Sunday, week 2 of the season - Early Morning Rumble

It’s nine o’clock in the morning and everybody--well, almost everybody--has rolled out of bed to get in on the action. With kickoffs starting in five minutes I look around and survey the crowd. They sit in anticipation awaiting the action, with the jerseys of their favorite teams showcasing what will be the demeanor for the next three or so hours. Some hold their coffees close, while others have already begun with their pitchers of chilled Alaskan beer.

9:15 - Voices have begun to show themselves, and the coffee, or alcohol, has already kicked in. A few teams are on the scoreboard and I am already losing one of my fantasy games--Thank You Roddy White!

10:00 - Forty-five minutes later, a few drinks in, and I am feeling it. I’ve been rooting for the enemy for the about the last hour and it’s killing me on the inside. As a fan of the Denver Broncos I hate their divisional rivals, and usually root against them. But today, as is almost every week in the life of fantasy football, I am rooting for the enemy. This is because they have players on their team that are on my fantasy team, and I have to root for those players in order for me to win. In this case, I am rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs because they are playing the Cleveland Browns and I have their defensive/special teams. FML.

12:00 - The first games are over and I hold my head up as high as I can. The problem? I was rooting for the enemy, and although it turned out good for me, they won too, which leaves the Broncos behind in the division. Some People think that I am crazy for wanting the ‘bad guy’ to win, but I assure that is not what I want. It is more of a personal need than anything else. Because in the end, fantasy football is an achievement of ones own needs and showcases your skills on drafting players and beating up on the other players in your league.

12:04 - I sit with my friends, talk shit, and await for the kickoff. The Denver Broncos versus the Seattle Seahawks. I’ve been waiting a long time for this. One last glance around the room and I am in for a treat. There are more Seahawks fans than Broncos fans and I get to yell at each one of them: This is going to be fun…

12:05 - The Broncos game is starting, and my attention will be fully focused for the next three hours.

getting in on the action

Sitting in front of all the games, trying to get in on the action, and watching teams beat up on each other is what Sundays are all about. Rooting for your favorite teams and against divisional foes is like waking up in the morning and grabbing something to chow down on: It just comes natural. However, if you are involved in what I have recently termed, “the game of the century,” then you are just as disturbed as I am when it comes kickoff time. This frustrating game is called Fantasy Football, and it has become one of the most surprising up and comers in the market of gaming, and of course gambling. The market for Fantasy Football has exploded since the availability of computers and the internet. It is a multi billion dollar industry and people play it for several reasons: fun, competition, gambling, etc. It’s competitive nature is what brings people back every year, searching for those players who will give their team the edge, and possibly even a championship.

Now, if you don’t know the rules, basically you take turns picking football players, to be on your team, who actually play in the National Football League. What they do in a real game, their statistics, is what you get in fantasy points. At the end of the week, whoever has the most fantasy points in a match wins. There are many types of formats when it comes to fantasy football, but we are going to stick with a normal head to head format in this blog.