The NFL season opens Thursday and I am looking forward to it for one very important reason — it will mean an end to this constant chatter about the Fantasy Football draft. Who’s a steal in the second round? Do I dare take a flyer on a running back?

Once the draft happens, the Fantasy geeks tend to retreat to their own home turf and talk amongst themselves.

I remember in 1982, when a friend called me about some tips on who to pick on his “team” for something called Fantasy Football. I had been a sportswriter for about a year but that more than qualified me, at least to him, as an expert in the field. On the other hand, I asked what in the name of Pete Rozelle was Fantasy Football?

It’s now out of control and there are a lot of reasons that it bugs me, but here is the biggest: No one cares about teams anymore, just players. No one cares about the actual game, only the actual stats.

And much like hearing about someone’s latest round of golf (hole by hole, shot by shot), the rest of us are forced to hear about how Baby Got Dak is racking up the fantasy points and killing it in the AFL (Armchair Football League).

(Personal note — I laughed out load when I saw there was a league named Show Us Your TDs.)

Thursday night, the Philadelphia Eagles will meet the Atlanta Falcons amid much celebration of the start of another NFL season. Fans of both teams were be sweating out every last detail. Can the Eagles make another Super Bowl run? Are the Falcons ready to take the next step up?

Meanwhile, some guy with his hand halfway into a bowl of salsa is sweating out the PPR numbers of Julio Jones and whether he chose the right guy for his IDP or OP because he is in a flex league. (I hope y’all know I have no idea what that sentence means or whether it even makes sense.)

Let’s just say I’ve got a lot better things to fantasize about than how many points Tom Brady picked up on Sunday.

After a long refreshing Labor Day Weekend of doing nothing (we wish!), DW is back, and with a star we are thrilled to recognize.

Roy Waters was the right tackle and, when the going got a little difficult inside, the left guard, on Louisiana Tech football teams that went 44-4, won two (or three, depending on how you count ’em) Division II National Championships, and established a new bar of studness for Tech Football.

During the past four seasons, Tech has won four bowl games and 34 games overall. Not bad. Actually, very very good. The 34 games is the most for any senior class since Tech moved up to Division I in 1988.

But remember that Roy and his brothers won 44. In 10 less games than the 2014-2017 played.

Different eras, and which team would win if Today’s Tech played Roy’s Tech is an open question. All Designated Writers is saying is that if such a thing could happen, it would be a scrap worth seeing, because the Golden Era teams took no prisoners.

Designated Writers is thrilled with how Tech Football is trending. And DW is also thrilled for the success of the 1971-74 teams, a group that will always be special to DW for reasons we’ve explored before and will dig into more later.

And that’s fine, you say, but why are there Atomic Firebombs and a football in today’s Happen art?

Because those Atomic Firebombs are from Roy; an Atomic Firebomb from Roy means something.

When he was the special guest on Monday night’s Inside Tech Football With Skip Holtz radio show, 6-7 pm each Monday during “foobaw” season on the LA Tech Sports Network from Learfield, he dropped THREE on me. I am a blessed man. Roy is just an Atomic Fireball guy; buys them by the gross. Gives them out just to fire you up. It’s his non-verbal way to encourage.

He was a joy to listen to on the radio, and he and his friends will be a joy to see Friday and Saturday night. Joe Aillet Stadium begins its 51st season Saturday night at 6 against Southern, and all fall, Tech is celebrating its first 50 years in The Joe. Roy was voted as one of the Top 50 Players To Play In Joe Alliet Stadium, and 34 of them — a phenomenal number — will be at the Dawghouse Sports Grill in Ruston for a meet-and-greet Friday from 7-9 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person (which includes dinner) with a limited number of tickets available to the general public. Go to latechalumni.org/Top50 for tickets; there are a few left. All proceeds will benefit an endowed scholarship for Scott Collis, a Bulldog footballer who passed away last fall.

Roy and his fellow Top 50’ers will be recognized at Saturday’s home opener.

Also, Dawghouse is donating 20 percent of sales ALL DAY FRIDAY to the fund. Good people and good eats; think about dining there.

More about Roy and his guys Thursday. Readybreak!

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