Riding Pine
Everyone remembers Kneegate in 2016 like it was yesterday. It brought some clarity to an otherwise gray area regarding The League!’s definition of collusion. However, the reaction that some managers had to it made it seem like benching players was a foreign concept that had never been done before.
2016 was not the first time players had been benched to screw over other league members from making the playoffs, jockeying for position, or messing with another team’s postseason future. It was in fact the third time this had happened. Each time looked a little different and were for different reasons, but nonetheless all featured players riding pine. The League! took a look back at each of them and found one common thread behind all three instances of player benching - Billy.
2005
The first time players were benched in The League! happened as early as the second year of its existence.
With one week left in the regular season, Billy was sitting pretty in the #1 spot with a 10-3-0 record. Lame Manager was in 2nd and clearly the strongest team that year at 9-4-0, Pledge Son Manager was in 3rd also at 9-4-0, with Hans hanging on as last man in at the #4 spot at 7-6-0.
| Place | Team | Standings | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Billy | 10-3-0 | 1712.12 |
| 2nd | Lame Manager | 9-4-0 | 1855.28 |
| 3rd | Pledge Son | 9-4-0 | 1741.82 |
| 4th | Hans | 7-6-0 | 1608.38 |
Standings going into the final week of the regular season
In true fuck your brother fashion, Billy quickly realized that if he benched his team he would not only make the playoffs, but also give himself a better first round matchup and screw over Hans by forcing him to go against the clear favorite to win it all - Lame Manager.
His plan worked, and Hans was quickly eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Only Billy also eliminated himself too. Had he played it out, he would have taken out Hans in the first round and made it to the Championship. Instead, he lost to Pledge Son Manager in the first round.
Ultimately, Hans got the better of this matchup, winning the 3rd place game against Billy 148.02-127.60.
2009
Karma came back around in 2009, as Billy was on the receiving end of player benching this time.
It was week 13, the final week of the regular season. Billy and Tony were jockeying for the final playoff spot. Billy had already taken care of business on Sunday by taking down Cox and getting a win for the week. All he needed was for Carmen to beat Tony, and he would get the #6 playoff spot based on points.
Carmen was trailing 115.40-124.50 going into Monday Night Football. He still had Ray Rice, Derrick Mason, and Billy Cundiff to go for the Ravens and was a virtual lock from winning his matchup.
Playoff Standings going into Week 13 Monday Night Football:
| Place | Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | B Scott | 11-2-0 | 1812.60 |
| 2nd | Reichert | 10-3-0 | 1775.92 |
| 3rd | Carmen | 9-3-0 | 1948.64 |
| 4th | Sweets | 8-5-0 | 1759.56 |
| 5th | Moeller | 8-5-0 | 1738.92 |
| 6th | Billy | 5-8-0 | 1766.48 |
| 7th | Tony | 5-7-0 | 1691.40 |
Carmen and Tony’s matchup was still ongoing, with Carmen needing 9.10 points out of Ray Rice, Derrick Mason, and Billy Cundiff on Monday Night Football to end Tony’s season
All Billy had to do was watch the points roll in as Carmen sent Tony packing. However at the last minute, Carmen benched Ray Rice to give his former Consul a fighting chance at making the playoffs. Derrick Mason went on to have a dud of a game putting up 3.3 fantasy points and Billy Cundiff managed 2 extra points, giving Tony a 124.50-120.70 win over Carmen. Ray Rice’s 7.1 points on the bench would have been enough to eliminate Tony. Instead, Billy missed the playoffs.
2016
The most recent instance of player benching seems to be the most remembered. Dubbed as Kneegate, this one also involved Billy trying to screw Hans out of a playoff spot while guaranteeing a playoff spot of his own.
Billy and Reichert were coming into week 13 with 7-5-0 records and vying for the final playoff spot. Hans and Herriott were also at a 7-5-0 record and had more points than both Billy and Reichert. It was realized at some point going into the week that if Billy and Reichert tied each other, they would both guarantee themselves a playoff spot. That would leave Hans and Herriott battling for the final playoff spot available.
| Place | Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Cox | 10-3-0 | 1873.28 |
| 2nd | Sweets | 9-4-0 | 1701.02 |
| 3rd | Smitty | 8-5-0 | 1846.80 |
| 4th | Hans | 7-6-0 | 1977.00 |
| 5th | Billy | 7-5-1 | 1626.40 |
| 6th | Reichert | 7-5-1 | 1534.74 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 7th | Herriott | 7-6-0 | 1816.24 |
Final regular season standings. Herriott would have made the playoffs had Billy and Reichert not tied.
Ultimately, Herriott was the one that got screwed in this deal as he ended up losing his matchup to Carmen while Hans went on to beat Moeller and steal the #6 spot.
In Billy’s case, sometimes when you tie you really win. He went on to win it all that year.
