by Jim Ballas
Sunday afternoon means there are two exciting things happening: football and fantasy football. Now this is only my second season doing fantasy football (I currently have two leagues), but I find that I’m not only engulfed in it, but it changes the way I watch football.
My entire life, I’ve been a Philadelphia fan. Mostly following the stereotype, I believe in our teams whole-heartedly until they disappoint me. Then it’s fair game for tears, right? Well, fantasy allows me to escape from the 4-5 reality that is the Eagles.
When I was just a die-hard Eagles fan, I would only watch their games, occasionally a division rival’s game and definitely little to no games if the season was like this one. I find that it’s the typical Philadelphia type attitude – of course, the other attitude could be watching them the whole season but still cursing at the team for not firing Reid, McNabb, Lurie, or whoever else Howard Eskin talks about this week.
But now, fantasy changed all that for me. In a constantly upsetting NFC East, I still have my two teams (one with Westbrook and Curtis) to bring it all home for me. But my two teams have more than just the two Eagles players. So because I have players on many different teams, I’m now forced to watch games like the Bills–Jets game. Surprisingly, I love them.
Every time a player you have touches the ball, this excitement runs through your body. Every time a player you have gets hit, you worry that it will be injury. Instead of just watching the game, you get to participate in your very own action.
“You don’t go to the science museum and get handed a pamphlet on electricity. You go to the science museum and you put your hand on a metal ball and your hair sticks up straight,” says Michael Scott, head of the fictional office on The Office (played by Steve Carell).
Watching football has always been a fun activity, but I never liked digesting all the statistics with every game. Now, it’s second nature because I’m following the statistics to keep up in my fantasy league. Michael Scott has it right – the best experience is gained through action, not words (and I suppose in the case of statistics, numbers).
Of course, there are always the negative aspects of fantasy football. People think it takes away from the game, but I think it adds to the excitement, as I’ve said above. I think it can add a little too much personal excitement though. I don’t mean that in the sexual innuendo way, but if you thought that… well, good job. I like where your head’s at.
The personal excitement I mean is this constant agitation, usually in the underperformance of your own players, or worse, the desire for your opponents’ players to become injured so you can win a fantasy football match.
At first, it was common place for my friends and I to say things like, “I hope Braylon Edwards breaks his wrist.” This is a terrible thing to say, especially considering we’re wishing these onto real people. It’s the cost of winning, right?
Well, the cost of winning has led to us now saying things like, “I hope Tom Brady becomes crushed on the field by the camera on the wire above the field.” This is fantasy football talking – the little red devil on my shoulder hoping for some injuries.
So fantasy football isn’t a bad thing, but it has some bad possibilities. All you have to remember is to take it lightly because it’s only a game. It should be fun, and not about hoping for injuries. If in that Mastercard commercial, Peyton was cheering for us to get paper cuts and throw out our backs while we were just doing our jobs, we wouldn’t be too happy.
So I urge you not to hate NFL players and don’t hope for their injury. Except Michael Vick – that one’s OK.
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