Max’s long TTFFL wait finally ends in 2018

MASSILLON, OHIO — Waiting. It can be so cruel, so sobering at times. It can play with your mind, magnifying self-doubt and torturing an entire psyche as patience continues to burn. Max Julian knows all about playing the waiting game - he’s had to endure it for years. However, his diligence and passion will soon pay off as Julian finally enters the ranks of the Tiger Township Fantasy Football League this fall. “As long as I’ve known the TTFFL, I’ve always respected the league, specifically its camaraderie and its competitiveness,” Julian told Chibby’s Corner in an exclusive interview. “I always knew a bunch of guys in the league and wanted in. Then, I got to know everybody else and wanted in even more. I’m thrilled to be in the group, and I’m excited to compete at the highest level.” There’s little debate that Julian has paid his dues for this opportunity. He was a finalist for the 12th spot in the league prior to the 2015 season before narrowly falling to Nick Sobevski in a preseason league vote. Unfortunately for him, that was just one of the multiple occasions in which he was passed over by the TTFFL over the years. All that is behind the league's new elder statesman, though. Rather than dwelling on the road it took to get his chance in Stark County’s premier fantasy football league, he’s choosing to ride the momentum he’s produced over the last few years in the GroupMe and in other TTFFL ventures. Of course, there is a caveat. Julian is set to team up with Kyle Rakotci to form the TTFFL’s first co-owned team in 15 years. Certainly there will be struggles, but Julian is fully embracing a positive, successful debut with his colleague. “I’m really excited about the opportunity to work with him,” Julian said of Raks. “I’ve traded with him and attempted to trade with him quite a bit in fantasy baseball and basketball. He strikes a hard bargain, but so do I. It’s just something I’m legitimately excited for. I think it’s going to be a really good thing.” Plenty of questions quickly come to mind when pondering the potential day-to-day operations of “Max and Raks”, who will take over Andrew Castle’s franchise, which he held from 2003-17. And while no one - including the two teammates themselves - truly knows what will transpire this fall, the key in a smooth running organization lies in proper communication. Granted, that’s easier said than done for a pair of rookies who are only a few months out from the start of the 2018 campaign. “We have plans for meeting up for lunch; I’m up his way a couple times a month,” Julian revealed. “It’s getting to be about that time. I think we’ll pretty clearly define what we want to do. When Andy resigned, I texted him and asked if he wanted to share the team. I think we both proved that we really care and have different, but good approaches to everything.” Julian has plenty of family lineage in the TTFFL. Three family members are either past or present members of the league, including his brother, Evan, and two cousins, Cee Jay and Casey, and his father’s name is proudly showcased on the TTFFL’s championship trophy. In fact, Julian’s own name can be located on the hardware as well, however no legitimacy of it appropriately being there has ever been recorded. The Ashland University graduate and founder of the Massillon Area Golf Association has registered other accolades during his fantasy football career as well, not to mention a Tiger Township championship in basketball in 2018. But he’ll be the first one to admit that the level of competition he has seen in the past can’t compare with what he’ll experience this season. “There’s been a little bit of jealousy while playing in these inferior leagues,” Julian said. “Half the league didn’t care about waivers and it just became dumb. Really, I’ve been in some awful leagues. Watching some of the guys (in the TTFFL) check their phones and seeing how intense it all was really made me want to be a part of it.” Julian’s wait officially ends in August at the 2018 TTFFL Draft in Las Vegas. The journey to get there has been long, and, at times, his chances of ever being given the offer to compete in the league he reveres so much looked bleak. But Julian is here now. And to him, that’s all that truly matters. “I don’t know that you can ever fully prepare when you’re going into battle with living legends like Casey Irwin, Godfathers of the league like (Joe Mitchin) and Evan and Cee Jay and playing a fantasy icon like Dave Devine,” Julian said. “I consider myself an above-average fantasy mind, but I don’t think it would be fair for me to say I have any idea what I’m getting myself into. But I’ve waited longer than anybody has ever waited, and I’m relishing in the opportunity. I will not waste it.”