Lineup Advice: Wrap-up, Thank You and Goodbye (TTFN)
Writing the obvious here, I hope Santa hung around for the week to provide you a championship as we say goodbye to 2023! Of course, some leagues still have their championship games in week 18, so I’ll be around to ensure you get any advice still needed and to engage with you for at least one more week.
In this last week, please feel free to reach out and engage, ask me anything (football related or not) and let me know what you hope 2024 will bring.
As for me, championships were won, championships were lost. D’Andre Swift and Tee Higgins were prevailing figures in my losses while CeeDee Lamb was my hero. Unfortunately, Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel picked bad weeks for sub-par games. Fantasy football is as frustrating as it is exciting.
Beyond that, somehow it seems very fitting that my last day here in a formal capacity for DLF also took place on the last day of the year!
I won’t bore you, again, with the long history of DLF’s roots stretching back to late in 2005. But what I do want to touch upon is that good ol’ American capitalism is alive and well still today, and DLF is a big part of my testimonial to that fact. One of my own primary adages is:Â Success is a byproduct of doing what you enjoy. And I credit DLF’s success to my roots being firmly planted in that soil. Passion, discipline and doing business the right way, with an unwavering focus on foundational pillars of ethics, integrity, transparency, value proposition and people at the core. I’ve said ad nauseum related to these value pillars at DLF that:Â It’s who we are, not what we’re trying to be.
There’s a big difference between those two states of being.
Two years ago when we sold DLF, I knew things would be different. When you sell your company, your baby, you do so with the understanding that you are no longer in control. But during negotiation, we had a firm commitment to the values and operating M.O. that had sustained us for so many years, making sure that DLF would continue to grow and thrive into the future. Simply put, if that couldn’t be guaranteed, we never would have entered into the agreement. We had been approached multiple times over our history, but it wasn’t until two years ago that it all came together. Those who have been intimately involved with DLF over the years, are still in place today making sure we continue to thrive.
I’ve never been a “goodbye” person. I try to live my life with the utmost positivity, humility and adaptability as possible. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about life it’s in the fact that you never know what’s around the next bend. Having drilled down to who I am over my decades on this rock, it’s the three core traits of positivity, humility and adaptability that I’ve settled on as guiding principles for my life. With the embrace of the unknown is the understanding that “goodbye” seems too final, too concrete. Instead, I prefer to acknowledge the uncertainty of what comes next and that, in fact, may be that a parting isn’t truly “goodbye.” In my family, we used to use “TTFN” or Ta Ta For Now. I’m not sure when that started, but it seems more appropriate.
Engagement with all of you, our community, quickly became my passion. I hope that was easy to see over the years. I always railed against flat ranking lists for start/sit advice and, though I didn’t know what I was getting into, I wanted to do a more interactive and response start/sit format. Every year leading up to week-one of the regular season, I felt like a boxer training for a big fight. How could I keep engagement at a maximum, ensure a high degree of accuracy with my advice and, every week, engage with EVERY individual all the while DLF continued to grow? As the years went on, the questions kept getting longer as did the number of people asking them. I”ll be honest, some weeks it has been very, very challenging. Very rarely can a question be answered quickly and I endeavor to go down the rabbit hole on each question as if my advice would be the difference between a “W” or an “L.” Easy in theory, tough in practice. If I let off the gas, it was easy to see in my results. I’ve had more than one person challenge how much time, how many variables, are actually involved with each question. An explanation usually satisfies the curiosity. I was always digging for the most impactful variables and metrics toward making a correct forecast. But as well all know, it’s still just educated guessing.
To my last day, the help desk was also a primary charge. I wanted to make sure that each person writing-in received a personal response free from macros or generic replies whenever possible. By keeping things personal, it meant I was investing in each person. It’s not always easy as many who write in are frustrated, angry and looking to vent. But they received the same personalized response. In my eyes, that is a big part of “doing business the right way,” staying very close to topics and issues impacting the front lines of our business. On countless occasions, I’d receive an apology-response because they didn’t think anyone would get back to them, and I always endeavored to make sure each question received a response within four hours along with a suitable solution with their best interest in mind.
Engagement with all of you is who I am. Win, lose or draw, good times and bad, I was committed to that because I don’t know how to do it any other way. I like to think that was a big reason why our DLF community is filled with the best people in the game. Because we all share that same value.
I believe I said this before but I’m also a big believer in growth occurring from discomfort. When you allow yourself to be uncomfortable, new realizations are learned. You change, shift priorities – adapt. On my first day no longer in a pivotal role within DLF, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t uncomfortable. Equal measures of sadness, reservation and pride are present and near, or on, the surface. It’s been all of four hours and I’ve already struggled with the new routine. Too often, I think we try to exit that feeling of discomfort as quickly as possible, rather than existing there for a time to determine our options and what’s at the core. I’m going to exist here for a while to see what new realizations I have.
When we began charging for our service in 2012, we heard countless times how fantasy football information should be free and “I won’t pay for it.” Don’t forget that sometimes those sharing our interests need to be supported so that those interests continue to grow. More interest means more people, more resources, more knowledge and more opportunity to share and grow your passion(s). DLF reformed my own opinions in that area and I now energetically support small sites and individuals catering to my own interests. Please consider that yourself as well. Without your support, DLF would have likely shuttered in 2012 or shortly thereafter. The time commitment was just too great for what we wanted to accomplish.
In closing, I can’t thank you all enough for your engagement, your grace and your friendship. This world is filled with billions of people and connection is so very important. While we have never met physically, I still feel a very real connection to all of you. Additionally, I always felt great pride in engaging with our international members. Somehow this little start-up became an international company and I relished in hearing from our international readers and members. It never gets old.
I don’t know what comes next in my journey. I’ll stay uncomfortable for a spell while knowledge, understanding and options avail themselves. Maybe this article series is back next year? Maybe not. Until then, you’ll be able to find my work at The Athletic now and again. You’ll also find me continuing to discuss topics surrounding fantasy football, wealth coaching/FIRE, stock market investing and life lessons on my Twitter and Threads feeds. If you want to reach out directly, my DLF email should remain functional. Simply use my first name, period, last name followed by “@dynastyleaguefootball.com.”
On this first day of yet another new year, I’m wishing you and your family a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2024. Never turn away from being the architect of your future. Embrace every day with optimism and humility. Leave the rest to natural progression.
I’ll miss you but remain extremely thankful for all of you.
I’m a bit of an open book as you can tell. I’m looking for one last week of engagement with all of you.
TTFN
You can find Jeff on Twitter at @dlf_jeff
- Lineup Advice: Wrap-up, Thank You and Goodbye (TTFN) - January 1, 2024
- Lineup Advice: Week 17 – Championship Edition - December 26, 2023
- Lineup Advice: Week 16 – The “What is” Edition - December 19, 2023
