CFCL Owners of 1997



 



You need to use your imagination on this one since the camera angle doesn't provide a great shot of all the owners.  Starting with the gentleman with his back to the camera and working left:  Ken Welsch (Welch's Flatfeet); Dave Goetz (ForGoetzMeNots), Darrin Bowser (Darrin's Big Dogs), Dave Holian (David's Ruffins), David Mahlan (and eventual CFCL Champion David's Copperfields), Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels), Matt Bentel (DoorMatts), Paul Zeledon (Da Paul Meisters), Eric Lamb (Lambchops).  Not pictured because he was just off camera to the right, Kelly Barone (Six Packs).

1997 saw the CFCL on video, but not prescient enough to take a league photo.  David and Michelle opened their home to the league for drafting.  If I'm not mistaken, this was the year when we drafted at David and Michelle's when Michelle left the house early in the draft to go for a walk.  She came back an hour or so later, looked at us and said "I can't believe you're spending a beautiful spring day inside sitting around a table."  She had a point.  Up until that day, the weather in Chicago had been pretty dreary and cold.  This day was sunny and in the 60's and, well we had work to do.  So one of the only beautiful spring days that year flitted by as we watched the Copperfields build a team that ran to their 8th CFCL Championship.

1997 was also the first time the CFCL expanded to the nice round number of ten owners.  Darrin Bowser (Bowser's Big Dogs) spent their one and only year in the league.  For the first time we had nine returning owners.