Despite all the fun that I had playing the pickup games of the Rebels throughout the 2008 NFL season, the joys of fantasy football were nearing the horizon. However, prior to the Rebels joining the Yuma Scorpions Fantasy Football League in 2009, Rebels management was trying to find a new home for the young franchise. Just one year removed from existence, the Hawaiian Rebels were looking to get out of Salt Lake City, in hopes of finding a new home where fans could embrace and support the new franchise. A return to Honolulu was out of the question. I quickly realized that that market could not work, and that I needed to find a new home for the franchise as soon as possible.
2009
HAWAIIAN REBELS
THE 2009 HAWAIIAN REBELS
I began exploring possible locations and markets for the Rebels in April 2009, but many of the markets I was interested in, were not interested in taking in the Rebels. An aspect that I saw as a must for the Rebels new home, was that this new home should be in the Southern United States, preferably a city or state that was in the former Confederate States of America, because of their nickname, the Rebels. With limited options to the choose from, I choose Jefferson City, Missouri as the home of the new Rebels, with the Rebels adopting the name, Missouri Rebels; officially embracing their new city, something that was the opposite when the Rebels relocated to Salt Lake City the previous season.
The team was set to move to Jefferson City just prior to the 2009 season beginning. I was happy and excited for my team, as well as, the team’s new city. I began promoting the team’s move, telling all my friends that the team they heard all about the previous year, was now moving to Jefferson City to become the Missouri Rebels. Everything that I did that spring that pertained to the Rebels, I made sure to attach the name Missouri Rebels to it.
But if you have any prior knowledge of the Rebels, then you know that the team in fact did not move to Jefferson City in 2009, and that the Missouri Rebels were never a real team. The reason behind this is, once I decided to move my team to Jefferson City, I began looking at stadium options for the Rebels, but to my chagrin, I realized how small Jefferson City is, and that no matter how popular the Rebels were, the team would not be financially viable in the “Show Me State’s” capital. Also, around this same time, I began asking myself the question, how can I move a team that just went to a championship game, from a city that took us in midseason, and supported us as their own? I knew what I had to do, and in June 2009, the decision was made. The Rebels would stay in Salt Lake City for the 2009 season, keeping the name Hawaiian Rebels. The team opted not to adopt Salt Lake City or Utah as their city team name, as I was looking to keep my options open for a bigger and better market for my team in the near future.
With where the team would call home now sorted out, the next hurdle appeared for the Rebels. The Rebels now needed to find a league to call their own, as the 2009 season would not be another pickup game driven season, rather I wanted to get my team in the business of fantasy football. An opportunity presented itself in August 2009 when my dad’s buddy Steve called my dad with an offer. This offer was an invitation to join his son-in-law Sean’s fantasy football league. The Yuma Scorpions Fantasy Football League.
My father was hesitant at first on whether or not he’d join the league, as he had never done fantasy football before, but he felt as if he’d enjoy the game once he got the hang of things. My dad told me the conversation he had with Steve and asked if I would help him in this upcoming fantasy football season and draft. I would have gladly done that, but I had other ideas on my mind. I quickly asked my dad if there was another opening in the league for me. My dad said he would ask Steve later that day. So, that day, I remember it was a Friday morning, I went to school all happy, telling my friends, including Nathan Simmons that I would be doing fantasy football this upcoming season. It wasn’t even a sure bet that there would be an opening, but I was just so confident that I would get into the Yuma Scorpions and the story of the Rebels would continue.
Later that evening, my father informed me that there was an opening in Sean Metz’s league and that the Hawaiian Rebels would be joining this season. I was thrilled! The Rebels would finally have a league to call their own, and I would finally get to play fantasy football. Of course, the number one goal I gave for myself and the Rebels that season was to win the Yuma Bowl, but before any winning could occur, I had to learn more about the sport of fantasy football. I had a very basic understanding of the game prior to the 2009 season. I knew that owners drafted players and however they did on the field, the owners and teams were awarded points. That was my understanding of the game, but I did not know the strategy to the game. Thankfully, Steve’s son-in-law Sean kindly said he’d explain the strategy to Steve, my father and myself.
The day before the 2009 Yuma Scorpions Fantasy Football Draft, Steve invited my dad and I over to his house for a group phone call with his son-in-law Sean. During this phone call, Sean explained the very basics of fantasy football to the three of us. None of us, not even Steve had ever played the game, so we were all fascinated with how we should approach the upcoming draft. Sean told us to remember five tips when drafting.
The first step is that running backs are key. Your first pick should almost always be a running back due to their consistent usage and touchdown potential. The second step is that defenses don’t necessarily win championships. Sean explained that while an NFL team may have a great defense in real life, in fantasy football defenses are so replaceable and interchangeable that one should not draft a defense with a high pick. The third tip he gave us was that we should be aware of players with injury history and players that have the potential to get hurt. He explained the mistake he made the previous year in drafting Tom Brady with his first-round pick. Brady was coming off his first MVP award and a fifty-touchdown pass season, so it seemed like a great pick, but then Brady got knocked out for the season in the first game, and thus Sean’s fantasy season was also in ruin. He explained while injuries are a part of the game, one should be cautions when drafting a player with an injury history or players returning from injury. The fourth tip he gave us was that NFL studs from a year ago, could end up being fantasy busts this season. The fifth and final tip he gave us, and he could not stress this tip enough was, watch the byes. He explained how the bye weeks worked, and that during drafts you want to avoid having as many players with the same byes as possible, otherwise you are setting your team up to lose that week.
Following the conversation, we had with Sean, Steve, my dad and I all talked strategy for the upcoming draft. None of us knew what position we would be drafting in as that would be determined on draft night, but I remember Steve asking my dad and myself if we think he should go with a defense with his first pick. At that moment I guess he decided to ignore Sean’s advice about defenses and contemplated taking a defense in the first round. It was also during this conversation with Steve, that his team, the GMEN were born. Up until this time, his team name was the generic Team Kopf name that ESPN hands out. With Steve being a huge Giants fan, it almost seemed fitting that his team name would be the GMEN, and I like to give myself a little bit of credit in the naming process because I was there.
The following day was the annual scheduled Yuma Scorpions Fantasy Football League Draft. The conversation I had with Sean, and the tips he gave me was what I based the 2009 Hawaiian Rebels draft strategy on. With my current knowledge about the NFL, and the tips I received, I felt confident going into the draft. Confident that I could help get the Rebels back to the championship in just their second season.
Exactly one hour before the draft was scheduled to begin, the draft order was released. My dad was awarded the third overall pick, I was awarded the seventh overall pick, and Steve was awarded the tenth overall pick. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t receive a higher pick, but I still felt confident I could get a top player in the first round. When the draft began, the first two picks went off the bored quickly. Running backs Adrian Peterson, and Michael Turner were the first two players picked, and I remember hearing my dad from the next room over, scream in frustration because his top player was taken. My dad quickly got over this and went back to his strategy of taking the best player available. He took Arizona Cardinals breakout Wide Receiver Larry Fitzgerald third overall. After he made the pick, I shouted across the hall, telling him excellent pick.
The Rebels were nearly up, and I had to start formulating who I wanted to take with the seventh overall selection. All the remaining stud running backs were going off the bored quickly, and I knew that I was not going to be lucky enough to snag one. When the Rebels were put on the clock the Rebels ended up making wide receiver Andre Johnson their top pick. The Houston Texans top WR was the second ranked WR in the draft only behind my dad’s pick, Larry Fitzgerald. I felt I got a great player in Johnson, and on top of all that, Andre Johnson was one of my favorite NFL players at the time.
As the draft progressed, the 2009 Rebels team began taking shape. I was drafting players who I felt were going to help carry the Rebels to the championship. I took my second favorite Raider in running back Darren McFadden, and then selected Philip Rivers as the team’s starting quarterback. In a later round I paired Andre Johnson with his Houston Texan’s starting quarterback Matt Schaub. I have to give my dad the credit in helping to get Schaub, as he convinced me that Schaub was a good quarterback, poised for a breakout year. But what the 2009 Rebels draft class is really remembered by is the boneheaded mistake I made, in not remembering Sean’s advice when drafting a defense.
My ego got the best of me that night, as I was determined to be the first team in the league to draft a defense. In the fourth or fifth round, I don’t quite remember the exact round, but it was one of those two rounds, I drafted the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers as my defense because they were the defending Super Bowl champions and they also happened to be the #1 defense from the previous season. The decision I made in drafting the Steelers defense in the fourth/fifth round is a decision that would come back to haunt the 2009 Hawaiian Rebels.
The 2009 NFL and fantasy football season kicked off on Thursday Night football when the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans battled in a primetime showdown. The Rebels entered week one on the road, verses Team Cermak, a preseason favorite to win the Yuma Bowl. I remember the 2009 NFL season opener on Thursday Night being a very boring defensive heavy game, but that boded well for my fantasy defense. The Rebels also had second player in this game, Steelers Kicker Jeff Reed. Collectively the Steelers and Reed helped the Rebels score 16 points, good enough for a lead against Cermak. The Steelers won the game 13-10 in overtime.
As for the Hawaiian Rebels, their early season woes continued into mid-October. The club started the 2009 season on a franchise-worst 0-4 start, before finally getting a win in Week 5. But before I can talk about that game, I must first talk about a trade that I made, that I immediately regretted making, but in hindsight, the trade helped out the team.
But getting back to the game that would decide if the Rebels started the season 1-0 or 0-1. Rebels Quarterback Philip Rivers passed for 252 yards and 1 touchdown in this game, while Rebels running back Darren McFadden rushed for 68 yards on seventeen carries. Together their efforts would not be enough as the Rebels would fall to Cermak by nearly fifteen points, putting the Rebels at the dreaded 0-1 mark to start the season. While this wasn’t the result the Rebels were looking to make in their first game in the Yuma Scorpions, I still had hope that my team could turn it around and make it to the playoffs and later win the Yuma Bowl.
For the majority of Week One, the Rebels and Team Cermak played a back and forth contest, but the game ultimately came down to the Monday Night double header’s late game, the San Diego Chargers versus the Oakland Raiders. Team Cermak had no players remaining, but the Rebels had both running back Darren McFadden and quarterback Philip Rivers. This game was one of the best games of Week 1 and what made this game even better was that this game was an AFL Legacy Game, where both the Raiders and the Chargers wore throwbacks to the uniforms, they wore during their time in the American Football League. Throughout the entire 2009 season, the Raiders, Chargers and the other six original AFL teams would celebrate their 50th season, by having several legacy games as well as wearing throwbacks.
In the Rebels exit interview with the media, I gave my explanation for the firing of Head Coach Marcus Allen while informing the media that I would be the Head Coach of the Rebels in 2010. I told them I did not like losing, and that the 2009 season is a season to forgot. I ended my interview by saying, “2010 the Rebels will be back to greatness. Major changes are going to be made. Trust me!”
After the game, I felt confident that my team was back on track and that this game would help boost the Rebels into a playoff position. While the team did get on a little win streak following Sanchez’s Monday Night Miracle, the Rebels would end the 2009 season with a league worst 4-9 record. Following the last game of the season, I relived Head Coach Marcus Allen of his coaching duties. Allen finished his Rebels coaching career with a 19-16 record. It was a tough choice to let Allen go, but major changes were needed in 2010 if the Rebels were going to get back to greatness.
But I wasn’t confident in Matt Schaub as our starting quarterback, so right after the trade became official, I went and signed New York Jets Rookie Quarterback Mark Sanchez. It would be Sanchez, not Schaub getting the starting role for the Rebels Week 5 matchup versus the GMEN. The first ever game between the Rebels and the GMEN was a sluggish game. Both the Rebels and the GMEN were struggling to win games, and as a result, the game came down to the Monday Night Football Game between the Miami Dolphins and Mark Sanchez’s New York Jets. Sanchez showed that he was a rookie that day, posting 172 passing yards on 12 of 24 passing, with one touchdown. That one touchdown would be enough as the Rebels would defeat the GMEN in a close contest, ending their losing streak at four, and giving the team their first ever win in the Yuma Scorpions.
As for the Hawaiian Rebels, their early season woes continued into mid-October. The club started the 2009 season on a franchise-worst 0-4 start, before finally getting a win in Week 5. But before I can talk about that game, I must first talk about a trade that I made, that I immediately regretted making, but in hindsight, the trade helped out the team.
Around Week 5, I placed a trade proposal in to Kevin Jokel’s team, “Yay Sass.” I offered my quarterback Philip Rivers to Yay Sass because he wasn’t doing anything at that time, in exchange for New England Patriots Wide Receiver Wes Welker. I put the trade out early in the morning mostly for fun and to see what happened. As I went to school that day, I spent majority of the day thinking about that trade. I didn’t fully feel comfortable letting Rivers go and I made the decision that once I got home from school, I would delete the offer. As I got home that day, I went to my computer and logged into my fantasy football account. I went to my trade proposal, trying to delete my offer, but Yay Sass accepted my offer just a few hours prior. There was nothing I could do. Rivers was on his way out, and now Matt Schaub was our starting quarterback.
But I wasn’t confident in Matt Schaub as our starting quarterback, so right after the trade became official, I went and signed New York Jets Rookie Quarterback Mark Sanchez. It would be Sanchez, not Schaub getting the starting role for the Rebels Week 5 matchup versus the GMEN. The first ever game between the Rebels and the GMEN was a sluggish game. Both the Rebels and the GMEN were struggling to win games, and as a result, the game came down to the Monday Night Football Game between the Miami Dolphins and Mark Sanchez’s New York Jets. Sanchez showed that he was a rookie that day, posting 172 passing yards on 12 of 24 passing, with one touchdown. That one touchdown would be enough as the Rebels would defeat the GMEN in a close contest, ending their losing streak at four, and giving the team their first ever win in the Yuma Scorpions.
After the game, I felt confident that my team was back on track and that this game would help boost the Rebels into a playoff position. While the team did get on a little win streak following Sanchez’s Monday Night Miracle, the Rebels would end the 2009 season with a league worst 4-9 record. Following the last game of the season, I relived Head Coach Marcus Allen of his coaching duties. Allen finished his Rebels coaching career with a 19-16 record. It was a tough choice to let Allen go, but major changes were needed in 2010 if the Rebels were going to get back to greatness.
In the Rebels exit interview with the media, I gave my explanation for the firing of Head Coach Marcus Allen while informing the media that I would be the Head Coach of the Rebels in 2010. I told them I did not like losing, and that the 2009 season is a season to forgot. I ended my interview by saying, “2010 the Rebels will be back to greatness. Major changes are going to be made. Trust me!”