The Football Club

Welcome to the final post for the 2024 season of The Football Club: 23rd Year Classic Edition.  This turned out to be yet another great season with participants from far and wide joining us in making weekly picks.  After 18 weeks of regular season football, a brand new Club Champion has emerged to hold up the Rhapsody Ralph Trophy for the first time ever.  Before we get into that, I just wanted to let you know that The Football Club is confirmed to return next season for its 24th year of operation.  With that announcement made, let’s now take some time to look back at how all of our club members did during the 2024 season.  And because I never got around to posting a season in review for 2023, we will cover some tidbits from that one as well.

Our 2024 Club Champion is Stinkerbell, who finished with 449 Points, 4 MVP Awards, 4 Weeks at #1, and the December Player of the Month Award.  The Rhapsody Ralph trophy is already on order and will soon be delivered to her doorstep.  Stinkerbell is a seventh year veteran, having flown into the club in 2018 when she stunned everyone by finishing in 2nd Place as the Runner-Up, a mere 5 Points behind the winner.  For her seven years in the club, she has finished in 2nd (2018), 15th (2019), 6th (2020), 5th (2021), 6th (2022), 13th (2023), and now 1st (2024).  As everyone was alerted to by email, her battle for the Club Championship came down to the final game of the season.  She was leading Drummer Boy by 5 Points with 6 Points on the line in the Minnesota-Detroit Sunday night game, and they happened to have different picks.  The game lacked drama and was easily won by Detroit, thus handing Stinkerbell the biggest moment of her career.  So a huge congratulations to Stinkerbell, our 2024 Club Champion!  Stinkerbell also tied for the league lead of Most Triple Crowns, with 7 out of 18 picked correct.  And while she finished in 13th last season, she did reach a Peak Position of #7 with 2 MVP Awards won.  Our 2024 Club Champion Runner-Up is Drummer Boy, who finished with 438 Points, 3 MVP Awards, 10 Weeks at #1, and the October Player of the Month Award.  Drummer Boy also had the Highest Score of the Year with 41 Points in Week 6.  He had amazing early season success when he won 3 out of 4 MVP Awards during a four week stretch.  He then held on to play consistently well for the rest of the season.  And let’s not forget about last season, which was never fully recapped.  Drummer Boy claimed the 2023 Club Championship by a narrow 3 Point margin of victory over my (still heartbroken) son Young Tuna.  During 2023, Drummer Boy won 2 MVP Awards, logged 8 Weeks at #1, and was the November Player of the Month Award winner.  I still stand by what I said in one of my columns this season, that Drummer Boy is the best player in The Football Club in the 2020’s decade.  He has been nearly impossible to beat over the past four seasons.  Drummer Boy will definitely be considered the favorite to win the 2025 Club Championship going into next season.  Tied for 3rd Place were Bob Swerski and Double-Double, who each ended with 426 Points.  Bob Swerski had such an outstanding season in comparison to 2023 that he was named the 2024 Comeback Player of the Year Award winner.  This is because he improved from a 17th Place finish to a 3rd Place finish.  And he was in serious contention for the club title right down to the final week of the season.  For the 2024 season, Bob Swerski got 2 MVP Awards, 3 Weeks at #1, the November Player of the Month Award, and tied for the league lead of Most Triple Crowns (7) and Most Sunday Night / 6 Point Games (14 – tying a Hall of Fame record).  Of course, now that his wife Stinkerbell has won a Club Championship and is the proud owner of a Rhapsody Ralph Trophy, he will have no choice but to see her trophy on the mantle every time he sits down in his chair to watch a playoff game.  And now that Stinkerbell and their son Nighthawk are both champions, it leaves him as the odd family member out (temporarily I’m sure).  Double-Double has been such a consistently great player that he just surpassed one of my personal Hall of Fame records and claimed it for himself.  He has now moved into sole possession of the IRON MAN STREAK FOR CONSECUTIVE TOP 5 FINISHES.  For seven consecutive seasons, he has finished in the Top Five.  These include: 2018- 1st, 2019- 4th, 2020- 5th, 2021- 2nd, 2022- 4th, 2023- 3rd, 2024 -3rd).  While I was sorry to have to remove my own logo and record from the Hall of Fame, I’m glad that Double-Double was able to take the spot and possibly build upon the new record again next season.  For the 2024 season, Double-Double logged 1 MVP Award and 1 Week at #1.  His Pro Bowl team Wild Animals won back to back titles, defeating Daddy & His Boys this season 103-81 and defeating Gridiron Guardians 91-80 last season.  What many people don’t know is that the best Pro Bowl players of all-time are Double-Double and The Rickster, who each have 7 Pro Bowl titles.  Rounding out the Top Five, we have My Wife Loves Jimmy G, who finished with 416 Points (which was 33 Points back).  My Wife Loves Jimmy G has just been an all around outstanding player since he joined the league three years ago.  This season he finished in 5th.  Last season he finished in 9th.  And as a rookie player back in 2022, he finished in 2nd Place as the Runner-Up.  Not only does he play well in the Points Standings, but he has also excelled at Head to Head and Pro Bowl Team play.  He is part of the back to back Pro Bowl champions team Wild Animals, who have won the team titles the last two seasons.  And he won the Super Bowl Head to Head championship last season, defeating Fearless Tuna 27-22.  Those are a lot of accomplishments for a third year player to have already.  My Wife Loves Jimmy G also co-led the league this season in the Most Games of the Week category with 23 out of 37 correct and Most Triple Crowns (7).

Now let’s continue on with a rundown of the players who made the Top Ten.  In 6th Place, we have Fearless Tuna, who had an extremely strong second half of the season.  In fact, he outscored all other players during that period (from Weeks 10-18) with the exception of Stinkerbell (16 Points better) and Bob Swerski (3 Points better).  Fearless Tuna had 2 MVP Awards and a Peak Position of #5, finishing a mere 12 Points out of the Top Five.  But his biggest moment was finally winning the Super Bowl Head to Head championship.  In the final, Fearless Tuna def. Shaylene 39-30 to set a Hall of Fame record for the highest score ever in a Super Bowl Final match.  In 7th Place, we have MJD Hogg, who played really well all season long.  MJD Hogg claimed 3 MVP Awards and logged 3 Weeks at #1, which is the mark of consistency.  He was also the September Player of the Month Award winner.  In 8th Place, we have The Rickster.  The Rickster was only 20 Points away from finishing in the Top Five, although he did log a Peak Position of #5.  The Rickster is the team captain of Wild Animals, who have now won back to back Pro Bowl championships.  It seems like with every season that goes by, The Rickster is adding to his accolades in the club.  So it is no surprise that he established a brand new record in the Hall of Fame this season.  He is now the sole record holder for Most Double Stakes with 13 picked correct.  The previous record was 11, which has now been left in the dust bin.  In 9th Place, we have Rad Dad.  Rad Dad did claim 1 MVP Award this season and picked really well down the stretch, which will give him strong momentum going into next season.  Tied for 10th Place, we have Captain Insano and Mr. T.  Captain Insano started out the season well with 1 MVP Award and 1 Week at #1.  Ever since the ill-fated moment four years ago when Captain Insano lost the club title due to losing 19 Points from Triple Jeopardy failures, he has done a complete turn around.  He has now led the league for two straight seasons in the category.  This season he picked 8 correct and only 3 wrong, which is 73% correct.  That secured him a net gain of 11 Bonus Points in total.  Now that is how you do it and use that category to your benefit.  Captain Insano also gave a really nice talk in our congregation this past Sunday.  Mr. T claimed 1 MVP Award and 1 Week at #1 earlier this season.  In addition, he co-led the league this season in the Most Games of the Week category with 23 out of 37 correct.  But his best moment this season was no doubt spending a few Sundays at Carson Pass Cabin watching football games (after no doubt joining his meeting by Zoom).

Finally, let’s finish up with the remaining players who finished from 12th to 18th.  In 12th Place, we have Hoosier Daddy.  Hoosier Daddy reached a Peak Position of #5 and led his team Daddy & His Boys to the Pro Bowl team final.  He will probably spend the off-season coming up with a plan to finally put an end to the domination by team rivals Wild Animals.  One huge positive for Hoosier Daddy was tying of the league lead of Most Sunday Night / 6 Point Games with 14 picked correct.  That tied a Hall of Fame record.  In 13th Place, we have a tie between Captain Jack Sparrow and Nighthawk.  Captain Jack Sparrow tried to guide the Black Pearl through the club’s waters but encountered some stormy seas along the way.  However, in the 2023 season he did debut in 1st Place with the Week 1 MVP Award, which was an excellent start to that season.  Captain Jack Sparrow was named the winner of the freespirit Sportsmanship Award for great courtesy and consideration to fellow club members.  Nighthawk played really well despite starting out a couple weeks behind everyone.  He even won 2 MVP Awards.  But I am most interested to hear his reaction to his mom winning the club title.  In 15th Place, we have Shaylene.  Shaylene won 1 MVP Award and made the Super Bowl final.  In 16th Place, we have Young Tuna.  Although he took his picks less seriously this season, Young Tuna still won 1 MVP Award.  And I will never forget how he was Club Champion Runner-Up last season, only missing out on winning it all when the 49ers lost to the Rams in one of the last games of the season.  In 17th Place, we have Roadrunner.  Roadrunner claimed 1 MVP Award this season.  But last season, he did even better.  He took over 1st Place back in Week 7 of 2023 and became a threat to win the club title.  In 18th Place, we have New York City Sewer Rat.  Although he struggled a little bit this season, last season he did claim 1 MVP Award.  And next year, he will no doubt play even better.

2024 Club Champion –
Stinkerbell (449 Points / 4 Weeks at #1 / Avg. 24.9 Points per week)

2024 Football Club winners-
Club Champion-  Stinkerbell (449 Points) – most Points in history
Club Champion Runner-Up-  Drummer Boy (438 Points)
Super Bowl XXII Champ-  Fearless Tuna (def. Captain Insano, Hoosier Daddy, Captain Jack Sparrow, Double-Double & Shaylene)
Super Bowl Runner-Up-  Shaylene (def. New York City Sewer Rat, Rad Dad & Nighthawk)
Pro Bowl XXI Champs-  Wild Animals (teammates- Double-Double, My Wife Loves Jimmy G & The Rickster)
Pro Bowl Runner-Ups-  Daddy & His Boys (teammates- Drummer Boy, Hoosier Daddy & MJD Hogg)
Super Bowl Playoff Picks Champion–
Super Bowl Playoff Picks Champion Runner-Up–

Rookie of the Year-  none
freespirit Sportsmanship Award-  Captain Jack Sparrow (for great courtesy and consideration to fellow club members)
Comeback Player of the Year-  Bob Swerski (for finishing in 3rd Place after finishing in 17th Place last season)
Player of the Month Award winners–  MJD Hogg (Sept.), Drummer Boy (Oct.), Bob Swerski (Nov.), and Stinkerbell (Dec.)

Most MVP Awards-  Stinkerbell (4 MVP Awards)
Best Week-  Drummer Boy (41 Points – Week 6)
Best Team Score-  McTriple Play (105 Points – Week 6)
Most Games of the Week- My Wife Loves Jimmy G & Mr. T (23 out of 37 – 62% correct)
Most Triple Crowns-  Stinkerbell, Bob Swerski & My Wife Loves Jimmy G (7 out of 18 – 39% correct)
Most Double Stakes-  The Rickster (13 out of 18 – 72% correct)
Most Sunday Night / 6 Point Games-  Bob Swerski & Hoosier Daddy (14 out of 18 – 78% correct)
Best Triple Jeopardy Ratio-  Captain Insano (8 out of 11 – 73% correct)

Here are the club’s picks for Week 18. Stinkerbell wins the Week 18 MVP Award with 30 Points, while Drummer Boy & Fearless Tuna share the MVP Award Runner-Up with 30 Points.

Week 18 full picks now posted (Sun 8:00am).  All players are welcome to view my picks once they have turned their own in for the week.

Week 17 MVP Award Winner –
Fearless Tuna (39 Points)

Top Ten player Fearless Tuna continued his late-season surge by scoring 39 Points to win the Week 17 MVP Award.  Switching away from speaking in third person, I’m not sure how I played so poorly during the first 10 weeks of the season.  It seemed like I couldn’t pick any of the big games correct and thus I found myself near the bottom of the standings.  But then when my back was against the wall and I was about to finish Head to Head Weekly with an embarrassing winless record, I finally had a good week and won a game.  And I’ve been having good weeks ever since.  So it was nice to make this a successful season by claiming my second MVP Award and getting back into 7th Place.  Last week, I got to 39 Points by only missing two Point Spread games and the Over/Under.  Current 4th Place player Double-Double scored 38 Points to claim the Week 17 MVP Award Runner-Up.  Double-Double only missed two Point Spread games.  So he actually picked better than Fearless Tuna did, being that he got the Over/Under correct.  However, he did not select Triple Jeopardy with his pick of Las Vegas, and that’s why Fearless Tuna edged him out for the MVP.  Double-Double is essentially a lock to finish in the Top Five.  But can he possibly compete for the club title on the final week?  Right now he stands 14 Points behind the Current Leader.  That’s a tall task for him to make up all those Points, especially being that he needs to jump two other players as well.  But it’s not impossible.  He will need to pick up an extra order of Animal Fries at the drive-thru if he’s going to have a chance, though.  Heading into the final week, the current Top Five consists of #1 Stinkerbell (3 Weeks at #1), #2 Bob Swerski (8 Points back), #3 Drummer Boy (9 Points back), #4 Double-Double (14 Points back), and #5 My Wife Loves Jimmy G (26 Points back).  Just outside of the Top Five, MJD Hogg continues to make his presence felt, as he is only 9 Points away from finishing in the Top Five.  So who will have a huge score this week and claim the 2024 Club Championship and raise the Rhapsody Ralph trophy?  Will it be current top player and December Player of the Month Award winner Stinkerbell, who has gained some separation from the rest of those who are chasing her?  Will it be her husband Bob Swerski, who is within striking distance of winning it all?  Or will it be Drummer Boy, who is trying to win his 3rd club title in the last 4 seasons?  It certainly is interesting to see a husband and wife battling it out with each other down to the final week for the club title.  All the while, trying to somehow hold off the club’s greatest player of the 2020’s decade.  I really don’t know what’s going to happen.  The club title could very well come down to who does (or doesn’t) select Quadruple Jeopardy and thus who takes (or avoids) a risk that could have serious implications on the final result.  I still feel like the favorite to win going into this final week is Drummer Boy, because he knows how to finish off a season.  But this may very well be the time for Stinkerbell or Bob Swerski to make history and receive their first winner’s trophy in the mail.  And with three players all very close in the Points Standings, I wouldn’t be surprised if we had our first ever tie for the Club Championship.

In the Super Bowl Tournament, (9) Fearless Tuna def. (2) Shaylene 39-30 to become the 2024 Super Bowl Head to Head Champion.  The following information is copy and pasted over from the Super Bowl Tournament Page:  After playing in the Super Bowl Tournament for 22 seasons and being a 4-time finalist, Fearless Tuna has finally done it. He has finally won the Super Bowl Head to Head Championship and raised the trophy in celebration. And in so doing, he has also made history. Fearless Tuna becomes the first player to win the tournament with a losing record, the first player to survive the First Round and win it, and the lowest seeded player to ever win it. He also broke a 21 year old record with a new highest score ever in a Super Bowl Final match with 39 Points. The previous record was held by Papa J-Bird who scored 33 Points back in 2003. Fearless Tuna’s run through the tournament was truly memorable, knocking off higher seeded players five times in a row, all the while knowing that he faced elimination if any of his matches ended up in a tie. Just ask 8th seeded Rad Dad how tough that situation is to overcome. On the week when it mattered the most, with the championship on the line, Fearless Tuna stepped up and posted his biggest score of the season with 39 Points as he won the MVP Award. His opponent, Shaylene, had a tremendous run through the tournament as well and scored a very strong 30 Points. She is very much to be applauded for making it all the way to the final and giving it her best. But it was not quite enough to overcome the unstoppable momentum of Fearless Tuna, who ended on a 6-game winning streak after starting the season winless in his first 9 games. It was definitely a turnaround and tournament run for the ages.

In the Pro Bowl Tournament, (1) Wild Animals def. (2) Daddy & His Boys 103-81 to become the 2024 Pro Bowl Team Champions.  The following information is copy and pasted over from the Pro Bowl Tournament Page:  Wild Animals continue to pad their unmatched resume by defeating their main rivals Daddy & His Boys 103-81 to win their sixth championship. On the week when it mattered the most, all three teammates on Wild Animals stepped up and delivered some outstanding picks. Team captain The Rickster contributed 33 Points and My Wife Loves Jimmy G added 32 Points. So that was 65 team points right there. And then Double-Double went on a rampage, scoring 38 Points and winning the MVP Award Runner-Up. That brought the team total to 103 Points, which was actually the second highest team score of the entire season. To accomplish such a feat in the Pro Bowl Championship game made Wild Animals unstoppable. Wild Animals have now won back to back Pro Bowl Team Championships. They have also won the title in 3 out of the last 4 seasons. Now that they have a league leading and utterly dominant six titles, what more is there left for them to accomplish? Not much, but next season they will surely be the favorites to win a seventh title. As far as Daddy & His Boys, they can hold their heads high. They had an amazing season, as they usually do, and gave it everything they had in the title match. MJD Hogg stepped up big time and tried to lead his team to victory with 34 Points. Thus, he outplayed 2 of the 3 members of Wild Animals. However, it wasn’t enough because both Hoosier Daddy (22 Points) and Drummer Boy (25 Points) struggled on offense and were held in check by the defense of Wild Animals. But there is always next season. For now, though, Daddy & His Boys will have to be content with being the second best team in club history.