantasy. I read Bulfinch's Mythology when I was still in my single digits. A tough read? Sure, but it was the only violence and sex you could find on the sanitized library shelves of a Catholic elementary school. After those early years, I discovered Tolkien, Eddings, Lewis, Donaldson, Jordan and Brooks.
I matured and jumped all over genres. Asimov, Christie, Clancy, Le Carre, but fantasy has always been the genre I come home to. That is why my first foray into writing was a fantasy series. It couldn't have been anything else.
Along the way, I became captivated by another type of fantasy. Fantasy sports. It started in the early 80's with college basketball and evolved into Major League Baseball, the national Football League, PGA golf etc. I love drafting a team and trying to squeeze every ounce of statistical advantage out of my players. I love manipulating the rules (bending, not breaking) and testing the limits of good sportsmanship. I love the mental challenge of trying to sell ice cubes to Eskimos and the horse trading that goes on in the quest for the best available players from another owner's team. I love the rivalry and the out and out loathing that develops amongst owners. In short, it's the other "fantasy" that I consider part of my life.
That fascination with statistical sports is the reason I know the name Matthew Berry. Most Rotisserie League players also know the name. Matthew is the Senior Fantasy Analyst for ESPN. He knows all things fantasy sports. Whether you agree with his yearly/ weekly prognostication or not, you have to admit he does the work and lays it out beautifully.
On top of it, Matthew is one heckuva writer. Funny, insightful and quick with his wit, Matthew builds a story as well as any syndicated columnist I've read.
Well, it just so happens that Matthew Berry has a book coming out in July. Fantasy Life: The Outrageous, Uplifting, and Heartbreaking World of Fantasy Sports from the Guy Who's Lived It, contains stories of intrigue, betrayal, outrageous behavior, and surprisingly touching moments from the lives of those who play fantasy sports. If the book is anything like Matthew Berry's columns, I will be smiling the entire way through.
However, there is one point where I will definitely smile. It just so happens that I contributed a story to Matthew's book and I couldn't be happier. (For those wondering, I fall in the category of "outrageous behavior". It ain't pretty.) I replied to a Facebook question of his where he asked for the funniest or most outrageous thing you did in a fantasy league. A two sentence blurb turned into a request for more of my story which in turn was included in the book. How fantastic is that? The fantasy author gets a story about fantasy sports published under the name of his fantasy publishing group (Penguin) by a guy with a fantasy job. Double double fantasy.
Ever since I was a kid, I loved myth and fantasy. I read Bulfinch's Mythology when I was still in my single digits. A tough read? Sure, but it was the only violence and sex you could find on the sanitized library shelves of a Catholic elementary school. After those early years, I discovered Tolkien, Eddings, Lewis, Donaldson, Jordan and Brooks.
I matured and jumped all over genres. Asimov, Christie, Clancy, Le Carre, but fantasy has always been the genre I come home to. That is why my first foray into writing was a fantasy series. It couldn't have been anything else.
Along the way, I became captivated by another type of fantasy. Fantasy sports. It started in the early 80's with college basketball and evolved into Major League Baseball, the national Football League, PGA golf etc. I love drafting a team and trying to squeeze every ounce of statistical advantage out of my players. I love manipulating the rules (bending, not breaking) and testing the limits of good sportsmanship. I love the mental challenge of trying to sell ice cubes to Eskimos and the horse trading that goes on in the quest for the best available players from another owner's team. I love the rivalry and the out and out loathing that develops amongst owners. In short, it's the other "fantasy" that I consider part of my life.
That fascination with statistical sports is the reason I know the name Matthew Berry. Most Rotisserie League players also know the name. Matthew is the Senior Fantasy Analyst for ESPN. He knows all things fantasy sports. Whether you agree with his yearly/ weekly prognostication or not, you have to admit he does the work and lays it out beautifully.
On top of it, Matthew is one heckuva writer. Funny, insightful and quick with his wit, Matthew builds a story as well as any syndicated columnist I've read.
Well, it just so happens that Matthew Berry has a book coming out in July. Fantasy Life: The Outrageous, Uplifting, and Heartbreaking World of Fantasy Sports from the Guy Who's Lived It, contains stories of intrigue, betrayal, outrageous behavior, and surprisingly touching moments from the lives of those who play fantasy sports. If the book is anything like Matthew Berry's columns, I will be smiling the entire way through.
However, there is one point where I will definitely smile. It just so happens that I contributed a story to Matthew's book and I couldn't be happier. (For those wondering, I fall in the category of "outrageous behavior". It ain't pretty.) I replied to a Facebook question of his where he asked for the funniest or most outrageous thing you did in a fantasy league. A two sentence blurb turned into a request for more of my story which in turn was included in the book. How fantastic is that? The fantasy author gets a story about fantasy sports published under the name of his fantasy publishing group (Penguin) by a guy with a fantasy job. Double double fantasy.
