A Women's Perspective

Well. I’m supposed to tell you about my first year as a woman in the world of Fantasy Football. Primarily a man’s world, true. But my husband invited me to play- it was something that we could do together, and I might learn more about football (maybe even have fun) in the process. True. True. True.

So when I first signed up for this whole fantasy world, I agreed to putting together one team. Matthew (my husband) had 9 in the works. As he was trying to get all of his leagues filled up, there was an empty slot in one, and I got roped into that one as well. That’s fine. Two drafts, two leagues, two teams to keep up during the season. I guess I can handle that.

First draft came up; I knew of only two players that I KNEW I WANTED. Matthew helped me do some research to fill up the other 13 slots. I did a mock draft, I think it slightly helped, but not as much as mock drafts help Matthew. Basically what I’m saying is, I went into the draft not knowing a whole lot of what I needed to do. I made my first round pick and was ridiculed by my then-13 year old brother-in-law. Thanks Andrew. I continued through the rest of the draft, fairly unscathed. Everything worked out.

As I went into the second draft I knew I wanted those same two players, but my brother-in-law was in that league too and he knew my two players, so he sniped one from me. RUDE! I had to pick up a player that I knew nothing about….he was a complete BUST.

Throughout the season, I won and I lost. I ended one league 8th of 12 and the other 6th of 10. I did not end up in last place! Also, it is really satisfying to beat a man at a man’s game. (You can write that one down in your journal!)

I think I’m playing again this year. That is, if I’m invited again.

My Advice For You:

First, start with one team. Do some research. Have in mind 3-5 players that you would want for each position. It is fine to have that ONE player that you know you want, but have some backups. Know how your league commissioner has the scoring set up for your league. Not that you can do anything about it, but it is good to know where your points come from. Ease into the world of Fantasy Football. One last thing, it’s a cliché, HAVE FUN.

It’s fun to cheer for your team when you watch 75 games each Sunday. You become invested in the games. You have something that you can talk about with more than 30 million people!