With the NFL now entering its second week of play, it means Fantasy Football is well underway for those of us dedicated (and crazy) enough to participate. This year will be the third time that I have been in a league, and I can tell you from experience that it is no picnic. No, being in a Fantasy Football league is more like being on a roller coaster that is equal parts excitement and frustration. One week, you're living the dream because all of your players are on fire and kicking some serious butt, the next it's like they all got together and decided to suck it up in unison. For those of you who have never been in a league and haven't experienced this madness, here is a peek at what an average week looks like for a Fantasy Footballer.
It's Tuesday morning and you're riding high after your last big win and thinking about taking it easy this week.
You check the expected points and see that your opponent is ahead.
You may have to make some changes to your line-up after all.
You get a notification that your starting QB might be hurt,
And that your recovering RB stud has to sit out another week.
Now it's time to look to the bench...
Your backup QB's a rookie playing a top-ranked defense.
Your other, lower-tier RBS all have similar expected points and/or are playing other top-ranked run defenses.
You give yourself a day to think and when you check back, they still have your QB down as questionable.
C'mon! It's already Thursday morning and you need to get your line-up set.
You finally settle on another RB2 and think you're good to go when you see your opponent's expected points have skyrocketed.
What are they doing that you're not?
You're to the point where you start considering hitting up the waiver list to see who you can still add.
But then you decide it's too early in the season, there's no one you want to give up yet, and it's just too much work to choose someone new right now.
It's almost time for the Thursday night game and you're still unsure whether you made the right choices or not.
You decide you've stressed over this enough and now it's time to just let it all up to fate.
You have better things to do anyway.
Your only player that night is your defense. And what do you know, they're playing against Cam Newton and the Panthers.
They don't do too bad, but they still leave a lot of room for your opponent to inflict some damage.
Come Sunday and you're feeling pretty good about your chances. You even notice that you'll have the last say in the game since your opponent has no one playing Monday night.
You're first batch of players start and they're a little all over the place. Your QB and TE are grossly underperforming, so your opponent takes a big lead. You're pretty bummed.
A couple RBs and WRs start kicking it into high gear and actually pass their expected values. You're back in the game now, especially after your opponent's Flex and TE score a combined three points.
You thank God for your kicker because at this point his 17 points make him your top scorer.
Your QB/WR pair finally connect with a touchdown in the last quarter.
Your QB still only got you 12 of his 21 expected points, though.
Now it's all down to the Monday night game. With your opponent's players all done, you've got a chance for you last two players to close the gap and seal the deal.
C'mon, just 17 more points!
You sure are glad that your number one overall draft pick, Antonio Brown, is one of those last two.
You wait to check the results until after the game is over. It's too nerve-racking otherwise.
You're happier than ever to see that big 24.60 next to Antonio Brown's name.
Take that (insert opponent's name here)!
Fresh off of another victory, you decide you need a little break from Fantasy for a while.
After all, you'll be going through all of this again next week.
