Your Life, Career & Fantasy Football

Recently, West Coat Analyst made an interesting point about the tiers of MBA programs and their similarities to this year's crop of running backs. As an avid fan of fantasy football, I see an even deeper connection, one that mirrors an entire young life, not just one's choice of business school.

Like one's life and career, fantasy football is filled with times where hard work pays off, and times when bad luck, and bad luck alone, totally screws you. But, also like one's life and career, the effects of momentary bad luck can be washed away, it doesn't have to ruin everything so long as you're ready to put in the effort to correct the problem. So, with that in mind, let's take a look at some of the major points in a fantasy football season and imagine how they relate to your life and career.

Getting Your Draft Pick: Right before you draft your team for any fantasy football season, you get your draft pick. You can be the first pick, guaranteeing yourself the pick of the litter, or you can be closer to the back, ensuring that you're not going to be particularly happy with who you select. Are you going to be selecting Adrian "All Day" Peterson? Or are you going to be stuck trying to figure out who's less likely to be injured: Trent Richardson or LeSean McCoy? Or, do you go a different tack and grab up a quarterback or Megatron (if he's still on the board)?

Being Born to Your Parents: Just before birth/life, you'll be assigned a set of parents by random chance, just like your draft pick. Some kids get the equivalent of "first pick" with two Managing Directors as parents, both having attended, and subsequently donated to Harvard/Yale (or similar), guaranteeing you a legacy admission. But, like with "first pick," most of you won't get a set of parents like that. However, also like with "first pick," having said parents does not guarantee you success, just like having the last pick does not guarantee you failure. But, having the equivalent of "first pick" in life is extremely convenient.

Drafting Your Team: This is the part where preparation starts to become paramount. Have you done your homework? Watched and/or read about training camp? Carefully tracked pre-season performances? Developed a strategy? Know who/how/why you're going to draft? Figured out who are the season's sleepers? Busts? Here is a phase where you can simply work your way to success in stark contrast to the complete randomness of the assignment of your initial draft pick. However, as we all know, the NFL season is long, and sometimes your hard work won't pay off exactly how you would like. But remember, just because you put in the work, guaranteeing that you won't do anything stupid (i.e. drafting Cleveland's offense sans Trent Richardson), it doesn't mean you're going to come out as the greatest player of all time when all is said and done. There's still plenty that can go wrong, and luck still plays a decent sized role.

Your High School Performance: Just like with your draft day preparation, how hard you work in high school is has an annoyingly large role in how your the next decade of life will pan out. Going in and doing the bare minimum, all while smoking grass in the parking lot is no different then drafting John Skelton in the first round and then drafting the entire NFL's PUP list in the remaining rounds. Do that and you're screwing yourself. Hard. Work hard, put that time in, play sports, join clubs, rock your SAT/ACT/whatever test high schoolers take, and you'll set yourself up for success. However, life is long, and even by putting the work in during high school may not get you exactly what you want. Getting into the school of your choice is oftentimes a matter of luck. Harvard, Yale, Stanford, U Penn, and many others have their pick of the litter. They'll get two high performing students, with near perfect applications for every one slot they need to fill. Just remember, if you've worked hard and put in the time, you'll go somewhere good and competitive, even if it's not your first choice.

Rocking the Waiver Wire & Making Trades: So, you drafted both Darren McFadden and DeMarco Murray. At first look, you crushed it on draft day, but then, out of nowhere, both of them become injured. It's important that you act fast to identify, and subsequently grab up Marcel Reese and Joseph Randle (for this year, last year I think it was Tashard Choice), because if you don't, someone will, and you'll be left in the cold sans two running backs. Expect things to go wrong and have the legwork already done. In other words, be prepared for the worst. Also, at the same time, it's important to keep your eye on who might break out so you can take advantage of opportunities. Last year, you would've been smart to trade for Randall Cobb and C.J. Spiller early on. In other words, the same amount of work and attention that was given in preparation for draft day needs to continue to ensure you won't get left behind. Don't rest on the laurels of a great draft, if you want to become champion, you must work until the end.

College & Internships: You've worked your butt off to get into a good university, but you can't stop now! The "season" has just begun! Rock your classes, join clubs, begin networking with people at your school and in industry. This will prepare you in case things out of your control go south, in particular, the economy. The better you prepare for a crappy job market while you're in college, the easier your life will be upon graduation. Take some risks, too. If there's an opportunity for a lunch with some Wall Street big wigs, and you have to pick that or trying to hook up with that hot guy/girl in your finance class, get your ass to the lunch and try to get an interview for a top internship. Just because you worked hard during high school and got into a top university doesn't mean your work is done, you can't rest on your laurels, you have to keep gunning if you want to come out on top!

Playoffs: After working hard and totally crushing it throughout the season, you are now in the playoffs! Great! But, now is the time to really put the pedal to the metal. Which players are really coming alive? Did the risks you took during the season and draft day pay off? Were you one of the people last year who picked up Adrian Peterson, who at the time was coming off a pretty big injury? Here is where your hard work will begin paying off, but you have to be aware of what you're looking at. Continuing your efforts through the playoffs will be what gets you the championship title.

Your First Job: Congratulations! After working your ass off through college you're all setup to begin your quest to your employer of choice. Now is the time to look at who is crushing it, who's struggling, and to make sure you get with the best employer for what you're looking to do. This doesn't necessarily mean that you go looking towards the biggest banks you can find. Many will remember the recent layoffs that occurred at Morgan Stanley, among many others, so be aware of what institutions are doing well and which ones are not doing so well. This could mean it's well worth your time to look towards smaller elite shops, like Lazard, much more intensely. However, just because a firm fell on hard times in the past, doesn't mean their future is bleak. Do your homework, and get out networking to make sure your bases are covered. Remember, you're not there yet, you have to keep on cranking to get there: more networking, more meetings, more interviews, and of course, even more networking. Continuing your efforts will get you in the door, in other words, it'll get you the proverbial championship.

Just for Fun:
My Top 10 Fantasy Football Picks for 2013
1. Adrian Peterson
2. Doug Martin
3. Arian Foster
4. Jamaal Charles
5. Ray Rice
6. Aaron Rodgers
7. C.J. Spiller
8. Calvin Johnson
9. Marshawn Lynch
10. LeSean McCoy