WARF wins ESPN Fantasy Football - He scored best out of 3 Million

[Romeo Delight]

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/...urn=nfl-310374

Thu Jan 20 07:19pm EST

Homeless man is the king of fantasy football
By MJD
Three million people competed at fantasy football on ESPN.com this year. One man managed to rise above all of them, and he did it despite not having a computer. Or a place to live.

For the sake of comparison, I finished under .500 in a league of 12 people, and I spend all day with my face buried in NFL news, stats and highlights.

Obviously, Nathan Harrington, 33, of Salem, Mass., knows something I don't. Harrington ended up homeless after needing back surgery, going on medical leave from his job, and being forced to leave his home because it was condemned.

[Rewind: Homeless player signs on for pro soccer team]

And still, he was better than over 3 million people at fantasy football.

He used computers at his father's nursing home, his mother's house, and the library. He knocked on neighbors' doors and asked if he could use their computers.

If you're wondering about specifics, Harrington drafted Arian Foster(notes) and picked up Brandon Lloyd(notes) as a free agent. He made trades for Adrian Peterson and Dwayne Bowe(notes).

Oddly, Tony Romo(notes) was his quarterback, but when Romo went down with a season-ending injury, Harrington had to make due with a string of borderline fantasy quarterbacks. He clinched the top spot behind Tim Tebow's surprising Week 17 performance against the Chargers. From The Salem News:

"My fantasy football was the one thing that kind of seemed to be going right at the time," Harrington said. "There was a lot to be upset about, but the one thing that was steady and heading in a positive direction was the fantasy football. So I thought I might as well stick with it and ride it out. Thank God I did."

[Photo: Stay-at-home dad turns NFL athlete]

For his unbelievable performance, Harrington won a $3,500 Best Buy gift card, which he's selling to his mother for $2,500 cash.

Many thanks, Salem News.

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[DlocRoth]

Haha! Funny, Flamma..

Would've worked better with eyes though.....

[Guitar Shark]

For his unbelievable performance, Harrington won a $3,500 Best Buy gift card, which he's selling to his mother for $2,500 cash.

LMAO! This is my favorite part of the story. Nice of the mom to take a fee of only $1,000 from her homeless son.

[Romeo Delight]

I missed the part about the Mom...times are tough all over I guess.

Imagine:

"Uh heey, remember me? I used to go through your garbage every Thursday? Yeah, I was wondering if I could log into ESPN so I can grab a replacement for Romo?"

[chefcraig]

Call me cynical (Who, me?), but I'm beginning to wonder about this sudden run of "homeless-guy news". First, the Golf Channel comes up with a show about a fellow attempting to get his life together and compete on the PGA tour, all while supposedly having no place to live (Pipe Dream - Golf Channel). Interestingly enough, he somehow now has a website that has his own merchandise for sale: markburk.com. Then there is the story of Ted Williams, a homeless radio announcer who is now doing spots for Kraft Foods (People Magazine).

Taking these stories together, you have to wonder how much of this is a coincidence. In a manner of thinking, it certainly can be interpreted as a truly weird form of exploitation.

[Romeo Delight]

I dunno...I think if you have free advertising and noteriety from this stoke of luck and have your 15 minutes of fame, its no big reach that someone wouldn't offer a website to make some cake themselves.