wit wisdom and food

celebrating shared meals

fantasy football 101: myth busters

by 1 Comment

20140906-103821.jpg

Nicki at Lewis Lane Designs and I are in a fantasy football league together this year. We thought it would be fun to create some content just for the ladies who are on the fence about playing fantasy football. Nicki kicked if off yesterday with Fantasy Football Basics. Today I will be busting some of the fantasy football myths. You can find new posts from Nicki on Fridays and I will have some tips for you on Saturdays during football season.

Fantasy Football myth busters

Fantasy football is only for guys
There is absolutely no reason woman can’t play fantasy football. This isn’t a contact sport. Sometimes it actually helps to not be a guy. The over confident guy thinks he knows everything and it can cloud their judgement. They know too much sometimes and over think every play. Ladies go with their guts and can often times pull out some strong wins.

You have to know a lot about football
You don’t need to know what a nickel package is or a shotgun formation. You don’t even need to understand first downs. If you can learn the abbreviations on the stat sheets and know how your league is scored you can be good at fantasy football. If you can keep up with a game understand the positions on the offense you are good. Of course, the more you know the better off you will be but that comes with playing.

Fantasy Football is time consuming
Even though your husband/boyfriend/brother spends hours every week planning their fantasy lineup it isn’t a requirement to play. It isn’t even a requirement to play well. The year I won my league I probably spent an hour every week researching things. I did spend Sunday watching the games and my players to see who was playing well, but I wasn’t attached to the computer the rest of the week. You can put as much or as little time into it as you want. The more you spend doesn’t necessarily translate into a better team. Like I said sometimes the guys over think every move and it hurts more than it helps.

Think you might want to play next year start using this season to ask questions. The men in your life will be surprised at your interest but at least one of them will likely be more than happy to explain it to you.

Have questions about fantasy football that you don’t want to ask the guys, just leave them in the comments and Nicki and I will respond or create a future post to help you along your fantasy football journey.

Hi I am Anne and I’m a sports fan

by Leave a Comment

I am a girl and I am a sports fan. Not just a Sunday morning plop in front of the TV watch some football while I knit fan. I am an all year fan. I watch the NFL draft, the playoffs for most sports and would pick a live sporting event of any kind over almost any activity. When I am at the airport I pick Sports Illustrated over fashion magazines. I play fantasy football and I do it well.

Tour of Lucas Oil Stadium with my parents September 2012

I know I am an exception and not the rule. Many of you, my readers, are probably women and maybe you roll your eyes and get irritated that your husband keeps watching ESPN or you are happy he wants to watch the game cause it means you can go have girl time with your friends. Then again maybe you are like my mom and I and join him on the couch to cheer the home team. However, you feel about sports I am not here to change that I just want to share my love of them since this is my slice of the internet and it should showcase all of me and maybe I’ll meet some other fans. If you aren’t a football fan but would like to learn a little more check out Beka’s site Football for Normal Girls. She will teach you the fundamentals and some history.

I am a sports fan for a lot of reasons. I like having something to talk about with other fans. I like the energy in the stadiums and arenas when it is a good game. Even more than those things though, I like being the girl that watches sports. I enjoy surprising the guys with my sports IQ. It catches them off guard and it is fun to watch their surprise. I don’t know everything. I read enough to stay on top of things and I ask a lot of questions. I have learned the most guys enjoy teaching you about sports if you are genuinely interested in learning. Same as you would glad talk his ear off about the latest decorating trends if he was interested and listened patiently to your answers. Essentially, this is exactly how I became a sports fan.

It started with my dad. He patiently answered all my basic questions about football until I had a basic understanding. I probably asked the questions a million times but he just kept answering them. I never once remember him saying “Anne, I have already answered that” he just explained what a first down was until it finally sunk in. If you are interested you can read more about that here where I tell the story of my first football game. If I could go back in time I would love to sit in the bleachers behind us that day and listen to our conversation. I love eavesdropping on dad’s explaining the game to their kids. Doesn’t matter the sport there is just something precious about a dad getting to share something he loves with his kid.

Tom has been equally helpful in expanding my sport knowledge. He has taught me more about basketball and baseball. I am very excited right now for the start of the second round of the NBA playoffs that start today. Go Pacers!

I don’t enjoy competing in team sports or sports at all. I hate the bragging of winners that makes me feel like a loser and I feel bad for the loser when I am the winner. It is just too stressful. I am, however, fascinated by the concept of the team. A group of people that can put their differences aside to achieve a common goal fascinates me. The people that lead them are even more interesting to me. I love reading about teams that did the impossible. It is my favorite kind of history. Spending a vacation at a hall of fame or visiting a new ballpark or arena for a game sounds perfect to me.

Reds game September 2012 with my brother

Even though I don’t like participating I get very emotional when other people win. I cry when people win. I don’t like every team but when it comes down to it when the winners hoist the championship trophy I feel so excited for them I get misty. I have probably wiped tears from my eyes after almost every Super Bowl. Expect for that one January 2010. Every time I hear the national anthem played at a live sporting event I get goosebumps. I tune in every year to hear Jim Nabors sing “Back Home Again in Indiana” at the Indianapolis 500 and I long for my Indiana home where we are all sports fans. I will be back home this fall, where it all started, to watch a Colt’s game with my parents.

can you say "Championship"

by Leave a Comment

Well it isn’t quite time to talk about the championship but I will be making the playoffs. I talked about my love for football a few days ago. I even mentioned the family tree fantasy football league. What I didn’t mention is I am in three leagues. One I have been in for 8 seasons, the second one I have played in for 3 seasons and actually won last year and the third the family league is in the inaugural season. My team is always named the liquored up kicker. It is a nod to my favorite NFL team the Colts.
At the end of the 2003 season Mike Vanderjadt, the kicker, questioned Coach Dungy’s style and Peyton Manning’s leadership. When asked about it during an interview at the Pro Bowl Manning’s answer helped name my fantasy football teams.

The other tidbit I have left out is I am killing it in two leagues.

My longest league is a group that started from some work friends. Now I know some of them but not all. For years I was the only girl and for years I have paid my money and never seen a return because I just never caught the right breaks. This year I have the best record and the most points and a legitimate shot at playing in the final game.

Today in the family league I sealed up the top seed in my division and home field advantage. This is by far my best year in fantasy football. Playoffs in the family league start next week. Playoffs in the other league don’t start until the following week. Four more weeks of fantasy football and another season will be in the books. Hopefully I can write a happy ending, collect my winnings, raise the trophy and gloat all the way into next September.