"you are kidding, right?"
That was Noah's comment when I told him that I was planning to join my work unit's fantasy football league. He went on to mention how he quit playing a couple of years ago because of all the time that it took and quite frankly, he was kind of tired of it.
After all, I am the one who despises wasting time. I can't stand video games, won't watch a movie twice and usually have to be doing something else (like folding laundry) the first time I watch something. If Noah had a smart phone I would probably have chucked it into a lake by now (seriously, tell me, how do people put up with their spouses extramarital affairs disguised as smart phones?). Following football every Sunday and considering drafts, strategy and bye weeks doesn't exactly sound like something I would normally consider a productive way to spend my life.
Regardless of the incongruity of it all, I was determined to play and I assured him that he didn't have to help me at all if he didn't want to be a participant. I told him that I was just going to call his buddy, who spends a great deal of time and energy on FF, and have him give me some general recommendations. After all, I know people who play, and it cannot be that complicated. Of course, he couldn't leave it like that and so we came up with a name- "Pigtail Wave", and got our players all drafted.
Do you know what? I love playing fantasy football. I am a competitive person by nature, but I don't have a lot of outlets for my competitiveness at this time and stage of my life. Beating a 6 year old in Candy Land doesn't exactly cut it, and I simply don't have the time or the athletic ability to excel in a sport. I run "against" people at the gym (only they don't know it), but even that isn't quite enough.
So even though Pigtail Wave is a horrible team, full of heartaches and missed opportunities, I look forward to the weekends. The boys are enthusiastic and cheer for my players and get excited if we win. N and I talk about football and I actually have learned quite a bit!
Next year I may put together a league so that we each can have our own team- we have 7 people in the family so can practically make our own league, and I think that could be really fun. Or, maybe I will play at work again so that the fam can all be on the same team (mine) and cheer together.
The possibilities are endless.
