Living the dream with Fantasy Football

Disclaimer: if you detest sports, football, or fantasy football, this post probably won’t be fun to read.

I grew up in a baseball home. Though members of our family ran the gambit of athleticism (my dad has impressive records in baseball, basketball, and even bowling; my mom is an aerobics and cardio queen; and my brothers and I were always heading off to various practices), everything seemed to come back to the diamond.

Because of that, I didn’t care about football. I liked to throw one around every once in a while with my dad, and I went to the home games in high school, but I never bothered to learn much more than who the quarterback of the Broncos was. Those games were on the TV on the weekends or the radio when we traveled, but mostly just in the background.

The Beginning

Everything changed with Chad. In fact, on the day he asked me to be his girlfriend in the Mocha’s parking lot, we went to the GHS football game right after. When we held hands and I asked him questions about his connection to the game, I really didn’t know what I was in for.

At the time, I knew he was a baseball guy. (We played baseball on the same little league team as 10 year olds.) He used to play basketball, and a year of football in middle school. To me, he seemed like the average one-sport person.

Here’s something to know about Chad: he’s a little nerdy and math-oriented and doesn’t necessarily let on that he is a sports fan, sans a Rockies hat. Well, don’t let that fool you. Just like with bridges, Chad has an impressive knowledge of pretty much all things sports. And he’ll undersell that skill.

Baseball is Chad’s favorite sport too, but boy oh boy does this man know his stuff. He is a constant ball of knowledge when it comes to baseball, football, and basketball. He knows more than he lets on about hockey, too.

I know the rules of baseball from working out situations with my dad, all the time. Chad does the same thing with his parents during every football game, though it doesn’t seem intentional. Everything from plays to broadcasting networks to scenarios, Chad usually has it worked out. Heck, I found out his family has season tickets to the Broncos, and Chad’s been going since the 97 playoffs.

Did I feel foolish? You betcha. But I strapped in and have done my best to catch on to the game and embrace all that is American football. I’m getting there, though I am absolutely not on the same level as other people I know, who I share a home with.

It’s enough to either drive someone crazy, or get roped into it all. I tend to walk a thin line.

Fantasy Fooseball

After watching the comedy The League and hearing Chad want to start up a team of his own, I finally got on board in 2015. It included the two of us, some college buddies, and my brother and one of his friends.

Over the years, we’ve swapped a few people in and out, but the premise remains the same: we watch football, talk mild shit, and substitute players on our rosters. We have a draft night, playoffs, and an ongoing group chat. There are highs, lows, and memes. Plenty of memes.

We previously played with a 10-person roster, and now we’re up to 12. We have a buy in, prizes for winning and accumulating the highest points per season, and the scoring seems pretty standard. If you want to know more specifics on the rules, I’ll drop a line for you to my husband, lol.

My Role

Alright, let’s be real. I’m very competitive. However, I am not the type to take things like fantasy football too seriously. So my role on the team has pretty consistently been the type of player that drafts well and performs strong out the gate, for the first few weeks. Then, because I Don’t Care Enough, I don’t initiate trades or don’t pay attention to injury reports, and I tank.

Last place isn’t always a bad place to be. But that time I drafted Peyton Manning in the first round? That was a regretful finish.

In addition to a sometimes-easy win, I am also married to the league’s commissioner. That’s exciting for one main reason: we get to facilitate a few fun things during the season. My favorite is the draft order selection; we come up with a fun idea to randomly select the order of draft night—who gets to pick first, second, third, and on.

There’s plenty of cringe, but it’s also a nice project for Chad and I to do together. I love getting to see him stretch his creativity muscles, and work as a team on something fun.

You can watch the video for our 2017 draft here. It was casino-themed.

Here’s 2018’s “waterpalooza.”

And this year, we decided to do a ring toss to decide the fate of this year’s draft order.

I Recommend It

There are fantasy leagues for practically every sport. If you are even remotely interested, I recommend pulling the trigger and trying one out! You can find random groups on the internet or make one with your buddies.

If you’re worried about time commitment: fear not. Though you can be like my husband and have five leagues, you can also be like me and half-ass one. It is what you put into it, and it can be a ton of fun if you let it.

And, if you win, there’s usually a money prize at the end. Or a loser trophy. Or, a vast new collection of memes, experience, and memories that just can’t be beat.

Cheers to the upcoming season! Wish me luck as I aim for not-last this year.