After four months, it comes down to just one day. Ten of the dozen who embarked on the journey back in September have found their ships sunk to the unforgiving bottom of the League ocean. As the dawn breaks on this Sunday, January 2, 2022, only two still sail on towards the goal of immortality.
No Thursday nonsense. No Saturday bullshit. No, these two teams are going to duke it out on the high seas, one will win, one will lose, and it will all go down on a Sunday. The Lord’s Day. As the Fantasy Gods intended. Time to go to church.
1. FRANK THE TANK (10-5) vs 2. 2 FEETS IN (9-6)
It’s a classic 1 seed vs 2 seed matchup in the Championship, but these two teams journeys to the top seeds were anything but typical. Frank The Tank came into this year with his eye on avenging his Championship Game loss to Vaf from a year ago, but stumbled out of the gates; he began the season 3-5, 4 games back in the East and fighting for his playoff life. Since then he’s run off an astounding 7 straight wins, the longest win streak in his career, not only catching Cody en route to a stunning division title but claiming The League’s best record and earning his 5th career Championship Game Appearance. A career 1-3 in these games, losing the last 3, Frank has an opportunity to join the exclusive club of multiple time League Champs and etch his name into Ol’ Glory for the first time since 2007.
While not quite the same turnaround, not many expected Jack to have earned the Central Division and a bye back in the middle of the season. 2 Feets In was a middling 2-3 through 5 games and 3-4 through 7 games, struggling to stay above water in a division with a clear favorite in BJC who raced out to a 5-2 start. But then Brian’s collapse opened a crack in the door and Jacky G busted straight through it, winning 5 of the last 7 to close out the regular season and earn the division title and the coveted bye.
Both teams are coming off tremendous wins in the Semi Finals, where Frank’s team, overrun by covid, still managed to defeat Meade and Jack pulled off on epic comeback in a shootout against the Meat Maven who has still yet to win a playoff game that isn’t against Mark. Jack is the projections favorite in this one by 10+ points but both of these teams are capable of putting up fireworks, especially now that Frank’s stars return from the covid list.
As he has all year, Jack will rely heavily on his stable of wide receivers: Diggs, Allen, and Waddle are maybe The League’s most explosive trio of receivers. Dak seemed to get his groove back last week, Aaron Jones is always a threat to drop a 30 point game, and Sony Michel seems to have grabbed control of the Rams backfield. It’s not crazy to say that at a time when most teams are succumbing to the war of attrition, Jack’s roster might be at its strongest its been all season.
On the other side, Frank is also in pretty decent shape after weathering the storm last week. Kelce and Ekeler return to their featured roles, teaming up with a red hot Josh Allen to give Frank the type of firepower to match up with or overwhelm anybody at 3 different positions on the field. Mike Williams returns as well, and Frank’s stash of Ronald Jones paid off big time as Lenny Fournette went down to injury. The wild card here could be Odell Beckham Jr., who might get the start over a limited Mike Evans. Either way, that decision by Frank could turn out to be crucial.
There’s been projections, predictions, and prognostications all week but only one thing is for certain: at the end of the day, The League will have a newly crowned champion. Good luck fellas.
ANTHEM BOWL PREVIEW
11. Ressica Jobinson (4-10) vs 12. The Diamond Empire (3-11)
And now on to the real game. Just like the 1 and 2 seeds matching up in the Championship Game, the 11 and 12 seeds will match up in a scintillating Anthem Bowl matchup. Unlike the other game, this one was not much of a surprise as Diamonds and Vaf struggled to get anything going at all at any point this season. I could give you the rosters and break down the matchup and all that. But a) I’m running out of time and b) it wouldn’t exactly be a battle of the stars we’re talking about. I mean, these teams are here for a reason.
Vaf and Diamonds are both prior Anthem singers, and the loser of this matchup will join an exclusive list of multiple time singers. Vaf is looking to avoid the extra stain of becoming the first team to go from winning the title one year to singing The Anthem the next.
The Anthem Bowl has given The League some of its most exciting moments, and all we can hope for is that this game lives up to the hype. These two opponents have handled themselves with class all year en route to what seemed like an inevitable matchup and here’s hoping they are rewarded with one last bit of fantasy excitement before the year comes to a close.