"Wait, you play Fantasy Football?" Why is there always the tone of surprise there? I've never understood why men feel as though women cannot grasp the concept of football. Sure, I may not know all the details and stats of the NFL players, but I get the gist of it.
I am the first to admit - I'm working on understanding everything that encompasses Fantasy Football, and I'm probably not that great. Drafting your own team is difficult, and choosing the perfect lineup every week has proved to be frustrating. One week, I bench a player; he scores 28 fantasy points. I add that same player to my lineup the following week; he scores 5 fantasy points.
The other day, I had someone ask me, "So, how did you choose your players on your team? Did you just randomly pick names and hope for the best?" Yeah, that's exactly how it went. I am just so incredibly dumb when it comes to sports that I decided to put join a 12-team league just because I wanted to blow a crisp $20 bill of mine. This guy can't be serious. I did my research. I didn't just blindly pick Drew Brees and Zach Ertz because they had cool sounding names.
So why is there a stigma surrounding girls playing Fantasy Football? I have plenty of other girlfriends who are in leagues and run their own teams. It's not an astounding fact that women can learn the rules and manage a fantasy team each season.
I have just started getting into the show "The League", and if you haven't seen it yet, I suggest you check it out. It's about a group of guys who have a Fantasy Football league and each season of the show focuses on a new season of fantasy football. At one point of the show, the guys are short a player in their league. One of the character's wives asks to join, and she's immediately shot down. Eventually, she's voted in, but I still find it hilarious that that very concept was brought up in the midst of the show. Is this a reoccurring theme because men don't want to potentially lose to women in fantasy games, or is it because they truly think women don't or shouldn't understand football?
Regardless, I'm having a great time playing in my league. I learn more each and every week, and I've gotten to be competitive about it. I hate losing, I hate seeing players on my bench outscore the players I have on my starting lineup, and I hate when half my roster decides to tear their ACL's and displace their ribs in the same week. I may not be the league champion this season, but I'm prepared to go down fighting for as long as I can. Don't question why I play the game; question yourself as to why you're asking me why I'm playing.
