Fantasy Football 2012: Can Women Consider It an Extramarital Affair?

I've thought long and hard about sharing this story, and now I know it's time. I hope in sharing something so personal, I can help other people.

Here we go.

My confession is that every fall, my husband has an affair. It's hard—really hard—and I never get used to it. But when you love someone, you learn to work through all kinds of challenges. For whatever reason, these are just the cards I was dealt.

But let's be clear on one thing: It's not another woman he strays to.

Are you kidding? I'd never put up with that.

No, it's fantasy football that steals his heart. It's a seductive beast—luring him in, taking all he's got and then dropping him like an old pair of shoes when his players get injured.

In fact, it mirrors most celebrity relationships: hot and cold, up and down and plenty of unnecessary media coverage.

The reason I consider this behavior an affair is that for months during football season, my husband is more dedicated to power rankings and NFL draft picks than anything else. On Sundays, meals are eaten while he reviews the latest stats. And his phone alerts? They're more high maintenance than a newborn.

I'm fairly confident he spends more time managing his team than he does on me, and I'll be damned if I don't get a little jealous. At least our anniversary falls outside of football season, or this could get really ugly.

Now as I get booed off the stage by you crazy fantasy fans, let me say that I have no aversion to football. I was raised in a sports-crazy household and this girl can hold her own in the sports-talk arena. But never having been part of a fantasy league, it's difficult to understand the passion that surrounds it.

There's no female equivalent to this frenzied obsession, and if there were, I can't imagine I'd be interested unless if was something like fantasy shopping. Once, in a moment of frustration, I made the mistake of comparing a fantasy league to Farmville, to which I received a lethal stink-eye.

And before you say it, I already know. There are lots of women who participate in these leagues for all different sports. However, I don't know any of them. So I'll pose the question, to both men and women: Can fantasy football be accurately deemed an extramarital affair?