The Winner of Our Fantasy Football League Will be Belt-Worthy
One of the most hotly-contested debates during our NFL Fantasy Football draft was how to reward the winner at the end of the season. Sure, cash is great. The joy of shaming your fellow fantasy football competitors every time you get together for drinks is hilarious. But in order for our league to have some legitimacy, we need to commemorate our winner in style. Trophies are so last year. Instead of a trophy, our fantasy football league winner should receive a championship belt. F&TS grew up watching professional wrestling and so did most of the members of the league. In fact, we used to get together for Wrestlemanias. Hey, the belt thing worked for Mr. Discount Double Check himself, Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Why not in our league?
History of a Championship Belt
The exact history of awarding belts is difficult to pin down, but one fact that is accepted is boxing popularized their use. According to a short note in ESPN The Magazine, “As prizefighting developed in England in the 18th century, money seems to have been the only reward. But sometime around the 1820s, it became common for British champions to be awarded belts. From its start in boxing, professional wrestling took the belt game to the next level. In the late 1940s-early 1950s, professional wrestling was going through its first Golden Age. It’s top star, Gorgeous George wore over the top gowns and made his championship belt special.
The popularity of wrestling waned in during the 60s, but in the late 70s and certainly in the 1980s, pro wrestling was hot again. Wrestlers including Hulk Hogan, Rick Flair, Harley Race, and Dusty Rhodes made championship belts cool again. In the 90s and 2000s, Steve Austin and the Rock were pop culture icons and so were championship belts.
Our Shiva
We also discussed calling our grand prize the ‘Shiva.’ If you never heard of the Shiva, where have you been? It’s the championship featured in the FX comedy “The League.” The trophy is named after Shiva, whom Kevin (on the show) lost his virginity to. The championship trophy carries her high school yearbook picture. Shivakamini Somakandarkram (her full name) is a goddess in the players’ eyes. Besides calling our grand prize the Shiva, any other suggestions? What do you think of a fantasy football championship belt?
By the way, Janina Gavankar, the actress who plays Shiva, is actually stunning. Plus, she is a musician, self-professed nerd, and actress. Damn, talk about talent. It’s a great job by The League’s makeup team to make someone so beautiful look unattractive. Owners good luck setting your lineups and during the season.