Commissioner Julian preparing to quiet his critics in 2017
JACKSON TWP. — For the past few weeks, C.J. Julian has gotten up in the morning and walked past the Tiger Township Fantasy Football League’s most prize possession.
In the corner of his living room rests the Guy Julian Memorial Trophy, waiting patiently to be held by its rightful owner once again. The leaping tiger and gigantic base serves as just another reminder of what the league’s most provocative figure is chasing, not to mention how long it has been since he’s been able to experience such a thrill as winning a championship.
Because of all that and more, the sense of urgency for Julian might be reaching a new high ahead of the 2017 TTFFL Draft on Aug. 19 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“When you’re down and you talk (trash), people really jump on you,” Julian said in an exclusive, tell-all interview with Chibby’s Corner. “It’s been a very, very long offseason; the longest I can ever remember.”
Julian missed the playoffs for the first time in the league’s modern era in 2016, finishing a dismal 3-10. The campaign just never took off for the 14-year veteran. He started the year 1-5 and finished with five straight losses.
Julian, who ended up in last place after the regular season before finishing ninth in the final league standings, owned the fewest points scored in the Canton-based confederation last fall. In fact, he struggled to even trot a competitive lineup out onto the field at certain moments.
Indeed, the controversial commissioner of the TTFFL was beaten to a pulp.
“I feel like Louie (Thomas); I feel like (Stefano) Fano (Faiella); I feel like Andy (Castle),” Julian said. “I think everybody understands what that means. … One bad year for me is like seven bad years for Louie. It hurt.”
In reality, Julian’s nightmare season began virtually from the moment it started. The Otterbein University graduate’s draft selections included Robert Griffin III, who entered and exited the Browns’ lineup all season long, for $16, Josh Gordon, who never stepped foot onto an NFL field in 2016, for $9, Adrian Peterson, who suffered a major injury in Week 2, for $44 and Jamaal Charles, who recorded just 12 total carries last year, for $35.
Dez Bryant, who was also sidelined for a time, and Tom Brady, who served a four-game suspension at the beginning of the season, also became charter members of Julian’s 2016 squad.
The combination of suspensions, injuries and impatience led to a season where Julian traded a league-high 24 times and made 41 acquisitions. He finished as the only team in the league to end the season with none of his drafted players on his roster.
Still, the new home owner makes no qualms about his preseason decision-making, despite the torturous 13-week regular-season journey that soon followed.
“Looking back on it, I truly loved my draft,” Julian said. “I thought I had a great strategy, but Adrian Peterson and Dez Bryant getting hurt at the same time, as well as the Browns’ quarterbacks going down, that’s a lot to overcome.”
Always the optimist, the Commish even found a way to put somewhat of a positive spin on what easily was the worst season of his storied career.
“I ended up with five draft gifts,” Julian said. “I drafted Dez just because I wanted Dez Bryant socks. So, who is the real winner here? It’s probably me, I have Dez Bryant socks. That’s like a $20 value.”
To make matters worse on the field, Julian’s struggles went far from unnoticed. He has been a punching bag around the TTFFL for months now, making the lengthy offseason even more grueling.
However, few are apologizing to the two-time champion. Julian’s arrogant, egotistical ways often get him into trouble on GroupMe and his personal insults targeted at others are always piling up.
None of that tends to bother Julian as much as another sensitive topic, though. Julian’s championships, the ones earned over a decade ago now, are often put into question by the rest of the league and are even completely swept under the rug by many.
To Julian, that’s simply unfair.
“It’s called history,” Julian said. “The NBA used to not exist but people still counted those championships. It’s the same thing with football; the Browns’ titles still count. People have cherished and respected those. … You can say my titles don’t matter as much as other titles, but, hey, titles are titles.”
In fact, Julian’s entire 14-year legacy is subject for an attack at any point in time. However, that’s usually started on his own behalf due to wild, undocumented claims.
But if one digs into the history books, Julian’s recent accolades are quite pedestrian. He ranks just sixth in the league in regular-season wins (45) and is tied for fourth in postseason victories from 2010-16 (five). By combining the two figures, Julian is just seventh in total wins in the league’s modern era.
Still, Julian owns runner-up finishes in both 2010 (scored 65 points in championship game) and 2014 (lost to David Devine by 6.3 points) and is currently in a four-way tie for second place on the TTFFL’s controversial average-place finish list (Joe Mitchin, Evan Julian, Casey Irwin).
This year, Julian hopes his 11-year championship drought comes to an end for multiple reasons. He knows he needs a big season to calm his critics and he’d like nothing more than to finally add another banner to his resume after several close calls.
To do that, though, he’ll need to revolutionize the way he plays the game. That’s something that’s much easier said than done.
“This is a new age,” Julian said. “The auction (draft) is really killing me. I have no idea how to draft. But in a snake draft, anybody can do that. Plus, I was the best trader in the league. So, I have to prepare more now and it’s been a pretty big wake-up call.”