SBRFFFL Super Bowl XV Champ: Lest We Forget (2020 season wrap)

 

Lest We Forget

If we're going to talk about rivers, there's always one—beyond our most recently decorated repeat champion Los Angeles River of Los Olivos—that comes back to me. Somewhere adrift in my literary studies I was introduced to the mythological River Lethe, one of the five rivers of Hades, that, once drank from, induced forgetfulness and oblivion. As some myths have it, those descending to the underworld would drink from the River Lethe to forget their earthly life and erase their sins, ostensibly being able to rest in peace. For Virgil, in his Aeneid, the river was what enabled the dead to be reincarnated into a newlife. Now, what deepens the matter for me is that the name "lethe" (literally meaning "oblivion" or "concealment") comes from the Ancient Greek word for "truth"— aletheia—whose literal meaning isn't 'fact' or 'reality', but "un-concealment" or "un-forgetfulness." And, a t some point, I'm sure all of us have heard the quip—perhaps even quipped ourselves—that 2020 is a year to forget. However, I can't help but feel that we'll all be the better for it if we can remember this year that has "un-concealed" so much we have taken for granted or turned away from. It is worth remembering that our struggles and our troubles are as much our own as they are the propellants of our being better should we not conceal ourselves from these hard truths and reckon with our roles in rising through them.    As far as the tail side of the coin on this fifteenth running of the SBRFFFL, in a double-kind of sense, we end where we began. The Los Angeles River were the very first champions of the SBRFFFL in 2006, and they are the champions of last year—facing off, once again, with the newO SWAMP. All season long the River were dominant; not only with a 13-2 overall record, but scoring the most points on the season with 1133. In the meantime, and perhaps even more impressively, the newO SWAMP were ranked last in the league as late as Week 5, losing their first four games by averaging only 71 points per contest. However, newO went on a couple of impressive win streaks—three and four games—down the stretch and posted a 93 in the semi-finals against the second-best team in the league,  Nacho's Cheese. While the final score of SBRFFFL Super Bowl XV doesn't paint the picture of much of a contest,  SWAMP was not only in contention, but ahead and favored by Mickey Mouse analytics for the first half of the matchup. The River's Kyler Murray had a lackluster performance against San Francisco in a loss, and the Browns D/ST lost to the NY Jets. However, the balance of power shifted dramatically once the River's hands team got to work with both Michael Gallup and Stefon Diggs having their best games of the season on 24 and 34 points respectively. Congratulations to the River on their third Super Bowl win overall, and further congratulations to newO, Nacho's Cheese, and the Andover Waddlers for sweeping up the other cash prizes. I apologize for falling "off the grid" with the write-ups this season; have no doubt that I missed doing them, but the teaching gig was a bit 'extra' this year between both online and in-person curriculum needs. Thanks to Josh for the Super Bowl hype write-up and thanks to you all for making this league what it is. I'll see you soon—wishing all the best to you and your loved ones—stay safe and strong.      .        Season 15 Final Standings  1. Los Angeles River of LO (Silver Division & Super Bowl Champ) $400 2. newO SWAMP (Super Bowl Runner-Up) $150 3.  Brooklyn Milk 4.  Nacho's Cheese (Black Division Champ) $100 5.  3rd Avenue Schmutz 6.  Koepke's Cupcakes 7.  Andover Waddlers (Consolation Bracket Champ) $50 8.  Potrero Hillbillies 9. Wea ver 10. Argentina17 Big Boss   11. The Golden Receivers 12. Santa Barbara Fokkers 13. Vick's Dog Sitter 14. Low_nass   2020 SBRFFFL All-Fantasy Squad   QB - Josh Allen - Waddlers (384) RB - Derrick Henry - Cheese (306)                         WR - Davante Adams - Weaver (242) TE - Travis Kelce - River (200)  D/ST - Rams - Swamp (139) K - Jason Sanders - Milk (170)                                                                            Buy Ins If you haven't paid up already, please do so. As always, the buy-in for the league is $50 (Paypal: ranthonyreid@gmail.com; Venmo: @Rick-Reid-2). All best, Rick