draft board 2, originally uploaded by theogeo.
Picture this: a Thursday night in August. A nice quiet evening on the couch with a book and a glass of wine. Sitting next to me is my boyfriend looking through images of horses, snakes, was that a goat?! Looking for the perfect helmet design on his Fantasy Football website. I didn’t know you could do THAT. You pick your team name as well –A marketer’s dream. Then, alas, in a flash of light, the power goes out…and all hell breaks loose.
Did you know how important it is to be on time for fantasy football drafts?! I did not; my boyfriend does. Panic ensuing, he called our friend who lives down the street to see if her power was out. He paced back and forth (scaring the cat) and well, just seemed so sad.
Lesson #1 : you must be ready when your turn rolls around or you lose the chance to pick all the good players. Which, by the way, are online players modeled after real players. And the winnings! You can earn hundreds or even thousands. I never win anything, so $10 alone would make me do a touchdown dance (check out YouTube for some classic touchdown celebrations) Already, my interest is piqued.
Lesson #2: you must pay attention to the games ALL DAY Sunday to keep up with the status of the real players who represent the fantasy players on your team. This weekend I celebrated my birthday with my family and listened to my brother discuss his fantasy teams (he is on three!!) with my boyfriend. He had to “bench” one of his players, Wes Welker of the NE Patriots, who was injured in real life. Wow – thank god for mobile devices….
Lesson #3: you have to decide just how loyal you are to your NFL team vs. your fantasy team. Why? Well, for example, what if you are an Atlanta Falcons fan but your starting fantasy QB is Drew Brees from the New Orleans Saints (they are division rivals and play each other twice a year). Your loyalty lies with the Falcons but you REALLY want to win that $100. Talk about inner turmoil. Some even say the fantasy is ruining football. But I’ll leave it up to you to decide once you get into the game.
Watch for Part 2 where I answer basic fantasy football questions:
- How do you start a league?
- What are the rules?
- How does scoring work?
Oh, and for those of you wondering about my boyfriend – crisis averted. The power came back on just in time! :)
