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Week one of the preseason is in the books, now research for your fantasy football draft is underway. You’re buying increasingly irrelevant magazines, mock drafting from every position, reading sleeper and bust columns jam-packed full of pop culture references and listening to podcasts. You’re fully immersing yourself in the world of stat-heavy football glory. It feels good, doesn’t it?
One crucially important fantasy football muscle you may not be working out in the month of August is your ability to be a stone-cold brutal destroyer of fantasy joy. You must dominate your league without mercy. When fantasy football kicks off, you are no one’s friend. Now, ahead of the DraftKings Fantasy Sports Festival, Michael Rapaport is here to declare that emotions have no place in your fake football league. Spreadsheets don’t lie. Hard numbers that declare you the winner are the only truth. Make your picks. Don’t get caught up in players you love.
UPROXX: Tell us about this DraftKings Fantasy Sports Fest.
Michael Rapaport: It’s the fantasy football event of the year at Gillette Stadium. It’s gonna be me, Rob Gronkowski, Matthew Berry, Jim Breuer, Trey Wingo, on the field, live podcasting, doing the drills, not drafting. Gillette’s not drafting. We’re doing tours; It’s gonna be fantastic. It’s going down in the house that Brady built, August 20th. I can’t wait to meet the Gronk, the ‘Kowski. It’s gonna be a great day. It’s gonna be fantastic and you can get tickets at fantasysportsfest.com. Use the promo code “dancewiththedingo” and you save 15 bucks. And, as much as I’m excited about hosting it, I’m even more excited about participating, working with everyone that day. Being a fantasy Football analyst, as I am, I am also fan and I am a participant and I can’t wait to run around the field at Gillette.
You’re a Giants guy going to Gillette to hang out with Gronk. That’s gotta be conflicting. Are you someone who usually picks Gronk in your leagues?
Listen, one thing I understand about fantasy football is that there are no feelings in fantasy football. It’s very well documented, my personal feelings of the New England Patriots, but when it comes to fantasy, if it makes sense and the Gronk is available, I would love to have him on Rappaport’s Delight with Brandin Cooks with Tom Brady. But I don’t get emotionally involved. There’s no sentimentality when it comes to fantasy, and I’m gonna be breaking it all down with the Gronk, with Matthew Berry, with Pat McAfee, August 20th, in the house that Brady built.
You’ve been in a lot of leagues and teams over the years, but do you play a lot of Daily Fantasy?
Oh yeah, oh yeah. I take on all comers. Every game, every structure of league, every day of the week, I take on all comers. I do it for fun. It’s low-stakes, high emotional toll. With Daily, I just win. And even when I lose, I still win because of the emotional toll, the verbal exchange, that’s what it’s about. The dancing is what it’s about. Cause you’re not going to win every game with fantasy. It’s all about the dance. That’s why August 20th is gonna be great. It’s gonna be a beautiful day, and I’m gonna be talking about drafting techniques, and who better to talk about fantasy with than Matt Berry and Trey Wingo? And who better to talk about the reality of football and what’s really going on with the Patriots than the Gronk?