So I made a mistake...
A few weeks ago, my Fantasy Football team looked rock solid and I was on the verge of going 6-3 (the best start I've ever had in my years of attempting to play Fantasy Football). I got a little cocky and decided to pick up Seahawks WR David Moore and start him over Keenan Allen, star WR for the LA Chargers. Previously, David Moore was catching everything and scoring TDs left and right, and I had so much confidence in him that I was willing to shave a few points instead of starting Allen...that completely backfired in my face! Not only did David Moore drop the game-saving TD at the end of that Seahawks game where they lost to the Chargers, but Keenan Allen had a big game and outscored David Moore in Fantasy points by a considerable margin. Had I not let my personal bias in the Seahawks affect my Fantasy choices, I would've been 6-3, in second place and more than likely competing at the end of the season for the cash prize. I sit here at 5-5, falling behind in the race, all because I thought a third or fourth string WR would out perform the star WR for the Chargers.
It goes way past Fantasy Football, if you let your personal bias in sports affect how you talk sports, then I wouldn't recommend you to broadcast for ESPN. You have to be smart when talking sports, and that also means you have to be realistic when discussing it. I'd love to sit here and tell my friends that the Seahawks will go 16-0 and make it to the Super Bowl, but that's just unrealistic, even though they're my team. I believe I also let my personal bias get the better of me when I made my 2018 predictions for both UW and the Seahawks. If you recall (and I prefer if you don't recall as they were so bad) I had the Seahawks at 10-6 and I had the Huskies losing only one game, and returning to the College Football Playoff. That clearly didn't happen! The Seahawks can still go 10-6, but they would have to lose one more game down the stretch as they have another seven games and I'm being realistic when I say that it's not going to happen. As for UW, it was a bit more of a shocker as they underperformed this year, but still have a shot at winning the Pac-12 Championship, but they didn't exceed my expectations that were drowned in bias.
So please, root on your teams — cheer loud for them! However, when it involves Fantasy Football, an in-depth and smart conversation about sports, or trying to sound smart even if you don't understand sports completely, be realistic. We all know our teams are going to lose a couple of games throughout the season. It's more than okay to have high expectations, but it's key to remember that letting bias into sports conversations is the worst way to make yourself sound smart.
