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2005 Football King of the Jungle   Mike Kizman

FJ: Well congratulations first off, you guys had a great season. Where are you both from?

Mike: We're both from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago.

FJ: Did you guys go to college, and how old are you?

Mike: We are both 36. I graduated from Northern Illinois, and Mark graduated from St. Norbert in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

FJ: What do you guys do for a living?

Mike: I'm a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch, and Mark is an account representative with SBC.

FJ: How did you guys meet?

Mike: Best buds since 5th Grade.

FJ: How did you guys hear about the Fantasy Jungle?

Mike: A friend at my office turned me on to the Jungle two seasons ago. I asked Mark at the start of the '05 season if he was interested in co-owning a team, and he said absolutely!

FJ: How long have you been playing fantasy football?

Mike: I have been playing for five years, and Mark has been at it for over ten. Mostly small time leagues with buddies for "bragging rights". However, we have gotten pretty serious the last two years about studying the stats, playing match-ups, and trying to win every game, every week.

FJ: Who are your favorite teams?

Mike: Da Bears, of course!

FJ: Are you guys fantasy football specialists, or do you play other fantasy games?

Mike: Mark has only played fantasy football, but as I hinted above, I am REALLY into the fantasy games. I play football, hoops, baseball- even the Kentucky Derby fantasy game! My wife teased me about being "obsessed" with fantasy sports-- until she saw that 5 figure check come!!!

FJ: What was your draft strategy going in to the Jungle?

Mike: Our goal was to have 3 great receivers, a pass-catching RB, and a stud QB in the first 5 rounds. We had the 5th pick, and were hoping for Peyton Manning or Edge. When we got Peyton, we stuck to our strategy and took Tiki, Chad Jonson, Andre Johnson, and Larry Fitzgerald in rounds 2-5.

FJ: Who were some of your best players?

Mike: We didn't have a Shaun Alexander, a Larry Johnson, or a Steve Smith, but we got awesome weekly production from Tiki, Chad, and Fitzgerald. Peyton was a top 5 QB, Todd Heap started slow, but finished with a rush.

FJ: When did you realize that you had a team that had a chance to win
the title?

Mike: In all seriousness, we LOVED our team from day one. We said during the online draft, "if we fire on all cylinders, we can put up 200 points a week!" When we didn't win our league, we were disappointed, but didn't give up. We made the playoffs, and after looking at some of the match-ups for our players, said the same thing as the beginning of the season, "If we fire on all cylinders, we can put up 200 points a week!"

FJ: How much did team management throughout the season contribute to
your success, i.e. the free agent wire?

Mike: We were lucky to not have a "catastrophic" injury cripple us. Many of our players, like Andre Johnson, missed several games, but other teams had much bigger health issues. That said, the free agent wire and team management in the playoffs were THE reasons we won the championship. Other teams in our league gave up on some 2nd and 3rd tier receivers too soon, and we grabbed 'em. We got great production from free agents acquisitions like Lee Evans and Amani Toomer down the stretch. As anyone who plays knows, fantasy football playoffs are all about team management. Everybody who makes the championship playoff obviously has a good team, so it comes down to who to start/ who to sit. We studied hard, and were fortunate to consistently make the right choice of who to start all 4 playoff weeks.  As an example, we started Lee Evans at the flex spot twice in the playoffs. The two games we did NOT start him, he caught 6 passes and no touchdowns.  The two games he lined up for us totaled 225 yards, 10 receptions and 4 TD's.

FJ: You guys had an outstanding final week in the playoffs, but going
into the last weekend, you had some tough decisions, one even involving
Jim Sorgi What were the gamut of emotions you experienced for that?

Mike: Your question is worded perfectly! Tough decisions....gamut of emotions. We will never forget that weekend! WE had at least 10 separate conversations on who to start at the flex, who to start at QB, etc. The debate at QB was between a quarter or two of Peyton vs. the inexperienced backup, Jim Sorgi. We had no other team's QB because we figured if Peyton went down, our season was over anyway, so why waste the roster spot. The theory was Sorgi and the Colts offense was probably better than Alex Smith or Vinny Testaverde, etc. We took a chance and started Sorgi vs. Seattle, figuring Indy would be down and throwing to catch up.  It was the right team management decision as the fantasy point difference between Sorgi and Peyton was enough to give us #1 spot. Who would of thought benching the NFL MVP, and your number one draft pick to start a nobody (no offense to Jim Sorgi) would yield a fantasy football championship???!!!

FJ: What is a usual setup like for you on an NFL Sunday?

Mike: Do you watch the games together? Not every week, but we watch alot of games together. I have a set-up in my basement that works great for fantasy freaks like us. We watch the "games of the week" on a Hi-def TV, and then bring in a 20-inch on the side that stays tuned to the NFL channel all day for stats/ Sirius Satellite game breaks, etc.

FJ: What aspect of the Fantasy Jungle did you like the most?

Mike: The site is easy to navigate, the FJ staff are helpful, and I feel the structure of the FJ game is one of the best for serious players. Playing everyone in your league every week rewards the best teams over the course of the season. All fantasy players have "bad beat" stories of how they scored more points than any other team in the league that week-- except for the team they got matched up against! Also, having a $ budget for free agents brings another variable of strategy/ skill into the equation.

FJ: Would you recommend the Fantasy Jungle to anyone, and what are your
thoughts on it?

Mike: Absolutely. As I said above, Scott and Mike are the owners, but I feel they are players and fans of fantasy football first!  They are guys I could easily watch a game and have a few beers with. In fact, I recently found out Scott is a huge horse racing fan (which is where our team name, Southern Image, was derived from), so now he and I are conversing on the Kentucky Derby, Breeders Cup memories, etc. We are Fantasy Jungle players for life! Southern Image will try the near impossible task of repeating in 2006!

FJ: Lastly, and most importantly, what do you plan to do with your prize
winnings?

Mike: Mark has a new girlfriend, so I'm sure he has the money already spent! As for me, I have a wife and two daughters, so I am just hoping there is enough left to cover my 2006 fantasy baseball and football entry fees. They can spend the money, I am just ecstatic to be the 2005 Champion!!!
 

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