Football, and especially fantasy football, is a game. In fantasy football, you get to pick, trade, and sign players to your fictional team and act as a GM. A job almost no one will ever get to do. Players of fantasy football watch every play with interest as the result impacts their chances of winning and losing to their friends, coworkers, or strangers who play the game as well.
For me, fantasy football has become more than a hobby as I now run the fantasy department here at CSM.
However, before I was ever hired to write about this, I played for the love of the game. I loved watching athletes do things that I could never dream of, and I loved that this silly app allowed me to feel directly involved in their superhuman feats.
As it sits, I am in 13 fantasy leagues (I know, yikes) and I manage them every day. I follow people on Twitter for more insight into the players. I even write my own advice pieces on the site to help those who might need that little bit of advice to make their final decision.
13 leagues may seem like a lot, and it is. That means I am in constant contact with roughly 140 different people across those leagues. So why am I in so many leagues? Because, like so many of the 75 million other players of the game, fantasy football allows me a small escape from the monotony of the day and the stressors that come with it.
I work as a nurse, a psychiatric nurse. That means care for people dealing with various mental health issues such as Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, and borderline personality disorder. I treat homeless people, those dealing with drug or alcohol addiction, and the occasional physical ailment like wounds or chronic pain.
Working in a field like that is already tough, but add in the worst pandemic in recent history, certainly in my lifetime, and it just became all the more difficult. I want to make something clear before I continue. I love my job and I do not want to seem like I am complaining. Everyone has stressful jobs and I appreciate what each and every one of you are doing, especially in these trying times, to keep yourself going.
I can only speak for myself, a nurse in a pandemic that refuses to go away, I need fantasy football.
Maybe not fantasy football specifically, but certainly a way to escape the world for a bit here and there. For me that happens to be fantasy football. Some people knit, some play video games, or some get really into model trains.
All of those are perfectly acceptable if you enjoy them!
Here is the main reason why I love fantasy football. For all the leagues I am in and the others I will join, there is one that matters most to me. The league my friends and I started when we were in college. When I moved from the Boston area down to Tallahassee Florida, I was so nervous. But, with my family 1200 miles away, I made a new one. Rather, I added to my family. A group of people that I can’t imagine my life without them in it. I flew down to Florida, like I do every year, to draft with my brothers.
I know that I love football and I am sure if you are reading this article, you do too. Remember this season while you are screaming at Miles Sanders for dropping a pass, or Kyler Murray for throwing a pick, or Sean McVay for going with a committee-based RB approach, that fantasy football isn’t really about winning or losing. Bragging rights, or money. It’s about who you play with.
The season starts tomorrow, and I couldn’t be more excited. The group chat is going to be blowing up with trash talk between my friend who is a Cowboys fan and my buddies who now live in Tampa. We are in our late 20’s now, but fantasy football season feels like we never left college. Trash talk, hype, laughter, and fun make this season go way too fast. But I will make sure I enjoy every second of it.
To my friends I say this, I have loved and continue to love our insane pastime of playing make-believe GM.
Now that I have said all of that, I welcome every one of you to the 2021 season of fantasy football! Good luck, have fun, and don’t draft a QB in the first 5 rounds!
Until Next Time
Here at Championship Sports Media, we like to have fun, write from the heart, and give you the best that we have in terms of content and effort. With that being said, we appreciate your time. I truly appreciate your time, if you want more fantasy input or advice from me be sure to check out the site frequently.
My teammates here at CSM are amazing as well. Look for their newest posts on various topics, give the site a follow as well: Twitter linked here, take a look at the shop which is linked here. Be good, be good to each other, and have a great day!
