And it's good!
I love football. The thunder of helmets clashing against helmets and pads, the long hurled ball above the action drawn right to the receiver's numbers, the diving catch, the elegant dash through a precise hole created by a perfectly executed block...
right to the other side of the ball with the perfect read, the leveling of the quarterback who has no place to go but down, the perfect hit to free the pigskin prize for anyone to capture....Are you ready for some football?
So I haven't always been a football fan. Sure I went to all the games in high school, but I only sometimes glanced at the scoreboard to see who was winning. It wasn't about watching football in high school.
My brothers were into football a bit more. We were all Dolphins fans because all good Floridians are Dolphins fans. They watched the games sometimes. Mostly they just had a Dolphins football that they tossed around in house and backyard til somebody got hurt or in trouble (cause what is football play between brothers without tackling and general butt kicking?)
My senior year of college I lived with football fans. If a game was on, I mostly tried to poke fun or ask really inane questions. Football didn't seem very elegant or interesting to me, and it certainly was one of those damn irritating things that men couldn't make any plans on Sundays that might interfere with "the game."
But over time I started watching the games. I remember this happened more my first year of vet school when I used to go with Mr. Vhale over to duke_orsino's place and watch the games. It was really more about Doug Flutie, Dan Marino and the Dolphins at this point, but Mr. Vhale was already working his Pats into my brain. Turns out knowing the players makes you associate with a team more. I discovered another cool thing about football. I was previously a soccer fan where the whole game is action and you have to watch every minute. In football, there's lots of downtime. And when you aren't a huge fan, you can do other things while watching or listening to the game, like study. So I started listening to the games on my car rides back to Boston. And then I would put on the games while I was studying at night.
And then came fantasy football. My addiction became complete. I became vested in the sport. And not just in a single team. Yes, the fantasy football lure worked completely in that I became interested in every team in the NFL since I had players spread out far and wide and so did my opponent. I went from cheering or booing performances to trying to analyze performances. Then came greater understanding of the game, the seeking of sports columns, and the heated debates between other football fans.
I have a very analytical personality, so the addition of fantasy football to my life just gave me this great analytical outlet where I could repeatedly visit the free agent page over and over again pouring over the available players.
And how can I not be thinking about fantasy football without thinking about my own personal ff curse. See, I think I do a reasonable job on the waiver wire. I figure out who might be a good pick up for a week and grab them. My curse is this: I pick up the player, but then for some reason decide not to start them that first week I own them. That player then has the best week he will have all season on my bench. This has happened on many occassions. You would think I would learn, and I do learn. Alas I am cursed. I am doomed to repeat, so my fingers can't actually hit the "active" button for those players....
All in good fun! ;-)
Now what time's the game on?
right to the other side of the ball with the perfect read, the leveling of the quarterback who has no place to go but down, the perfect hit to free the pigskin prize for anyone to capture....Are you ready for some football?
So I haven't always been a football fan. Sure I went to all the games in high school, but I only sometimes glanced at the scoreboard to see who was winning. It wasn't about watching football in high school.
My brothers were into football a bit more. We were all Dolphins fans because all good Floridians are Dolphins fans. They watched the games sometimes. Mostly they just had a Dolphins football that they tossed around in house and backyard til somebody got hurt or in trouble (cause what is football play between brothers without tackling and general butt kicking?)
My senior year of college I lived with football fans. If a game was on, I mostly tried to poke fun or ask really inane questions. Football didn't seem very elegant or interesting to me, and it certainly was one of those damn irritating things that men couldn't make any plans on Sundays that might interfere with "the game."
But over time I started watching the games. I remember this happened more my first year of vet school when I used to go with Mr. Vhale over to duke_orsino's place and watch the games. It was really more about Doug Flutie, Dan Marino and the Dolphins at this point, but Mr. Vhale was already working his Pats into my brain. Turns out knowing the players makes you associate with a team more. I discovered another cool thing about football. I was previously a soccer fan where the whole game is action and you have to watch every minute. In football, there's lots of downtime. And when you aren't a huge fan, you can do other things while watching or listening to the game, like study. So I started listening to the games on my car rides back to Boston. And then I would put on the games while I was studying at night.
And then came fantasy football. My addiction became complete. I became vested in the sport. And not just in a single team. Yes, the fantasy football lure worked completely in that I became interested in every team in the NFL since I had players spread out far and wide and so did my opponent. I went from cheering or booing performances to trying to analyze performances. Then came greater understanding of the game, the seeking of sports columns, and the heated debates between other football fans.
I have a very analytical personality, so the addition of fantasy football to my life just gave me this great analytical outlet where I could repeatedly visit the free agent page over and over again pouring over the available players.
And how can I not be thinking about fantasy football without thinking about my own personal ff curse. See, I think I do a reasonable job on the waiver wire. I figure out who might be a good pick up for a week and grab them. My curse is this: I pick up the player, but then for some reason decide not to start them that first week I own them. That player then has the best week he will have all season on my bench. This has happened on many occassions. You would think I would learn, and I do learn. Alas I am cursed. I am doomed to repeat, so my fingers can't actually hit the "active" button for those players....
All in good fun! ;-)
Now what time's the game on?