New Season

Today, it was calm on campus. Students walked about and I sat in my office looking out my window. I knew. I knew the time had come. In my heart, I felt that football season was finally upon us.

The occasional football jersey in the crowd was an unspoken sign from friend to foe. My team will destroy your team. Eyes met, smirks were exchanged.

Today starts the season.

The season in which I will WIN

Week 6 - no I didn't beat Peyton Manning

DISAPPOINTING!

During week six, I thought for about 2 quarters of a game (for those of you who don't know a game has 4 quarters, ya know, 4 quarters make a dollar) that I (my fantasy team) was going to be Peyton Manning.

However such a situation did not occur. Instead, a situation involving rage and disappointment occurred.

Thursday night I actually got to watch football with the Boyfriend. As you most likely don't know, I am job hunting. I have a Master's degree and I work at a golf course. Times have not been easy on me this year. However, the greatest thing that has happened to me this year (OTHER THEN BECOMING AN AUNT- because that shit is amazing) was finding the most amazing boyfriend. We were coworkers while I was in Indiana, and then when I moved back to Michigan we started talking on the reg. Then after like 4 months of being really close and intimate friends we decided to date. However now he lives in North Chicagoland and I live in the D (that mean Detroit, not dicks). I got a call for a job interview in his area and got to make an impromptu trip to see him. Watching football with him is just fun and ridiculous, he like to hug and shake and be loud.

Thursday night I didn't have anyone playing but I did make a big decision after the game, I dropped Montee Ball, the disapointting rookie I played in the first week and never again, and picked up Brandon Jacobs, a running back for the New York Giants. He scored over 25 points but since I picked him up after the game I couldn't play him (and as I write this blog post he is currently questionable with a pulled Hamstring and might not play in week 8 - so sucks to be me)

So Sunday rolls around and I am feeling happy with my line up and I start to second guess myself. I take Giovanni Bernard off my starting line up (MISTAKE) start T.Y. Hilton in my flex spot (because he seems to do well every other week, so I was hoping for good things this week). B-Rad recommends playing Steve Smith, but I don't.

Everyone under preforms, EXCEPT Josh Gordon.
But Luck - 7 points
Ray Rice - 6.4 points
Jason Witten - 4 points

Just bad news all around.

But Monday night the colts were playing and I needed 3 players to score a combined 25 points and I would have won.

BUT THE COLTS LOST to the Chargers. Have you seen their logo, its dumber then the Colts logo!

Most embarrassing thing might be, I went and bought a colts shirt to wear. (The Boyfriend wanted me to borrow his Jersey and I forgot) I bought a shit to wear to the bar, I put blue eye shadow on, and they lose. LUCK HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME.

THREE PEOPLE, 25 POINTS!!!! THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN EASY! Andrew Luck normally puts up close to 20! Wayne got 10 points up, but freaking T.Y. Hilton. You let me down again!!!

WHY CAN'T I QUIT YOU!?!?!?!

This is the face of an Angry lady in the bathroom of a bar taking a selfie in ANGER.

Week Four: I've got the eye of the tiger!!!!!

Damn that Katy Perry song. It's been in my head for ages and it also allowing my to gloat unnecessarily. Because week 4 was a win, but just barely.

Week three I complained about losing by under a point, oh how the tides had turned!

Week 4 I won by .22 of a point.

Really there are two men I can dedicate this win too, the first is Sproles, or as I call him, Darren. He rocked and scored almost 30 points in my league!!
One thing I enjoy about working at a golf course is that the TV is always on sports. So I get to watch football and work. I started out in the lead, then lost it Sunday night. I was okay with losing. I went out and I really accepted that I lost. I accepted that loss with grace too! I thought, hey something amazing needs to happen, since I only had one person playing Monday night. It was Darren, and Darren, you delivered.

The second man I have to thank for this victory is Eli Manning. Bro, what's wrong. You only put up 9 points, they predicted 17! You lost 31 to 7! I am worried about Eli. I mean, don't get me wrong, thanks for not doing better but seriously, you need to do better.

I then sang this song for like 3 days in a row.

Week Three: Just a bit too busy for football..

This week for Fantasy Football was a bit hectic.
Thursday night was my friend's bachlorette party. We got crazy in Detroit and got to watch very little of the game as we were bar hopping.
Friday was the rehearsal and dinner.
Saturday was the Wedding. It was beautiful. My handsome boyfriend was in town to enjoy it with me. We danced, the wedding was lovely and my friend Tricia was stunningly beautiful.
Sunday my boyfriend and I got to snuggle and watch football together. Something we never get to do since we rarely get to spend weekends together.

Then MONDAY I GOT ROBBED!!

I actually feel like Tyra Banks right now.

BE QUIET, FANTASY FOOTBALL! BE QUIET! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? STOP IT. I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE YELLED AT A FANTASY FOOTBALL TEAM LIKE THIS!!! WHEN MY MOTHER YELLS LIKE THIS IT'S BECAUSE SHE LOVES ME! I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU! WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOUR! HOW DARE YOU? LEARN SOMETHING FROM THIS!

I lost. AGAIN but this time by .04 of a point. .04!!!!!

Final scores were 98.26 to 98.30. Yahoo later adjusted my score down (for some reason I haven't figured out yet) to 97.58

I lost by 4 yards. FOUR FREAKING YARDS.

Then my Defense had some CRAZY SHIT happen to it.

So my defense is Cincinnati. They scored 18 points, then I looked back and they had 12 points. Mr. Anderson explained to me that the Cincinnati defense intercepted the ball. Then fumbled, recovered and then scored a touch down. The NFL and Yahoo were determining how those points would be rewarded. I guess after Cincinnati fumbled and then recovered it was no longer considered the defense playing but the offense?

I also made the mistake of not playing Josh Gordon. I picked him up early but he was still suspended for the first two games of the season. (he had codine in his system after a drug test). Instead I played Steve Smith and Reggie Wayne (who collectively scored just under 14 points). T.Y. Hilton scored a whopping 2.3 points.

I guess the colts are changing their offensive strategy from a passing to a running game. I don't actually know what that means but its messing with my points and I want it to stop!!!!

First weekend "I have created a monster!"

OH MY GOODNESS!! FANTASY FOOTBALL!! WHY ARE YOU SO AMAZING!?!?!

Andrew Luck? AMAZING

Jason Witten? AMAZING!

Montee Ball? Not so much...but IT'S OKAY because this is so much fun!

As B-Rad said to me today "I have created a monster" and it might be true.

Thursday was just a rough day for me and real life bullshit is getting in the way of my football enjoyment. We were so busy at work that night that even though the TV was on in the club house I didn't really get to watch anything that was happening with the Broncos and the Ravens. So I only caught the last quarter of the game while laying on the couch being depressed about the state of things. n

I was upset because I took a risk in my line up that didn't pay off.

I spent about 30 minutes debating who my flex should be. I decided on T.Y. Hilton. Then when I talked to scuba Steve he said it was smarter to play a running back. So I switched Hilton for Montee Ball, and that was the wrong decision.

Montee Ball got the ball a fair bit in the 4th but he couldn't get through the defense at all! He earned me 2.40 points and damn it sucked.

I was feeling really discouraged. Yet as B-Rad and the Boyfriend kept saying, there is still a lot of football to be played. B-Rad also reminded me that it's better to trust my gut then take advice from someone else.

FINALLY it was Sunday. B-Rad and I both roll into work both of us hung over. Both of us a bit down trodden. Until I reminded B-Rad that its sunday! I swear he actually inflated!

I absolutely hate that yahoo predicts and give percentages of who is going to win because all day I was predicited to lose. At one point I had a 15% chance to win, then i have a 50% chance to win, then I had a 20% chance to win! It was an emotional roller coaster!

Believe it or not, my saving grace was David Wilson. He sucked so badly (-2.4 points) and was on my opposing team. He made Ball seem a winner with his two points.

Also Jason Witten is a beast.

So I won my first game of fantasy football and I am addicted.

I meant to post this before Thursday but things have been so busy. Between my friend getting married next weekend and the Museum I volunteer at having a party the following week I just haven't had the time.

However this upcoming week I am once again the underdog. I rotated my roster, pulled Ball, put my back up tight end in as my flex and we'll see how things pan out.

Well, it's almost football season.

When I told my friends I wanted to play fantasy football this year, I was met with confusion.

There was some laughter, some jokes but even more people asked me why.

Why would a 26 year old woman with no previous interest in football want to play a game that involves stats, time and most importantly football?

Some of my friends mistook my interest in fantasy football as a way to get closer too/impress my football loving boyfriend. This is incorrect. I love my boyfriend, but this season isn't for him. It's for me.

I want to play fantasy football for me.

I want to gain a greater appreciation for one of America's past times. I want to be involved in conversations about football. Most importantly I want to try something new.

Now my football backgrounds is limited. I was in color guard in High school and for one year in college. Which meant I not only watched but I attended several seasons of football games. I have dated football fans and one of my exes was an assistant high school football coach. I have sat through Super Bowl Parties. I taught football players at a teaching assistant during my master's program.

But frankly I am from a hockey family. We never watched Football growing up.

I am not disinterested in sports. I played golf in High school. I swam as a child. I even played roller derby for almost two years before a knee injury took me off skates for good.

While football never seemed interesting to me, there is something about football that millions of other people love. Frankly I want to know what that love feels like. I want to cheer for people I don't know. I want to go to a game and drink beer and trash talk like the best of them! I want to talk to people about how so-and-so played. I want to feel the excitement of victory and the sadness at the end of the season.

I think the best way to become a part of the football culture is to fully immerse myself and that is with fantasy football.

So here goes a grand personal adventure.