When The Real World Interferes With Fantasy Football Oct 25, 2007 | More

Sometimes in this real world, you just want to get away from what is known as life. There is nothing better than to take the edge off of the everyday stresses of what is the new grown up world. As a kid, you could use your imagination and play all day as there was nothing ever to worry about; at least not yet. However, being an adult is an entirely different matter, as you have to face the reality of responsibility and doing what you have to do to survive in this cruel, cruel world. Usually, I find outlets to alleviate the stress and monotony of real life, with fantasy football being one of them.

With the fires in Southern California , and the wars across three time zones in the Middle East , it is nice to sit down and try and figure out who you are going to start in your fantasy lineup, then following the match up all day on a computer to see if you have won. Unfortunately, you can’t always do that as real life can get in the way of fantasy football. Just in case you were wondering why my articles have all but disappeared, this is the main reason why. I have less and less time to get anything done, much less anything to do with fantasy football. I barely even get my lineups submitted in all 8 of my leagues.

But, this is not about me. This is about all of us that has ever felt the weight of reality pushing on us to where we simply ran out of time for the fun stuff, and that includes fantasy football. Surely, if you have a family, you have gone through this at one time or another. Perhaps, you have had a child who is sick or in the hospital, or maybe your wife needs an operation. All of the sudden, deciding on whether to make that trade in your league is not as important.

Then, there is your job and maybe they have added more and more responsibility on you. You have gone from 40 hours a week to working more like 60 hours, then you realize how much less time there is in the day for leisure activities. If you want to keep a roof over your head and food in your belly, you do not complain. I am sure your boss will understand perfectly that you do not have enough time to run an efficient fantasy team. He would tell you to “Get real.”

Maybe it is another entire reason entirely. Perhaps, you have had all this free time on your hands because you were single and all you had to do is pay attention to yourself. Well, then you have to fill up your time with something, right? Why not fill it up with fantasy football? It surely seems logical, doesn’t it? Then, you meet someone and fall in love and you have less and less time to spend on fantasy football. You know, because, certain someone wants all or most of your attention. Since you are not stupid and this your only chance to score, you comply to her every request and need. One thing then leads to another….

And, then all of the sudden, you notice yourself married and she is pregnant. This all happens so fast, but as a proud future Papa, you do not care. You will do anything to make the mother of your child happy, and guess what? That takes up a lot of time from what used to be important, fantasy football. After the birth of your child, there is even less and less time, because kids need a ton of time. If there are 24 hours in day, a child needs 50 of it. If you are a parent, you understand this statement.

So, where does this leave fantasy football in the pecking order; Pretty low on the priority list. It doesn’t matter how much you try and try to get back into it. You cannot possibly effectively manage 12 teams like you used to. You Get a Job, get married and have children and surprises happen all along the way, cutting into what used to be one of your favorite hobbies. That is the sad reality of well, reality. No matter how long you try to escape it, it is going to happen to all of us in one shape, form or another. Real Life is going to interfere with your fantasy football teams.

What can you do? Well, you can start by managing your time better. You could cut down on the amount of teams that you have. You don’t really need 12 teams, anyway. Eventually, your kid is going to grow into a teenager and your wife will learn to ignore you leaving you with plenty of time for fantasy football. Until then, you are just going to have to face reality; that there is less time for fantasy football.

As always, if you have any hate mail, fan mail, complaints, death threats, or if you just want to drop a line telling me how awesome I am; email me at Lundylove@msn.com. I might even answer some of your deepest darkest fantasy questions as long as it is about football. If they are good enough I might even post them in an upcoming article, and share your knowledge with the world