On the first anniversary of Hurricane Irene, coupled with what happened this weekend, I’m forcing myself to keep my spirits up and talk about one of my favorite topics in the world — fantasy football.

It seems disaster and my fantasy football world have almost become one in the same.

Last year the draft in my own Rockfish Capital League had to be delayed a week because of Irene. With many of the team members right here in Roanoke Rapids, there was no way to fairly have a live computer draft with many still without power.

As many of you remember, my world consisted of filing stories from the Weldon Fire Department, The Computer Guy & Company and even Motel 6.

I gladly relinquished the league’s password to a trusted friend in Hendersonville so he could change the date of the draft to the following Sunday when I was sure power would be back on.

The draft went on without a hitch and picking from eighth spot I assembled a good team for the Medoc Mt. Daredevils — I choose my team name based on local attractions or events — with Aaron Rodgers as my quarterback.

The season was kind to me and I maintained first place through the entire season.

Then, as I got to thinking after the Rockfish Capital League’s 2012 draft Sunday night I was jinxed, and my team fell flatter than the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs last season. I finished a miserable eighth.

I know, the two probably have nothing to do with each other, but it’s good to cast blame somewhere and the natural disaster jinx seemed a perfect displacement tool.

The same friend who changed the date for me last year sent me a text message late Saturday night. “So every year you have a draft there is a natural disaster. Sheesh!”

I couldn’t have agreed more and that got me thinking about the natural disaster jinx even more when we began our draft Sunday night.

I picked my Moonlight Bandits — you remember Randy Parton’s band, right? — from the second spot.

The only thing I can say is, aside from Megatron — Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions — the natural disaster jinx may be in play this year because the projections, with Jay Cutler leading my team at quarterback and Michael Turner and Fred Jackson as my lead runners, don’t look favorable for me.

With Jermichael Finley and Hakeem Nicks onboard, too, my projections for a Moonlight Bandits championship still don’t look good.

I suppose, however, the big thing through these natural disasters the past two years is we are still here to play.

It still doesn’t bode well for the mighty Moonlight Bandits going into this year’s campaign in Rockfish Capital League — Lance Martin