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Meet a Zealot: Jim 'Taz' Day The First of a Series of Articles featuring Members of Zealots A vital key to the success of any fantasy football league and community is the blend of the personalities involved. It takes the involvement and commitment of quality people all working together to ensure that any fantasy football activity lasts beyond the excitement of the initial startup. Regrettably, almost every fantasy football player has had a painful experience where what seemed like a fun league or fantasy football community at the beginning instead turned out to be a frustrating clash of egos, a quagmire of jerky behavior, or a ghost town of uninvolved people. So from the beginning, Zealots has striven to avoid this by focusing on getting only the very best people to become members. We've tried very hard to select not only the sharpest players to provide the elite competition desired, but also the highest quality of personalities, so that each Zealots league will be fun and active for everyone for a long time to come. So far, we think we've been pretty successful in bringing together a fabulous mix of people worldwide who each help make the Zealots leagues some of the best fantasy football leagues available today. So while the Zealots leagues have a great mix of rules, league management tools, and websites, the true strength of the Zealot leagues are the Zealots themselves. To illustrate this, we will feature a semi-regular series of articles called "Meet a Zealot," where we will take the opportunity to highlight a member of Zealots, and provide an opportunity for them to share in their own words what they think of the Zealot experience. We will start this with one of our better-known members -- Jim ("Taz") Day.
So let's meet Zealot Taz! Zealots Field Press (ZFP): Welcome, Jim, and thank you for joining us. OK -- let's start with the standard personal data. How old are you? Are you married? Have any kids? What kind of work do you do when you're not involved in Fantasy Football? Taz: I am a 45 year old male who is married, but has no kids. I am currently employed by a global biotech company as the Global Service Manager, but this will be ending very soon, as I take on the challenge of working Fantasy Football full time. ZFP: Any particular NFL team you root for? How long have you been a fan? Taz: I am, and always will be a diehard New York Giants fan. My Dad always said I came out of my Mom with a football in my hands. ZFP: How long have you been playing Fantasy Football? Taz: I have been playing fantasy football since 1993. Back in the day when we waited for the paper to tally up our scores. The good old days, lol! ZFP: What got you interested in the Fantasy Football hobby? Taz: Actually a co-worker did. I had just started this job and one of the guys I worked with was playing in a league that needed another player, and I jumped in with both feet. Of course I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. ZFP: Any good stories or memories from the "old days" of Fantasy Football? Taz: Well in my first season, my team consisted of almost all Giants, lol. Phil Simms and Rodney Hampton did okay for me, but after that, it was a nightmare. Needless to say it didn't work out too well. The saddest part about this though, is that if you ask anyone that I play with today, I still have that same affliction, as my teams are always full of Giants. It still is not working out particularly well for me, lol. ZFP: It's hard to learn to draft with our head and not with our heart! Well, what about Zealots -- how long have you been involved here? Taz: I started as part of The Fighting 17th, or Z-17 for those of you not familiar with it, back in 2004. We had a good league with many owners pulled from Xpert Sports. ZFP: How did you find out about us? Was it someone in Z-17 who encouraged you to join? Taz: There was a lovely young lady named Trekbuff who introduced me to it. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens in life, she has since vanished off the face of the earth. Outside of Trek, I knew no one. ZFP: What Zealots leagues besides Z-17 are you currently in? Taz: I am currently in Z17, Z33 (as commissioner), Z35 (rebuilding team), Z43 and the Guillotine league for Czars. ZFP: So how well have your Zealot teams done? Taz: For the most part they have done okay. I have one truly exceptional team in Z17, which won championships in both 2004 and 2005. In 2006, I was 12-1, but lost to the eventual Champion in the semis by .36 pts. I will avenge that loss in 2007, lol. My other teams do well and usually make the playoffs, but the only other Zealots title I have won was the ZFAC III title in 2005. My Z35 team was one I picked up that was dropped by a player who truly drove it into the ground first. I haven't had much luck in it yet, but I have made moves to get 3 first round draft picks in this years draft, so that should help to start the rebuilding process. ZFP: Two out of three championships in Z-17, and frequent playoff appearances in your other leagues - that's pretty darn good, Taz! Why do you think you've done well in Zealots? Taz: Z17 started out so well because I took a
lot of chances with the initial draft. I made a trade to get two
early 1st rounds picks and took Peyton Manning and Tiki Barber with
those two picks, both worked out spectacularly well. I also took the
chance on Larry Johnson in the 10th round, and we all know how that
eventually turned out, lol. ZFP: Besides being team-owner in several leagues, are there any special roles you've had while you've been in Zealots? Taz: Well in my first year I was thrust into a leadership role in both Z17, and in the contract league ZFAC III. I then moved on to become Czar of the Baugh Syndicate the following year (something I just recently had to drop due to other commitments), and then commissioner of Z33. ZFP: What about Zealots do you like the most? Would you recommend it to others who might be interested in joining? Taz: The thing I love most about Zealots are the Zealots. I have met some people that will be life-long friends. There is nothing out there like the community at Zealots Field and yes I would highly recommend it ( and I do fairly often) to anyone and everyone who is interested in taking the next step in fantasy football. ZFP: That's great! But of course, no Fantasy Football site is perfect, including Zealots. Is there anything you think that we could do better? Taz: This is another thing I like about Zealots, the fact that Oscar Knight (the founder) and his friends that started the very first league knew they would have some things that others might want to change, so they built that ability right into the rules. Every year there is a rules convention where any Zealot can bring changes to the attention of the masses and try to get them to agree with their changes in an empire wide vote. ZFP: How do you see Zealots evolving as we go forward? Taz: I see Zealots Field getting stronger every year and for one major reason: The Players. As long as we endeavor to take only the cream of the fantasy football crop, the leagues, and the community, will only get stronger as time passes. ZFP: We always strive for that. But what about Fantasy Football leagues outside of Zealots -- Are you in any? Taz: Oh yeah. Last year I played in a total of 22 fantasy leagues. Most of them of the IDP/Dynasty variety, but there were a couple of re-drafts in there too. This year I intend to cut that number down to 15, if at all possible. ZFP: What about other FF websites or communities besides Zealots - You've been involved in several over the years. Any these days? Taz: Well Chris, thanks for asking this, lol. As it turns out, myself and 3 other Zealots, Adam Lasik (Thorolf), Kyle Zimbelman (Rock), and James Babermayer Jr. (Jaybebo), have started our very own Fantasy Football content website called Fantasy Football Whiz, and it is located at (funny enough) www.fantasyfootballwhiz.com . I am also a member at Football Guys, Sports Outlaw, Xpert Sports and Cool Fantasy Guys.
ZFP: Sounds like you're busy! You've also written several FF pieces yourself from time to time. Have you written anything recently? Taz: Actually I have written for several years on a variety of Fantasy sites, but as told above, I am writing for my own right now. I just recently completed an IDP article for 2007, called "Basic IDP Strategy Primer," for those looking to get some info about IDP leagues: Basic IDP Strategy Primer by Jim Day) Millions of people now enjoy playing Fantasy Football, and the number is growing everyday. The vast amount of information on television and the ease of implementation provided by the Internet has been a significant contributor to the rapid growth of fantasy sports, with football as the fantasy leader. Thanks to the overwhelming interest of so many, new avenues have opened up to the Fantasy Football enthusiast. From television programming that is solely dedicated to it, to large money leagues and contests that are becoming the new rage, Fantasy Football is in the midst of a phenomenal growth spurt. With this much growth, it was only a matter of time before people would start to look for new and exciting variations on the game. One innovation that is starting to gain acceptance is the use of Individual Defensive Players (IDP). Since its inception, Fantasy Football has been all about the offensive players, with only the use of team defenses representing everyone who plays on the other side of the ball. While these offense-based leagues are still the majority, IDP leagues are gaining acceptance every year. In this article we will provide 10 simple tips that will make the transition to an IDP league much simpler and help you dominate your less informed competition…. We invite you to read and enjoy all of Taz's IDP primer at: http://fantasyfootballwhiz.com/content/view/407 ZFP: Nice work, Taz! Do you have any other FF projects in the works that we can look forward to? Taz: I am currently finishing up on a major project. I am the Technical Editor for the upcoming "Fantasy Football For Dummies" book due out this June. After that it will be all about getting the new site ready for the 2007 season, as well as trying to get all my Zealots team ready for the new season. Not sure which is tougher, lol. ZFP: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us, Jim. Is there anything you'd like to add in closing? Taz: Just a note to everyone reading this that if you have not tried Zealots Field yet, now is the time to jump in with both feet. It is a great environment for classy Fantasy Football action, as well as a place where you can meet some of the best fantasy minds in the game. Another big "thanks" to Jim "Taz" Day for taking the time to let us get to know him! Be sure to join us each week for new articles from the Zealots writing staff, and look for the next "Meet a Zealot" coming soon. If you have any comments or questions, or if you would like to recommend a Zealot to feature in a future article, please contact the Zealots Field Press writing staff at writingstaff@zealotsfield.com. |
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