From fantasy football to Super Bowl Sunday

I’ve been playing fantasy football since 1995, back when you had to check stats in the newspaper the day after the game and calculate the league scores by hand. Sometimes it took until Thursday or Friday of the following week to find out who won the week before. It’s a far cry from today’s online leagues with live scoring and deep statistical analysis (thanks SAP HANA!).

When SAP announced the 2015 fantasy football contest, I knew I had to play, even if winning my league and scoring enough points to lead my region was a long shot.  I made it through the regular season with a 12-2 record, which was good enough for the #2 seed in our league’s playoffs.  With attentive in-season management aided by the analysis engine at NFL.com Player Comparison Tool (again, thanks SAP HANA!), I was able to stack my team with players who were red hot or had great matchups for the playoff weeks. It paid off as I had the highest score of all remaining contenders each week of the playoffs, culminating in winning my league! 

I knew I had a good season and had a high total score, but getting the top score for the West region came as a big surprise. Even more unbelievable was my prize of two tickets to Super Bowl 50!

Game day was a great! I am a lifelong NFL fan and really enjoyed the game atmosphere. I thought introducing all the Most Valuable Players (MVP) from the past 49 Super Bowls was an excellent way to bridge the past with the present.

The game itself was excellent.  We had a great view of all the action from section 416.  The Broncos defense was just unparalleled and broke the Panthers out of their rhythm.  We had an excellent view of the first quarter strip sack by eventual Super Bowl MVP Von Miller, which resulted in a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Our section was rollicking after any big play the Broncos made.

Another big highlight for my wife and I was the halftime show.  Cold Play, Bruno Mars, and Beyoncé really played well off each other, and the medley with all of them performing together stole the show. 

In the end, the Broncos overwhelmed the Panthers with great defense. It was nice to see Peyton Manning get his second Super Bowl championship.  He is an all time great and deserves to go out on top.  We stayed through the end of trophy presentation, and really enjoyed the opportunity to experience the energy and excitement of a great game and half-time show!