Commentary: Fantasy autos, football and unforeseen wisdom

I seem to be on a bit of a roll the last couple weeks as far as must-attend events are concerned.

And while I'm about to shamelessly plug another one, I'd like to share one of those "thoughts of the week" experiences which you never really expect, but stick in your head because they actually are truly insightful.

I was having dinner with a friend on Monday and the topic of our conversation turned to smoking (probably because I still feel the need to support the poor tobacco farmers in the Carolinas and ensure that their kids have a shot at going to college like everyone else).

My friend, a reformed smoker, admitted that she often craves a cigarette. Nothing mind-blowing there, but the way she described it was.

She said cigarettes are like an ex-boyfriend, you know you want it but you know it's not worth it.

Maybe not earth-shattering, but in its own way quite profound and definitely worth pondering.

Just hope I'm not causing too much anxiety or stress for the first ex-Mrs. Boyd every time she has a craving for a Marlboro Light. (OK, maybe a little anxiety or stress, especially since my therapist is on vacation and I know I won't have to spend an hour next week explaining latent animosity.)

Now, on to the event.

The inaugural Rocky Mountain Concours d' Elegance is scheduled for this weekend at The Broadmoor. It will showcase examples of automotive and motorcycle evolution and design.

There will be several opportunities to see the vintage vehicles around town. At 9:30 Saturday morning, several autos and motorcycles will drive through Garden of the Gods, stop at Glen Eyrie Castle for lunch, then head downtown and park at the Pioneer Museum from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. for public viewing.

More than 130 vehicles will be displayed on The Broadmoor's West golf course from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Some of the cars and motorcycles that will be displayed include:

*Rudyard Kipling's 1916 Pierce -- Arrow limousine

*Clive Cussler's 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K

*The 1965 Mustang Shelby GT 350 known as the "Carrol Shelby -- Sir Stirling Moss" race car

*The Worlds Fastest Indian, the 1920 Indian Scout built by Burt Munro of New Zealand

*A futuristic concept vehicle named "Fascination," which was crated by Paul M. Lewis of the Highway Aircraft Corp. in 1974.

For more information or tickets, call 314-1400 or visit www.rmconcours.com.

Fantasy life

The old sports writer in me was attracted to the subject line of an e-mail that I received last week: "Fantasy Football -- Time Lost Could Cost $435M Per Week."

It seems that my buddies at Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. are estimating that employers nationwide will lose between $275 million and $435 million per week paying distracted workers during the NFL football season, which begins Sept 6.

I've never been much of a fantasy football guy, unless of course you count my actual gridiron endeavors, which any of my coaches or teammates would attest to as pure fantasy.

But according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, about 17 million Americans play fantasy sports annually, and about 80 percent play fantasy football.

Presenters at the 2007 Sporting Goods Marketing Association Industry Leaders Summit reported that the average fantasy football player spends 5.2 hours online each week participating in his or her league. And a survey by West Virginia Wesleyan College found that 60 percent of fantasy sports fans spent more than an hour each day just thinking about their fantasy team.

But if you're one of those big suits in the big offices thinking about putting the kibosh on fantasy-playing workers, think again. John A. Challenger says that trying to stop workers from managing their fantasy teams at the office would be futile and might actually backfire.

"The potential damage to morale and loyalty resulting from a fantasy football ban could be far worse than the loss of productivity caused by 10 to 20 minutes of online team management," he said. "Companies that not only allow workers to indulge in fantasy football but actually encourage it by organizing a company league are likely to see significant benefits."

And of course it makes those of us who sneak out for a few smoke breaks during the work day feel a bit less guilty as well.

Mike Boyd is editor of the Colorado Springs Business Journal.

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