The Reason I'm Looking Forward to the End of Football Season

10.27.2010


 Somehow I got talked into joining a fantasy football league at work. I was reluctant at first, but I finally said yes for three reasons: 

1. I like sports
2. I like competition
3. I like going against normal girl trends by participating in male-dominated activities.

I do not, however, like losing. Which is why #3 usually ends up being a problem. I don't know why I continue to set myself up for failure. Obviously I think girls are better than boys, but I'm not stupid enough to claim that the average girl can beat the average boy when it comes to athleticism. This annoys me to no end, but that's how it is. 

Something else I've realized is that it's easier for boys to remember statistics about athletes, sports, games, etc. (I'm speaking, of course, about boys who like sports.) But in general it seems that while girls are better at analyzing themselves (and others), multitasking, and mostly just being awesome, boys have the ability to remember enormous amounts of information--irrelevant information, mostly, but still. They can talk for hours about a number of different topics, discussing at length what the majority of females consider to be extremely mundane details. My brothers could probably tell you which team won in the last ten World Series or how many interceptions the Jay Cutler threw five weeks ago. I remember who won the World Series last year. Before that, it's all just a jumble.

This annoys me because no matter how hard I try, I just can't retain all this information.  (Again, I feel it's important to say that I realize it's irrelevant information, but that doesn't stop me from wishing I knew it too.)

Which brings me to fantasy football.

I figured it would be fun to pick and choose my team and that it would be a great way for me to stay interested in other teams besides my own (Da Bears). I could sorta talk with my male coworkers about football, sounding cool but really only skimming over basic stuff. 

What I did not count on is the politics, the lengthy discussions at work about what player I should trade for vs. another player, and what running back I'm going to aquire for my bye week. It's bad enough to have three different males send me a taunting e-mail me on any given day, but last week my quarterback was injured and will likely be out for the rest of the season. 

Now I'm fielding 7 trade offers and trying not to look like an idiot. I can't honestly tell who I think has a better offer--I can barely follow my team, and these crazy, stat-loving boys expect me to be able to make an educated decision about how to pick up another quarterback? Seriously, this is getting ridiculous.

It's currently Week 8 in the world of football, and even though I love me some Sunday afternoon NFL, I have to say that I am looking forward to the end of football season. If only because I won't have to spend my time worrying about making a bad fantasy decision. I realize I could just give up and decide I don't care, but if you'll refer back to #2 I think you'll understand my problem. Add that to the fact that I'm currently in 1st place and have a good chance of receiving $100 at the end of all this, and I'm definitely going to stick with it.

But next year if they ask me to play, I will definitely say no. Although based on my annoying tendency to forget information, I probably won't even remember what a stressful time I had this year. So in order to save me from myself, I'm writing it down. 

Future me, consider this your warning. 
・ DESIGNED BY ECLAIR DESIGNS