THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!!!
This email was originally supposed to be about *insert fancy voice and hand gesture here* - "SIR Ernest Shackleton" - an Antarctic explorer in the early 1900's who built a gangster team to explore the deep south penguin party palace only to have his ship get stuck in the ice and crushed.
Insane story, and the point of us sharing was to highlight the men he chose to join him - and how the WHO he chose led to not only his survival, but the whole kerfuffle not losing a single man.
And then - as we were writing this the first time, we couldn't help but notice how relevant (and we can't believe we're saying this) Fantasy Football was to this takeaway. We're watching people put some much energy, effort, study and care into who their recruiting to their fantasy team - maybe even more than they're putting on their own real life LIFE team. 🤯
So, this is a football themed email about picking the right team for the job, and it's important to know - this isn't about football ;)
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In 1974, Chuck Noel and the Pittsburgh Steelers built the greatest draft class in NFL history. Four Hall of Famers in a single year. That class became the foundation of a dynasty and four Super Bowls followed. Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, Mike Webster, the "Iron Curtain" defense
Shackleton did the same thing. Only his draft picks had to survive a less than likely survival rate excursion to Antarctica.
He picked men who could keep hope alive when the ice crushed their ship.
Men who sang songs when they were starving.
Men who rowed 800 miles in a lifeboat because they refused to quit.
The piece that ties these two together with all of you who play fantasy football?
Recruitment.
Finding the right players, to create the right culture, to achieve the task at hand.
SO...
Who's on YOUR team?
Who’s your navigator when you’re lost?
Who’s cracking jokes when the storm rolls in?
Who’s pulling the sled when you break down?
Who can you count on in the 4th quarter not to drop the ball?
They say you're the average of your starting five.
Pick them like your life depends on it 'cus it LITERALLY does.
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Our challenge to you is two-fold this week.
1.) Audit your mission for the remainder of 2026. Ask yourself who you need to put in, who you need to bench and who you need to recruit to close out this 4th quarter strong.
2.) Create a "Fantasy Team" of people in history you'd want to be on yours. Poet's, philosophers, legends, coaches, James Dean, whatever. Make your 5 and spend some time this week learning about them, their beliefs, practices, processes and maybe even the team they had surrounding them.
Choose wisely, game's on.
-GFDD CREW
PS- Feel free to respond with fantasy team members - we'd love to learn more about the legends on your roster. Tom Crean? James Dean? Bill Walsh? Socrates? Hit us up. Love you. ❤️🏴
