CRESTWOOD, Mo. – Nearly 23-million people play fantasy football, but “The Long Strong Fantasy Football League” is one of a kind.
“I think it got really competitive. It was always the talk at school,” Lucas Corkery said.
Nico Nicastro added, “I haven’t seen any other fantasy leagues do that.”
Each of the 16 teams is managed by one member of a middle school friend group from the Lindbergh School District. Two dads are co-commissioners of the league.
“I am an educational doctor, but we use that term loosely in this world of fantasy sports,” co-commissioner Dr. Brian Rich said.
Co-commissioner Dan Corkery added, “If you’re going to do anything, put 110% into it.”
And did they ever. It started with the in-person pool party draft.
“There was really a lot of hype, I guess, going into the draft,” Lucas Corkery said.
Once the teams were picked and the games began, the commissioners debuted a weekly webcast. Full of fun and puns, the “Weekly Touch” featured recaps of the week’s matchups, comedically crafted sponsorships, and an interview each week with a different owner.
“Might’ve jumped from a ‘G’ to a ‘PG’ rating with some of the trash talk that was coming. And that’s good. That’s all good,” Rich added.
“I thought it was going to be like a one-time thing, but sending the video every week, it was crazy,” Nicastro said.
“You got more inspired to do it when you saw what they were getting out of it.” Dan Corkery noted. “Lots of smiles. Lots of high fives. Lots of fist pumps. I think that’s usually enough of a reward to keep doing something like this.”
When the season ended, the league gathered for some bowling, brotherhood, and an awards ceremony where everyone took home some hardware.
But with high school on the horizon, the reality is this fantasy fandom might be fleeting.
“These boys are going to grow up. They’re going to go to college. They’re going to get jobs. They’re going to start families. They’re going to move away to different places. But there always needs to be that vehicle for them to stay together. That invisible string,” Dan Corkery said.
Rich added, “Great communities don’t stay great without a lot of effort. I’m proud to be a part of that effort to make Lindbergh a great place to be a parent and be a kid and just have a lot of fun no matter what your age is, you know?”
No matter who takes home the title in Sunday’s Super Bowl, these kids have already won. Their team is full of faithful friends, present parents, and a league of their own to tie it all together.
“When we’re adults, we’ll probably do it with our kids too,” Henry Rich said.