FRANSBURG – In an unprecedented move, owners Adam Franssen and Josh Weldin have agreed to a complete swap of franchises to conclude the 2017 Immersion season. This move includes swapping rosters, draft picks, existing 2017 and previously-accrued 2018 salary cap adjustments. Finally, Fransburg will play the 2018 season in the Bronze Division and Sullivan’s Island will move up to the Gold Division.
What? Why? Some thoughts:
Franssen’s (r)EvoLUtion set the league on fire in 2017. They clinched a playoff berth in Week 8, wrapped up the Gold Division by Week 10, and finished with a sparkling 12-1 record despite playing the league’s first (Pirates), fourth (Krackens), and sixth (Colliders) highest scoring teams nine times. Beyond that they had the best Power Rank and Alternate Power Rank, finished second in scoring and second in all-play record (Pirates). Fransburg did all that with Ezekiel Elliot on the pine for 6 weeks via suspension and Aaron Rodgers out for 8 weeks thanks to injury. Despite losing to (eventual champion) Holley in the first round of the playoffs, this is one of the best teams in league history. Oh, and they’re in great cap shape for next season. The Silvertips are….terrible. So again, I ask you, what gives?
Adam Franssen
“As soon as we decided to go with the Premier League-style this past summer, I started thinking about trading into the Bronze Division,” says Franssen. “Hammond and I discussed how it would be cool to face a new challenge and work our way up from the bottom.”
Not only that, but as other owners have pointed out – I’m recalling Lindsay here – joining the league with an orphan team sorta sucks. And once you’re behind the 8-ball, it can be tough to dig yourself out. The Hawks have done that by winning the championship in Hammond’s eye and the Banthas busted onto the Gold Division scene; both are inspiring tales. But three owners were still clearly in a tough spot.
In the past, Franssen lobbied to restart the entire league so that all of the current owners can get a fresh start. That didn’t fly. So this year, he reached out to all 3 remaining Bronze-Division owners. Weldin was in. Jesse declined, pointing out that he had finally figured it out and felt like his ship has turned in the right direction (it has). Tim, like a classic Bronze Division owner, failed to respond.
“I really wanted to win the title this year before making the trade. With a couple of breaks, we could have. But that’s how fantasy goes – you’ve got to get hot right at the end and we didn’t. There’s clearly more to prove at the top, but starting from the bottom is going to be fun,” said Franssen, “Of course, now we’re going to suck for a few years. That won’t be fun. Wait, what have I done?!?”
Josh Weldin
You’ve got to root for Weldin. A staple of the SCUFFLE fantasy leagues, the Silvertips’ owner had a couple of rough real-life years, including a battle with cancer. And while he was busy kicking the Big C’s ass, his fantasy teams floundered; the guy’s got his priorities straight. But that’s how we got here – Weldin running a Sullivan’s Island squad that finished second-to-last in All-Play ranking (Gridiron Gang) and barely fended off World’s Worst status (also Gridiron Gang).
This trade gives Weldin a fresh start in the Premier-League-style Immersion and, frankly, he’s running Vegas’ odds-on favorite to win in 2018. Now the pressure’s, Weldin! Gotta step it up!
The Rest of the League
This dramatic team swap also changes the dynamic of the league for other owners. For years, Franssen has been trading and making roster moves with an eye toward winning now (which he hasn’t succeeded at…thanks for the reminder). Now, he’ll be making offers as a rebuilding squad. On the other side of the coin, Weldin is now in a position of power. With a loaded roster, there’s no need to swing for the fences in trades that may or may not pan out.
One also has to think that the entire league is going to be a lot more interesting heading into 2018. Jeppson’s Hawks just won the whole thing, Weldin is sitting atop Secretariat, Jesse’s got the league figured out, Franssen is starting over, and Hammond just got relegated. Not only that, but Franssen is joined by Premier-proponent and former division rival Matt Giorgianni in the Bronze Division (should be fun watching those two slobs try to claw their way out of the depths of the Immersion). At the top of the league, will Jeppson prove to be more than a one hit wonder? Can Weldin guide his new squad to victory? Or has the deck just been cleared for Enright and Marcot to go head to head for the 2018 championship?
Man, this is a fun league!
© 2017, Adam Franssen. All rights reserved.
My non-response was my response 🙂
I would rather keep the crap team I inherited and have my fingerprints on, than inherit a ready-to-win team in my fifth year. And for the record, I originally voted for the restart option a few years ago when I came in the league. Hindsight is 20/20, but if I could go back to Year 1 I would have dropped every single player I inherited and started from scratch, focusing on Years 3-4 than thinking I could salvage and “win now”. I think you’ve got a fun challenge ahead of you, best of luck next year in the Bronze division.