Fantasy Versus Reality

I must confess my ignorance in regards to the nuances of fantasy football.

I tried it once, failed miserably, and promptly quit when I realized putting all of my favorite Saints players on my team was probably the wrong thing to do if I wanted to actually win.

I have my own version of fantasy football and it involves a PS2, any version of Madden, and some serious time spent maxing out attributes which don't affect the players' salaries.

Then I adjust the A.I. to give myself a totally unfair advantage over the computer, and I see how many times I can score 100 points versus the Falcons.

The problem is after doing this once or twice, it just stops being fun.

Why? Because any sense of drama is lost, the team no longer resembles the team I know and love, and that loss of perspective keeps me from having a connection anymore to the teams strengths and weaknesses.

No need for game planning, no need for substitutions or roster changes, no spots I'd definitely want to upgrade in a phony offseason...And I realized this is the same problem I have with fantasy football.

It is a distraction which waters down the loyalties of every person who chooses to indulge.

What is great about sports is what is great about art...You can quickly learn enough to have a basic appreciation, but the more you learn the more you realize you don't know.

It takes an hour of watching Drew Brees playing quarterback to realize how good he is with his accuracy and anticipation, but you can spend a lifetime trying to fully understand all that goes into the preparation and planning involved which make it possible for him to do things the way he does.

So why spend so much time and energy researching players on other teams, trying to follow what they are doing on gameday, constantly trying to upgrade your fake team and be some kind of blend of Jerry Jones and Nostradamus when you could have one team, one focus, one love?

If you are a real fan, there's always something to learn, always a new development, and you have all offseason to look into potential draft choices, free agents, and potential new coaches if the team you love is crappy.

And when it's Sunday, and it's cold outside, and you walk into your cosy sports bar for beers and wings, you watch one TV, not 12, you don't miss a single play because you'd rather pee in your pants than not know who missed the block which led to a sack, or who dropped that pass on third down.

Because you know your team inside and out, and that's how it should be.

One team, one love, one dream: to win a Super Bowl.

Now there's a fantasy every fan should indulge in.