Rookie Report: Week 1
This is the third in a series of columns where I’m documenting my “if you can’t beat ’em, join ‘em” journey from total sports apathy to — maybe — diehard fan, joining my very first fantasy football league. Read the first column here to see how I got into this mess.
Once I had survived my draft, it was time to prep for Week 1.
Right off the bat, the projections didn’t look great. I was predicted to lose by something like 12 points. Cool. Off to a great start.
I took a look at my team to make sure the players with the highest projected points for each position were set to be on the field, versus on my bench.
I also needed to swap out my defense. I had drafted the Bengals D/ST, but the Bills were available and were projected to bring in more points Week 1, so I made my first waiver pick-up. (In the interest of full transparency, I had to ask what this was called because I had a feeling “Add/Drop” wasn’t it.) I was weirdly satisfied with myself for seeing this opportunity and for being able to execute it in the app.
My tinkering helped, but only a little. I was projected to bring in 106.4 points, but still slated to lose to my opponent by 1.7 points.
My opponent’s punny team name also made me feel insecure about my team’s plain name and I made a note to try to come up with something better. Though I’m normally a pretty punny person in general, knowing how to pronounce players names properly is kind of necessary, so I’m behind the eight-ball. (PSA: “Garçon” is not pronounced “Garr-Con.”)
I was away on a business trip for NFL Kickoff on Thursday, but I had Brandin Cooks on the field, so I found myself searching for the game on the hotel TV (something I couldn’t recall ever doing, in all my travels).
I got sucked in. I found myself refreshing the ESPN app repeatedly and getting excited about every measly fraction of a point. When Tyreek Hill threw up the deuces and ran off into the sunset I rushed to check if my opponent had him. (He didn’t. Whew.)
The next morning at the conference, I felt a strange and unfamiliar desire to talk about the game. When I heard people talking about football, my ears perked up and I weaseled my way over and into the conversation. Someone lamented having benched Kareem Hunt, and I was so happy to get the reference that I worried it showed on my face and I’d get called out for it.
I didn’t even know these people’s names, but I felt a camaraderie. Is this fandom? Maybe I was too invested already.
When Sunday came around, I asked my fiancé if we were going to be meeting up with friends to watch the games. Who even am I?
I ultimately ended up losing the first week, 93.8 to 110. Brutal. But I finally felt like I was getting the swing of things. Here’s hoping Week 2 goes a little better.
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