It's Sunday morning. Generally, my routine doesn't differ much on Sundays. I wake up. I use the bathroom. I turn on my computer and check my various internet stops. I watch football. And like most football enthusiasts, I take part in the magically terrifying tradition of..... Fantasy Football.
First, a bit of history.
Modern fantasy football was started by the late Wilfred "Bill" Winkenbach. Wilfred was a businessman and a limited partner in the Oakland Raiders. In a New York hotel room during a 1962 Raiders eastern cross-country trip, Winkenbach teamed up with Raiders Public Relations man Bill Tunnel and Tribune reporter Scotty Starling to develope a game based on the stats of actual AFL players.
Today, websites like Yahoo, NFL.com, Foxsports.com, and ESPN track every step of the 1,696 active players in the NFL. Every pass, catch, touchdown, fumble, interception, and yard is recorded and assigned point values to help your average Joe look like Joe Gibbs or Scott Linehan. Each week, teams go head-to-head and rack up the points to see who put together the best team back in August/September while munching on taco dip, pizza, and buffalo wings. The mini-sport has brought men closer together, and it has torn friendships apart. Brought men great fortune, or emptied their wallets. And while a good head on your shoulders and an analytical mind could take you far, sometimes luck, chance, and the gods are the better weapons to have.
For those of us who really care, it's an obsession. Pouring over endless stat sheets, checking injury reports, and watching the waiver wires like vultures. We check it everyday and more then twice on Sunday. Watch every game we can to will the players we own forward to have big days. Watching live stat trackers, pulling our hair out when we are behind, and jumping up a down for joy when we are ahead. Watching like politicians on election night as the projections continue and feeling that sadness when we realize, even before the end, that we have lost the race.
Like most obsessions, it is unhealthy. But it gives us something to do. Obsessions drive us crazy. They make fools of us all. And that's exactly what fantasy football does. In the end, if we were any good at managing a team, we would actually be working for an NFL team. Managing personnel, signing players, and winning championships. I know I could not do the job.
So I'm not an NFL coach...... But I play one on the internet ;)
I would wish all of the people who play fantasy football good luck, but I need to save some for myself! So have fun wannabes. And remember....
It's just a game!
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