Why I love fantasy football

It was a joy filled white Christmas day in mid Michigan.  Having spent the morning with family, I was now huddled around the TV with a group of my close friends.  As we watched week 16 of the 2006 NFL season come to a close with the Jets beating the Dolphins, I had mixed emotions.  On one hand, I was ecstatic that I had just won our first fantasy football league.  On the other hand,  the game that I had come to love the last few months, was gone for the next 8 months.  Sure, we still had another month of football, but it just wouldn't be the same on Sundays.

It was that day, and in the coming months of waiting, that all of us in that room knew we would be playing this game for the rest of our lives.  That anticipation is one of the things I love most about fantasy football.  There is the anticipation for the start of the season to see how our teams we drafted will perform on the big screen.  The wait from Monday to Sunday can seem like forever, as we try to keep a win streak going or get things back on track after a brutal loss.  There is the wonder and second guessing ourselves after we pull off a big trade, and have to wait and see who was right. 

Then, Sunday finally arrives.  We scour the morning pregame shows for any new information that might help us decide the line up decision we have been going back and forth on all week.  As the final seconds of 12:59 tic away, we lock our line up and pray we made the right decisions.  The next 10 hours can be filled with sheer joy, watching the waiver wire pick you put in at the last second go absolutely Man Beast on the field.  We sometimes end up just staring in utter disbelief as our "stud" RB does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING with 20+ carries.  Come Tuesday morning, the slate is wiped clean.  We look forward to next week and make our waiver wire pick ups and throw out some trade offers.

Playing this game with my closest friends, or people I'm just getting to know, is the other half of what makes this game great.  When my friends and I started playing back 2006, we hung out all the time and all lived in the same area.  As time passed, we have scattered across the state and country.  Fantasy football is something we can all still enjoy as a group, even though we aren't together.  It gives everyone a good reason to keep in touch and call weekly.

This is a big part of what led me to start a fantasy football blog.  I love the game, and researching the game.  I'm like a proud father, when I watch a waiver wire pick, that I had faith in, go off.  I'm going to get a great deal of satisfaction sharing my insights with others, and hearing other opinions as well.  I know the downside of my league mates knowing all of my strategies will be outweighed by debating fantasy football with people that I have yet to meet.  I welcome good and bad feedback on my work, and I am looking forward to this season more than any other.