QUICK 10 WITH.....CROYDON WILDCATS

 

Croydon. Formely a large town (who has requested city status before) in Surrey and now a London Borough.

The name derives from "crocus" and "denu" meaning valley. A market was established in the 13th century which is believed to have started the urban roots of Croydon. There is evidence of Roman settlements in the area and in the late Saxon period swathes of property and estate in Croydon was owned by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

It used to be the location for London's main airport, closing in 1959. It was heavily bombed in World War Two, but in modern times it has become a hub for shopping centres, bars and restaurants.

Croydon was the birthplace of The Commish, the place where his passion for NFL grew and he has many happy memories growing up in the area.

In sporting terms, Crystal Palace F.C. are the only professional club in the area and though playing in an SE postcode, this area actually comes under the London Borough of Croydon.  Croydon F.C. were a mainstay in non-league football, reaching the F.A. Cup rounds to play Millwall in the past, but they have since declined in stature. They play their home games at Croydon Sports Arena, the home of Croydon Harriers Athletic Club, who have produced many British athletes and where The Commish himself used to run as a youngster. The area is also home to Streatham-Croydon RFC, one of Greater London's oldest rugby union clubs. The Croydon Amphibians play in Division 2 of the British Waterpolo League and is also home to a full contact women's roller-derby team.

The Croydon Wildcats play in the BFC South and just missed out on the playoffs in 2020, though their GM is eager to put this right. They are known for their hashtag and catchphrase of "Let's Get Wild!"

This is Rob, the GM of Croydon Wildcats and these are his Quick 10 Questions.

1. How did you get involved in the league?

I saw something on Twitter about a new dynasty league forming. It seemed big. Having won my home league for the first time the previous year, I was full of hubris and felt ready for a step into the big time. IDP sounded interesting. Little did I realise it was less IDP and more FLDP (funking loads of defensive players). I leant heavily on Sleeper rankings last year but investing more time in research this year. Especially with the point breakdown being pretty even between O and D.

2. What team do you support and why?

New York Giants - As a naive kid in the late 80s I had loads of NFL poster on my wall, Jets alongside Giants. The city of New York was the draw clearly and I ended up on the blue side of town. I was lucky enough to see Saquads, Odel and Eli beat down on the 49ers in San Francisco a few years ago on a Monday night. Bucket list stuff....

3. How did you get into NFL?

The Channel 4 TV coverage played a huge part in that, I suspect initially I was just too lazy to change the channel after Kabbadi, but I soon found a love of the sport. Around the time the London Monarchs formed, a buddy had an American Football and used to bring it round on a weekend to throw around in the garden. It weighed a ton and kicking it hurt like hell, but we'd persist for hours.

4. Who is your favourite player and why?

It's all fantasy related, but I have an unusual soft spot for Lamar Miller. For a few years I'd way over draft him to the amusement of my league mates.

5. What is your experience in fantasy football?

I started playing around 8 years ago and try to keep my leagues to just 2 or 3 a year. We are lucky enough to always do a live draft for our home league, it's like Christmas day in September. I'm going to set up a full dynasty league this year. I've got 6 on board so far.

6. What are you views on a potential London franchise?

The fan base looks to be there but 1pm games would be a disappointment. As they've sanitised and over-monitised the tailgate, they've taken the edge off the energy of pre-gmae. The 5pm or 6pm kick-offs were glorious at Wembley. I'm not sure people would take on the Jags as their second team with the same weekly enthusiasm as we've seen for the more established franchises coming over. Four games a year is great at the moment and the rotation of visiting teams is clearly doing the numbers. I'd be surprised if 8 games a year could be sustained at sell-out levels.

7. What other hobbies/sports do you enjoy apart from NFL?

I run three times a week and in the new post-Covid world my work/life balance affords me the chance to play golf on weekends. I'm genuinely awful but absolutely love it. I play a bit of guitar which nowadays involves mostly noodling along to kids TV themes to make my daughters laugh.

8. What's your favourite film?

I couldn't pick one. I always think that your enjoyment of movies and music is so heavily linked to your mood at that moment, top 5's are fluid! - That said, some films are un-improvable: The Departed, High Fidelity, Rocketman, Jurassic Park, The Usual Suspects, Shaun Of The Dead.

9. What's your favourite music?

How long have we got? - Otis Redding is the best soul singer of all time, I'll die on that hill. Kate Bush is unrivalled. I have the world's worst Led Zep tattoo, I'm one and one with tats after that, but they need a mention. My two latest obsessions are "Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes" - they have an album called Hearts Of Stone from 1978. It's incredible and "Gang Of Youths" whose 2017 album Go Farther In Lightness is a monster.

10. Who is your Super Bowl tip this year?

I think it's redemption year for a couple of QB's. Watch the Colts and the Rams make a charge behind strong defenses with really good run games.

We wish to thank Rob from taking the time out composing and remixing kids TV themes with his guitar and playing lousy golf to answer these Quick 10 Questions. Best of luck in a very competitive BFC South this year.

Let's Get Wild!

The Commish

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