Football season has arrived. Except in New England, because football season officially starts October 2nd when the GOAT Tom Brady returns. If this sentiment displeases you, kindly X out of your browser at any time. However, if you can get past my obvious NE bias then give me an eye-roll and keep reading. Fantasy sports have taken off exponentially in recent years. All sports, seasons…you name it, there’s a fantasy league for it. But I think we can all agree that the most hype surrounds football.
Now I’m sure there are plenty of women out there who are fantasy experts and hold their own against any guy out there. I’m not writing this post to break the glass ceiling of fantasy sports for women, I’m writing as a spouse/girlfriend/collegue who has been subject to listening to the incessant chatter that starts as early as July and carries right on through into January. I have experienced sleepless nights courtesy of a fantasy matchup that would wind up being decided by 1 point. I’m looking at you here, Hubs. I’ve watched games that I would ordinarily have zero interest in just because there were a few fantasy gems playing. But after 8 years of secondhand experience, I’ve got to admit that I get invested in it. The fact that my husband plays to win actual money helps a little bit, but I find myself seemingly caring if someone like Eric Decker plays well. Did I just say that I took an interest in someone on the Jets? Lord, help me.
When the idea was presented to me to actually draft my own team this year, I felt like now is the time. Why not? So here I am, at the start of the regular season, attempting to manage not one, but 2 teams. One is a neighborhood league and the other a family league. No pressure. The only thing on the line is a bunch of chocolate bars in the family league…so I guess there’s a little pressure. My sisters are in the family league and they have surprised me by taking the whole drafting process more serious than I would have imagined. Not only have they come up with some fabulous team names, they also drafted some decent teams!
I think what has always frustrated me in the past is the assumption made by men that women have no idea who anyone is other than the celebrity, handsome, dating an actress/model, mainstream players. If they weren’t on Dancing With The Stars, I wouldn’t know them. Good thing the consensus number one pick, Antonio Brown danced last season, huh? How would I ever have known him otherwise?
Well, newsflash…we know who Aaron Rodgers is dating, how big the ring is that Russell Wilson put on Ciara’s finger, and we also know that Tony Romo sucks and Dak Prescott is the talk of the town and I know the time is now for Donte Moncrief (at least my team hopes it is).
What I’m saying is, you don’t need a Y-chromosome to be involved in these conversations. Women and men alike can enjoy, participate and actively care about football. Gone is the antiquated idea that men sit in front of the television all day Sunday. We can both do that! Fantasy Football is a great way for families and friends to have fun and oftentimes, provide a much needed distraction from life, highlighted in this Matthew Berry article. Plus, it’s always fun to have some friendly competition and trash-talking.
Now that it’s Friday and we have one game under our belts, the season has officially begun. Sunday is supposed to be a rainy day around these parts, so it’s a perfect excuse to line up the appetizers and kick back. There’s sure to be some breakout performances that will lead people scrambling to pick up rookies we never thought would see the turf and there is sure to be a lot of talk surrounding the National Anthem, the Seahawks have made sure of that.
So I bid you adieu and say good luck and hopefully we make it through relatively unscathed! And I leave you with this picture and as the great Roberto Gronkowski once said, “Yo Soy Fiesta!”
magically medeiros 