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"Meet a Zealot: Larry Hargis" The Third in a Series Featuring Members of Zealots A vital key to of the success and growth of the Zealots Field fantasy football leagues has been the long hard work of dedicated volunteers, whose energy and effort have been instrumental in allowing Zealots to grow from a single league created by our founder Oscar Knight to a vast empire of well over 60 leagues. One of the first leaders who stepped up to help Oscar in the early days was Larry Hargis, whose willingness to assist however needed helped keep Zealots running smoothly, even when Oscar was unavailable, and also enabled Zealots to grow and expand to the great FF experience it is now. Larry is involved in Zealots at virtually every level, from owner of multiple teams to Commissioner, and now as Vice-Lord. He is a well-known and highly respected member of our Zealots family, and we invite you to get to know him a little bit better. So in this third edition of our "Meet a Zealot" series, we offer you Vice-Lord Larry Hargis: Zealots Field Press (ZFP): Welcome to our "Meet a Zealot" series, Larry! We really appreciate you taking the time to participate. Could you tell us a little about yourself? How old are you? Are you married? How large of family (if any)? Larry Hargis (LH): Thanks, Chris. I am 58 years old, and I will have been married to the same great lady for 38 years this August. I have a son who is 29 years old and I have a daughter who just turned 21. I also have a 7 year old grandson. ZFP: Wow -- 38 years! That's awesome! And a Grandfather, too - I just became one myself this past January. It's great, isn't it! So where's home for you? LH: I really like spending time with my grandson. I can play with him, fill him up with candy, and then send him home to Dad when he gets tired. As to where home is, I have lived in Carlsbad New Mexico for most of my life. Moved away for a couple of years, but I later came back. ZFP: What do you do for a living? LH: I had to take early retirement for health reasons. ZFP: Larry, I really hope your health is doing fine now. LH: I am doing great now and things look good. ZFP: That's great to hear! So what kinds of things do you enjoy as hobbies besides Fantasy Football? LH: I love to bass fish but it is getting harder and harder to find the time or someone who likes to fish to go with. When my kids were young I coached them in whatever sport they were in to be able to spend time with them. I guess on the whole I never really had much time for hobbies. I had a job that took a lot of my time, then family to take care of and kids to do things with, and Fantasy Football. So I've stayed pretty busy just from that. ZFP: Well, how long have you been involved in Fantasy Football? How'd you get into your first league? LH: Wow, I have been playing Fantasy Football for about 18 years I think. My 1st league… Let me see… Ok: My younger brother came over to my house one day and started telling about this new football game he was playing with his buddies. It sounded kind of fun so I ask him to see if he could get me in, but they already had enough owners in the league. So I just helped my brother for about 3 years with his team. That was a lot of fun waiting for the paper each Monday to get the box scores and figure out the fantasy results by hand to see if we won or not. And having to use the phone to call in the line ups to the commissioner, or racing to try to be the first owner to call in and get a new player you heard about or read about in the paper. After about 3 years of sharing a team, I got my chance to have my own team when they expanded the league. I have lived and breathed Fantasy Football ever since. ZFP: Do you still participate in other fantasy leagues outside of Zealots? LH: I play in a couple of free on-line leagues and one money league with Bill A from Zealots. I also play in two local money leagues. ZFP: Have you always been a football fan? Any particular NFL team you're a fan of? LH: Yes, I have always been a fan of football. As for NFL teams the old Steelers were my team -- Bradshaw. Franco Harris, Mean Joe Greene. Today I really don't have one team I follow. But I am a big fan of Notre Dame. I hope before I die I can go see ND football field. That's why you're my hero, Chris - you've actually been there to the field! ZFP: LOL! I don't know how much of a hero that makes me. But I've also been an Irish fan as long as I can remember - I was brainwashed early watching the games with my Grandfather as a little kid, and I've never been fully deprogrammed, I guess. But I loved it and went to several games growing up, which are still some of my favorite memories. I even got to see Joe Montana play live once when I was in high school. But enough about me - this is supposed to be your interview, lol! So how'd you get into Zealots? Did you know anyone in it when you joined? LH: I got in during the first year (2003). I think I saw a post from Oscar on the FootballGuys board, and he let me have a team. I didn't know anyone in the league at all when I joined. But I have found some really great friends since becoming a Zealot. ZFP: Have you ever been a league Commissioner in Zealots? LH: Yes, I am the commissioner of Z -3 now.
ZFP: What kinds of experiences have you had as Commissioner? Have you enjoyed it? With all the levels of Zealots leadership now, do you think the Commissioners are still important? LH: I have really enjoyed my time as Commissioner, and with Vice Commissioner's like Rob (RobbrownsZ3) and Rick (Rickdolphins), my job is real easy. I have to say we have had no problems at all other than a rare owner having to drop out at the last minute. But other than that, I can't think of any problems we have had. I think good Commissioners are the backbone of Zealots Field. If we didn't have good ones (and I think we have some of the best around) I think Zealots Field would not be what it is today. ZFP: How did you get to be a Vice Lord? What kinds of things do you do in that role? LH: Well, I was Czar of Grange Syndicate, and Oscar asked me to move to the Vice lord job and I said yes. As Vice Lord I oversee the message board and also the Czars of Trafton, Hinkle, Thorpe, and Lombardi Syndicates. These Syndicates are different from the classic leagues. Guys come up with different ways to play Fantasy Football. We try them as test leagues and if guys like them then we fill as many of them as there are people to play. I will give you a short run down on them -- Some of them I know a little more than others. Lombardi Syndicate is where the Auction/Contract leagues are and we have 6 of these leagues. Halas is where the Maximus Leagues are and we have 6 of them also. They play like classic leagues but you raid and take players from other teams once a year. Under Hinkle, we have the Schizo leagues which play like classic league, but the same player can be on 3 teams. Hinkle also has the Nemesis leagues - they play like a classic league but same player can be on 2 teams. And our new test league Phalanx is also in the Hinkle Syndicate. Phalanx drafts and plays with only individual defensive players. Finally, Trafton Syndicate contain the Guillotine leagues, which are like our classic leagues but each week you have to drop 2 players from your rosters. As Vice Lord I also help fill in for Oscar if needed when he is gone. ZFP: How many teams do you own in Zealots? LH: I play in 10 leagues: 7 Classic (usually as the Giants) and one each of A/C, Nemesis, and Guillotine. Remember I am retired so I have the time. Oscar does not pay me to be Vice Lord, so as a perk I can play in as many leagues as I want.
ZFP: Are you generally pretty successful in your leagues? Have you won any Zealots championships? LH: I won the championship the 1st year of Z-20. I have also made the playoffs a couple of times but that is about it. I have won my local money league a couple of times. ZFP: Zealots has grown a lot over the years from just one league, and then the Syndicate of twelve leagues that first year. Do you think our growth is a good thing? Would you like to see Zealots continue to grow? LH: Yes I like the growth. It seemed pretty fast at first, but has kind of slowed down. ZFP: What about the future of Zealots? What do you think it will look like five years from now? LH: Wow5 years. With more and more people starting to play Fantasy Football I would think we could grow right along. As long as we can keep getting great Commissioners and Czars there is no end to what we can do or become. ZFP: Would you recommend Zealots to someone interested in a deep dynasty fantasy football league? LH: Yes! I recommend Zealots to any one who likes to play FF year around. Zealots has leagues for everyone's taste. ZFP: Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us, Larry - we appreciate it, and also all the time and effort you've put into Zealots over the years! Is there anything else you wanted to add? LH: Yes, again I would like to thank all the commissioners and VC and Czars for making Zealots Field what it is today, and for what it will become in the future. If you have any comments or questions on this article, or if you would like to recommend a Zealot to feature in a future "Meet a Zealot" article, please feel to contact the Zealots Field Press writing staff at writingstaff@zealotsfield.com. |
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