On the final Sunday of August, a group of men gathered at a steakhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for a ritual that has persisted for over three decades. Despite being old enough to have grandchildren, the attendees arrived early, donning football jerseys and engaging in spirited, mock-aggressive accusations of cheating before 10:30 a.m. The group, which plans to occupy the venue for the entire day, expects to start drinking before 11 a.m. and break for burgers shortly after noon.
The league was established in 1992 by eight friends who met at Rutgers University and named the group Sigma Pi after their fraternity. Dave Koval, the 61-year-old commissioner who has led the league since its inception, recalls the pre-digital era of the hobby. “It was before the internet, before websites and rules and standardizations. We used to open up the USA Today on a Monday and get the stats and do it by hand,” Koval said. “And we’ve been going ever since.”
While the league has grown to 12 teams, the transition from manual record-keeping to digital platforms has not been universally embraced. Scott Page, the group’s self-described curmudgeon, remains a staunch traditionalist. Wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey customized with his age, 60, Page laments the shift toward technology. “I thought it was way better when it was guys getting together, watching the game, arguing. ‘Your guy sucks, he’s no good!’ You know, that kind of stuff,” Page said. “Over the last 30 years, it’s migrated into this computer-phone-tablet-internet kind of a league. But it was more fun back in the day.”
Despite his complaints, Page refuses to bring a laptop to the draft, relying instead on paper notes, a habit that draws teasing from his peers. Yet, he acknowledges the deeper value of the gathering. “This is as close as men can get and still be friends,” he noted. This sentiment is echoed by Mark Pascal, a fellow Rutgers alumnus who joined in 1994 and has hosted the draft for years at his steakhouse, wine shop, and restaurant properties. Although Pascal stepped back from active ownership in 2004 to satisfy his wife’s request to reduce his commitments, he remains a regular presence as a consigliere.
The passage of time has fundamentally altered the nature of their meetings. While the group once bonded over weddings and children’s birthday parties, the focus has shifted as the members age. “Now, we see each other at our friends’ parents’ funerals,” Koval explained, noting that he lost his own father at 99 this summer. For the group, the draft serves as a rare, reliable happy occasion to recount stories from their college years in 1985. “We’ve all had ups and downs in our life, but what the league gives you is something you can count on,” Pascal added.
Though the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association estimates that over 50 million Americans participate in fantasy sports, this specific group emphasizes community over financial gain. The entry fee has remained modest, rising only from $100 to $130 over the years. Ed Sullivan, often teased as the league’s unluckiest owner, views the draft as the annual highlight. “The actual playing, it’s nice if you win and everything like that. But this is what I look forward to every year,” Sullivan said.
The league is now beginning to integrate a new generation. Nick Mosso, an original 1992 member who is 62, recently suffered a pulmonary embolism, an event many in the group learned about during the draft. He has invited his 22-year-old son, Dominic, to join as a co-owner. “I’m hoping that if this evolves, he forms a camaraderie with everyone,” the elder Mosso said. “With my friends, but more so with the next generation.” The group also includes Chris Pascal and his 37-year-old son, Brian, who has participated since 2012. “I feel like I grew up in fantasy football culture,” Brian Pascal said, reflecting on the long-standing tradition that continues to bridge the gap between decades. The report also notes that wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey with his own name on the back over the number 60 – a gift from when he reached that illustrious age this year – Page is lamenting the most typical tragedy: Getting older. The report also notes that the loss that is no longer being in your early 20s, unencumbered by anything that might interrupt plans to spend every autumn weekend focused on the fantasy football league formed among y, it’s a feeling all too familiar. The report also notes that “Yeah, auto draft,” Page sighs with an eyeroll. The report also notes that it’s a bond that started long before the option even existed to trash talk over text or draft your team for the next fantasy season virtually, for Page and his cohort. The report also notes that bolstered by newcomers – well, maybe they should be called “newcomers.”, six of the eight original owners are still part of the league.
Comments