Living in a fantasy land
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Fantasy football can control a person's life to a certain degree (at least Sunday and Monday nights, sometimes Thursday), if they allow it.
Yep, I've allowed it.
Sundays are usually my slow days where I "relax" and watch the NFL. I love the NFL, for the simple fact I think it is the best sport in the world to watch. There is no argument that can convince me otherwise, especially the one about the NCAA being better than the NFL. Sure, I want to watch the (fill in the blank) Bowl over any game of Week 15 of the NFL. There is no option here, I'm all about the NFL.
But what is fun about playing fantasy football is I get to talk smack to my friends, especially if my team, which is named "The Winless Wonders," beats their team.
My team started off 0-5, then I ended the regular season 8-6, gaining the Wild Card playoff spot in the 12-team league I'm a part of.
The best thing that has happened for me this year with fantasy football is it has made me actually care about how well Ryan Fitzpatrick and Peyton Hillis have played this year. I keep track of New York Giants receivers, and I was sad when Matthew Stafford was hurt, just for the simple fact his No. 1 wide receiver, Calvin Johnson, is one of the better players on my team. I've researched the tendencies of Blair White of the Colts and have cursed the day I benched Brandon Jacobs when it cost me 24 points a couple of weeks ago.
I've even lost sleep, waking up (or not going to bed) at a certain hour just to pick players off the waiver wire. I've taken a nap, got up at 4 a.m. to check my team for free agents, then gone back to sleep on a Thursday morning. (I really love the NFL this much.)
In fact, I have my fantasy team up on my computer as I am typing this column.
Usually, I couldn't care less how well players on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns play. This season is different. With all the hours, the many, many hours of reading injury reports, projections, matchups, schedules and pretty much anything else I can find on my players or about potential players on my team, I've come to this conclusion … fantasy football can help make a fan of football love the game even more.
Take out being a fan of a certain team, and these are some of the reasons why fantasy football can be and is fun.
• Winning cash money: I haven't actually been a part of this, but this season I'm actually in the playoffs, so by golly, if I thought I was bad the first 14 weeks of the NFL season, this week will be even more intense, due to the fact I'm just one win away from guaranteed winnings.
• Helps save a wasted season: Some years your "actual" team you cheer for on a weekly basis, well, to put it nicely … stinks. Mine has this season, maybe your real team has too. Fantasy football is my form of "Harry Potter" or "Twilight" for the fact the team isn't real, but the players are. I'm pretty much the only person who cares about who is on my team, so I guess my team is my own little fantasy land.
• Knowing the surroundings: Maybe I take this to the extreme, but I keep tabs on a lot of the players in the NFL. I like to know their tendencies, which teams are playing who. Lately, I worry about the weather. I find out if my team is playing in good weather or bad weather. I look to see if it is snowing or raining.
Usually, I hope the players on my team play on a Sunshine Day. I want players on my team to: "Get out and get some of those rays … everybody's laughing' … everybody seems to be happy today …" (Thanks, Brady Bunch kids. Now, I have that song stuck in my head.)
• Drafts are overrated: Of the 17 players I drafted in late August, I have six players left on that team. Just six players. Only four actually have a spot most weeks in my starting lineup, and one is a kicker. Not just any kicker, but Sebastian Janikowski. Remember when he played at Florida State over a decade ago and liked to tackle people? See, if not for fantasy football I wouldn't know the Raiders' kicker would have two 50-plus yard field goals this year. Speaking of kickers, I once read about Garrett Hartley (Saints kicker) and his stats for 30 minutes.
• Team names say a lot: I don't even remember the name I started with, but one my team was 0-5, I tried to be creative and renamed them the Winless Wonders. After the name change, my players actually started catching passes, hitting the open area when running the football, and throwing touchdowns. But, since I am somewhat superstitious when it comes to sports, I kept the name, and my team keeps winning.
• The best fantasy sport: My friends and myself, we take the NFL seriously. It is our sport. We like parts of other sports (baseball is my No. 2 sport), but you can hear us talk about how we can't wait for some type of training camp or offseason practice of some sort. With that, the NFL is the best sport for playing the fantasy game. Baseball people always quit managing their team in the summer, and the NBA is too confusing. But the
NFL, it is perfect the way it is for fantasy sports. (Note: I'm undecided if the NFL and their 18-game proposal would help or hurt the league.)
I'm trying to figure out if there is such a thing as too much NFL.
With that, I bet you think I'm crazy for caring that much about my fantasy team. I probably am, but at least I have friends who are just as crazy, and for fantasy football … crazy is good.
I gotta get back to my team, I got a playoff game to prepare for.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
Yep, I've allowed it.
Sundays are usually my slow days where I "relax" and watch the NFL. I love the NFL, for the simple fact I think it is the best sport in the world to watch. There is no argument that can convince me otherwise, especially the one about the NCAA being better than the NFL. Sure, I want to watch the (fill in the blank) Bowl over any game of Week 15 of the NFL. There is no option here, I'm all about the NFL.
But what is fun about playing fantasy football is I get to talk smack to my friends, especially if my team, which is named "The Winless Wonders," beats their team.
My team started off 0-5, then I ended the regular season 8-6, gaining the Wild Card playoff spot in the 12-team league I'm a part of.
The best thing that has happened for me this year with fantasy football is it has made me actually care about how well Ryan Fitzpatrick and Peyton Hillis have played this year. I keep track of New York Giants receivers, and I was sad when Matthew Stafford was hurt, just for the simple fact his No. 1 wide receiver, Calvin Johnson, is one of the better players on my team. I've researched the tendencies of Blair White of the Colts and have cursed the day I benched Brandon Jacobs when it cost me 24 points a couple of weeks ago.
I've even lost sleep, waking up (or not going to bed) at a certain hour just to pick players off the waiver wire. I've taken a nap, got up at 4 a.m. to check my team for free agents, then gone back to sleep on a Thursday morning. (I really love the NFL this much.)
In fact, I have my fantasy team up on my computer as I am typing this column.
Usually, I couldn't care less how well players on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns play. This season is different. With all the hours, the many, many hours of reading injury reports, projections, matchups, schedules and pretty much anything else I can find on my players or about potential players on my team, I've come to this conclusion … fantasy football can help make a fan of football love the game even more.
Take out being a fan of a certain team, and these are some of the reasons why fantasy football can be and is fun.
• Winning cash money: I haven't actually been a part of this, but this season I'm actually in the playoffs, so by golly, if I thought I was bad the first 14 weeks of the NFL season, this week will be even more intense, due to the fact I'm just one win away from guaranteed winnings.
• Helps save a wasted season: Some years your "actual" team you cheer for on a weekly basis, well, to put it nicely … stinks. Mine has this season, maybe your real team has too. Fantasy football is my form of "Harry Potter" or "Twilight" for the fact the team isn't real, but the players are. I'm pretty much the only person who cares about who is on my team, so I guess my team is my own little fantasy land.
• Knowing the surroundings: Maybe I take this to the extreme, but I keep tabs on a lot of the players in the NFL. I like to know their tendencies, which teams are playing who. Lately, I worry about the weather. I find out if my team is playing in good weather or bad weather. I look to see if it is snowing or raining.
Usually, I hope the players on my team play on a Sunshine Day. I want players on my team to: "Get out and get some of those rays … everybody's laughing' … everybody seems to be happy today …" (Thanks, Brady Bunch kids. Now, I have that song stuck in my head.)
• Drafts are overrated: Of the 17 players I drafted in late August, I have six players left on that team. Just six players. Only four actually have a spot most weeks in my starting lineup, and one is a kicker. Not just any kicker, but Sebastian Janikowski. Remember when he played at Florida State over a decade ago and liked to tackle people? See, if not for fantasy football I wouldn't know the Raiders' kicker would have two 50-plus yard field goals this year. Speaking of kickers, I once read about Garrett Hartley (Saints kicker) and his stats for 30 minutes.
• Team names say a lot: I don't even remember the name I started with, but one my team was 0-5, I tried to be creative and renamed them the Winless Wonders. After the name change, my players actually started catching passes, hitting the open area when running the football, and throwing touchdowns. But, since I am somewhat superstitious when it comes to sports, I kept the name, and my team keeps winning.
• The best fantasy sport: My friends and myself, we take the NFL seriously. It is our sport. We like parts of other sports (baseball is my No. 2 sport), but you can hear us talk about how we can't wait for some type of training camp or offseason practice of some sort. With that, the NFL is the best sport for playing the fantasy game. Baseball people always quit managing their team in the summer, and the NBA is too confusing. But the
NFL, it is perfect the way it is for fantasy sports. (Note: I'm undecided if the NFL and their 18-game proposal would help or hurt the league.)
I'm trying to figure out if there is such a thing as too much NFL.
With that, I bet you think I'm crazy for caring that much about my fantasy team. I probably am, but at least I have friends who are just as crazy, and for fantasy football … crazy is good.
I gotta get back to my team, I got a playoff game to prepare for.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]