Champions just know how to rise to the occasion.
Heading into Week 12, Dad was seven back of the leader. He hadn’t posted a win since Week 2. He trailed by three in the Grandparent Division. And then, he awakened.
Shouting the mantra “the season starts after Thanksgiving” to whomever would listen, Dad ran off four-straight wins and snuck back into contention. He was suddenly just one off the pace with two to play, but, with three players ahead of him, still considered an afterthought. A strong 10 in a weak Week 16 put him back on top. The field was stunned.
In Week 17, he faced what proved to be his toughest challenge. Me. The four-time champ came storming back with stroke after stroke of upset-predicting genius. But, due to the Bills’ unexpected decision to start Brian Brohm (or Me’s laziness to re-do his picks once he found out), Dad prevailed and exorcised the horror of a Wii rematch.
Now with two titles to his name, Dad moves into second place all-time. And in a season marked by undoubtedly the most parity in league history*, his latest title was surely his finest.
*Unverified assumption based on this text from Tim: “had to have been one of the closest seasons in terms of parity right?”
To celebrate, here are the 17 nicknames Dad used this year, ranked from “plainly informative” to “just watched Scrooged“…
17. Dad
Week used: 2
One-word reaction: “Indeed”
16. Grandpa to Brady
Week used: 1
One-word reaction: “Cute”
15. Grandpa to 12
Week used: 3
One-word reaction: “Cuter!”
14. Grandpa to 12
Week used: 4
One-word reaction: “Stale”
13. Moving to the Beach
Week used: 5
One-word reaction: “Newsworthy”
12. Timy
Week used: 13
One-word reaction: “Stretch”
11. At the Copa…Copacabana!!!
Week used: 10
One-word reaction: “Jaunty”
10. Still at the Copa…Copacabana
Week used: 11
One-word reaction: “Buckley-esque”
9. Back from the Copa
Week used: 12
One-word reaction: “Fewph”
8. Dadius Beachius
Week used: 7
One-word reaction: “Nominative”
7. Tim Xavier Cross
Week used: 14
One-word reaction: “Dickens”
6. I’m the Ghost Frank!
Week used: 15
One-word reaction: “Ah..haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
5. Bryce Cummings (an LA Slime Ball)
Week used: 16
One-word reaction: “Lacrosse”
4. One Step Closer to the Bungalow
Week used: 6
One-word reaction: “Nostalgy”
3. 54 Days to Go!!
Week used: 9
One-word reaction: “Goosebumpy”
2. Bungalow Dad
Week used: 8
One-word reaction: “NiagraFallsy”
1. Man of the Year
Week used: 17
One-word reaction: “Indeed”
McManus Picks 