Fantasy Football and other Fall Frights

I'm SLOWLY (kicking and screaming) accepting that fall is right around the corner. Now mind you, there are certain things about fall that I love - the changing leaves, crisp mornings, apple cider and football. I love going to live games and have sat through a myriad of high school games as Travis played, Whitney cheered, and Alex drummed in halftime shows. I used to take in Cougar games to watch Jason Hanson set all sorts of kicking records at WSU (he was our neighbor at the time.) I always participate in the office football pool (just want to point out that I won last year - I have to keep bragging about this as it will likely never happen again). But this year, Travis invited me to be in his Fantasy Football League. Keep in mind that I barely watch pro football - the Seahawks if they play on Sunday, and usually the playoffs and Superbowl. I know a few players, but don't have a clue about their stats. I overhear injury reports on ESPN and the latest doings of players from the FF freaks in my family.

Due to my lack of knowledge among other lame excuses, I have resisted the urge to get involved in Fantasy Football even though every member of my family participates. I am well aware of a couple of things: 1. I would feel overwhelmed with the process and 2. I would get completely competitive and obsess about the whole thing to the point that I will spend hours online trying to figure it all out so I won't look like an idiot. And it begins.....

Travis called on Thursday and asked me to join. I am hard pressed to tell Trav "no" about anything. So I said yes and then had a complete panic attack. I had to get ready to leave for the weekend. Our draft was Saturday. I wouldn't have computer access while I was gone so I madly tried to set up my player rankings so that the computer would pick as many of my favorites as I could get my hands on. Since I didn't have enough favorites to make up a team and also the fact that my favorites were not necessarily good, I had to do some research. So instead of cleaning and packing, I was checking out the online predictions. I was scrambling together a player list and hoping I had it set up right. I was actually nervous at 9:55 on Saturday (this is why I usually have the sense to resist these sorts of situations for myself). Keith was hogging his laptop and not telling me a thing. I was pacing and pretending I could care less. Lies! When I learned who the computer picked for me, I was not enamored with the system. I then had to learn how to trade, add, drop, rearrange my roster. YIKES! What are waivers? What does 90% ownership mean? How do I bribe my husband into trading quarterbacks?

And so you see my problem. I can never do things halfway. I can't just relax and enjoy being part of something. I have to at least attempt to do it WELL. I can see myself over the next few weeks -- absorbed in the internet chat about players and teams, watching every game on t.v. so I can see how my players do, seeking advice from the "pros" around me, succumbing to "those FF conversations" that I could tune out in the past. SIGH......

Fall has taken on a whole new meaning.

This is my guy - I'm counting on him to make me look like I know what I'm doing. GO HAWKS!!!!