Matt Friesen, League Commissioner & HOK Planning Group Employee

A few months back I blogged about the Workplace of Ideas and some thoughts that the Atlanta office had about working differently as teams and individuals to produce the best product for our clients and build camaraderie. (Remember “Listen All of Y’all It’s a Sabotage!”) Even though the summer has passed, the office continues to come up with new and different ways to get to know each other better. As a way for colleagues to get a healthy dose of some friendly and hilarious competition this Fall, Matt Friesen created HOCKlanta League as part of ESPN Fantasy Football. The league has participants in three different business units, across three locations, and even includes two HOK kiddos. As a member of the league myself (Go Sour Skittles!), I had the chance to sit down with Matt (League Commissioner & Owner/GM/Coach of FloRida CobraKai) this past week. We discussed his role as “The Commish” and the league in general. As you will see from this interview and that of other league members, Matt runs the show with an iron fist of humor.

When asked about his role, Matt pretty much summed it up in a couple of words… “to dominate”. From there the conversation revolved around his confidence in FloRida CobraKai this season. However, what he is most proud of is that this league provides “prize money, trash talking, and an easy way to (for once) be better at something than your boss(es) and let the world know it”. That’s some big talk Matt… I look forward to the matchup between FloRida CobraKai and Snake Doc (Monte Wilson’s team)!

Matt isn’t the only GM/owner that is excited about his team’s prospects. Team Singalingaling’s owner, Steve Foran, while confident, did ask himself the question “will these people still be friends with me after I win it all?”  Of course Monte Wilson, owner of Snake Doc, thinks one of his son’s teams will be the biggest threat. (I guess all parents have to tell their kids that…)

Not all are as confident about their teams, but are encouraged by external factors affecting their players. LeighAnn Little, Team Little, feels better about her quarterback, Tony Romo’s, ability to perform now that he is no longer dating Jessica Simpson. Abbey Roberson doesn’t even know all the players on her team, and says she is still trying to figure out how to work the ESPN Fantasy Page in general.

We will keep you posted as the season progresses. However, chances are that things look pretty good for Chirayu Bhatt, Team Limitless, who ended up with the first round draft pick. As a native of India, he knows everything about cricket, and nothing about the NFL. But, I’m of the opinion that there is a lot to be said for beginner’s luck.

** After the first week of play, Sour Skittles, had the lowest overall score and was beat by 10 year old Nolan Wilson by nearly 70 points. It could be a long season for yours truly.