Foray into Fantasy
I drafted my first fantasy football team over the weekend. I've never been one to understand the game of football. I used to watch with my dad when I was young and ask a million questions. It became tiring and once he stopped watching the games, I stopped paying attention.
Fast forward 20 years and now everyone and their dog is joining a fantasy football league. They're talking about it ad nauseam, in public and gathering for drafting parties. Even women are holding draft parties where they all fight over the ownership of Tom Brady. So I figured, why not? Let's find out what the hoopla is all about.
I went into the draft not having the slightest clue what I was doing. In the days and weeks leading up to draft day, people offered friendly advice but it would just go in one ear and out the other. I read Matthew Berry's articles but didn't recognize most of the player's names. What good would a name do me if I didn't know which players were starters and which were bench players? Plus, I still require my husband to explain most positions on the football field.
Then I tried watching NFL Network and ESPN in the morning and hoping I would learning something through osmosis but that didn't work either. I don't know why but the sheer mention of fantasy football makes my eyes glaze over. Yet, I am the one who asked to be included in a league.
How was I going to draft a good, solid team? The answer: I was not going to. One of the only things I did learn by hearing people talk about fantasy leagues is that newcomers usually don't fair well their first year. So, I was okay with being a rookie held to low expectations.
Draft day arrived and armed with my cheat sheet and a random list of names, I completely winged it. I made mistakes. I severely underestimated the importance of drafting running backs early and I could have done way more research on which players start and which are backups but I still think I made a few good moves. All the team owners in our league sat in a room with our laptops, watching the clock tick down. I have to admit, my heart started to pound the closer it got to draft time.
Once the draft started it was a frenzy with collective groans resonating as good players were quickly snatched up. My first pick overall was a quarterback - Matthew Stafford. (I know. I should have grabbed a running back.) My second pick was a receiver - Wes Welker. (I know. Running back.) My third pick was a running back - Darren Sproles. By that time most of the top running backs were gone so my draft got worse after that.
My starting team roster:
QB - Matthew Stafford, Det
RB - Darren Sproles, NO
RB - Ronnie Brown, SD (I picked him up after the draft)
WR - Wes Welker, NE
WR - Jordy Nelson, GB
WR - Denarius Moore, Oak
TE - Vernon Davis, SF
D/ST - 49ers
K - Sebastian Janikowski, Oak
Do I expect to do well with this team? No. Will I win a game? Maybe. Will this team provide me a reason to talk to people during the football season? Yes.
Rookie season - here I come!
I went into the draft not having the slightest clue what I was doing. In the days and weeks leading up to draft day, people offered friendly advice but it would just go in one ear and out the other. I read Matthew Berry's articles but didn't recognize most of the player's names. What good would a name do me if I didn't know which players were starters and which were bench players? Plus, I still require my husband to explain most positions on the football field.
Then I tried watching NFL Network and ESPN in the morning and hoping I would learning something through osmosis but that didn't work either. I don't know why but the sheer mention of fantasy football makes my eyes glaze over. Yet, I am the one who asked to be included in a league.
How was I going to draft a good, solid team? The answer: I was not going to. One of the only things I did learn by hearing people talk about fantasy leagues is that newcomers usually don't fair well their first year. So, I was okay with being a rookie held to low expectations.
Draft day arrived and armed with my cheat sheet and a random list of names, I completely winged it. I made mistakes. I severely underestimated the importance of drafting running backs early and I could have done way more research on which players start and which are backups but I still think I made a few good moves. All the team owners in our league sat in a room with our laptops, watching the clock tick down. I have to admit, my heart started to pound the closer it got to draft time.
Once the draft started it was a frenzy with collective groans resonating as good players were quickly snatched up. My first pick overall was a quarterback - Matthew Stafford. (I know. I should have grabbed a running back.) My second pick was a receiver - Wes Welker. (I know. Running back.) My third pick was a running back - Darren Sproles. By that time most of the top running backs were gone so my draft got worse after that.
My starting team roster:
QB - Matthew Stafford, Det
RB - Darren Sproles, NO
RB - Ronnie Brown, SD (I picked him up after the draft)
WR - Wes Welker, NE
WR - Jordy Nelson, GB
WR - Denarius Moore, Oak
TE - Vernon Davis, SF
D/ST - 49ers
K - Sebastian Janikowski, Oak
Do I expect to do well with this team? No. Will I win a game? Maybe. Will this team provide me a reason to talk to people during the football season? Yes.
Rookie season - here I come!
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