Training camps for all the NFL teams will be starting soon and with it the
analysis and predictions for the coming season will take on new meaning for us armchair
jocks. In other words, Fantasy Football is upon us again. When I first heard
about fantasy leagues for the major sports I always looked sideways at
them they just didn’t make much sense to me. I figured I watch the games or not
so what would I get out of it? Well, I was wrong big time. A good friend who now
happens to be my wife had been playing for a few years and convinced me to try.
Needless to say I was hooked, hooked like a degenerate gambler at the roulette
wheel. The fun isn't in winning week in and week out, though it is nice to make
the playoffs at the end of the season. The fun, the rush of adrenaline comes
from the buildup to the games each week. Making decisions on who to start,
looking at your team’s matchups, your opponent’s matchups, who is on a bye,
what teams might be looking ahead, and the big one - hoping that one player
you're not sure of doesn't have a dud game. Insert the name of your "that guy" right here,
one would think we’d know better after previous seasons. Nope, at some point when you need to pick someone up up to cover a bye week that happens to be available again and you pick them up and they tank like a gut shot duck. Then you spend your Sunday screaming at the Player Tracker again. This season we both swear that will not be anywhere near the roster. Maybe
I
stopped being a die-hard fan of any team a long time ago. After the strike
seasons and all the free agent moves from team to team I realized I didn’t know any of
these guys. I only knew what I saw or read that was spoon fed to me by the
media. We all were witnesses to OJ’s 4 hour Ford commercial so we know perception
can surely lie like hell. I started to keep track of favorite players and would
watch their games if I could to see them play. That to me is the whole point of
signing up to play. It adds something different to watching the games, because
they sure do need it now. Sure scoring is up and also the number of TV timeouts,
really to the point of ridiculous. I don't often sit and watch a whole game
anymore, it's too big of a time sink for me to justify. If you've ever been to
an NFL game you experienced those TV timeouts and they seem really odd in the
flow of the game. All of a sudden the players just stop and mill around for a
few minutes before they get back to playing. I’ve been to a half dozen games over the years and it is definitely not an experience to pass up if you have the chance to go. Just bring your wallet or leave it home if you want to eat, drive your car and have lights for the next month.
My wife and I have played in the same leagues and after 3 seasons of head
to head games we are tied 2-2. Those games always make for an interesting
Sunday of football because we are both rather competitive. It would be great to play each other in the
championship game at the end of the season. What would be worse finishing
second or sleeping on a lumpy couch? Someday I’ll sure I’ll find out, hopefully
after we get a better couch.
