I'VE DECIDED TO RETIRE FROM FANTASY FOOTBALL (1 Viewer)

[Politician Spock]

I gave it up a few years ago. I was successful at it (thanks to Cheatsheets.net). While I continued to play, I felt like my success meant something. Having given it up, looking back the game of FF looks no different to me than my days of playing Pac Man. I now feel like my success was completely meaningless.

So my advice to you is if you want your success to continue to mean something to you, don't give it up.

 

[DocHolliday]

I get the walking away but not why someone would join this forum just to make the announcement.

I have been playing FF in a local league for about 12 years. I used to love it. Now, it is just a way to keep in contact with long-time friends. Most of us have been friends since grade school in the 70s.

I rarely watch the NFL. It is not what it used to be. But, FF is not about the football at this point. I know that if I walk away from this league that I may not see some of those friends again.

 

[Fariq]

I am not sure how a "friendship" would die if you stopped playing fantasy football.

 

[Borden]

I am not sure how a "friendship" would die if you stopped playing fantasy football.

Really? I'm assuming you're very young. No offense, in any way, by that. As you get older there is less and time for friends. Fantasy football is a time when you can be in loose communication. You're not completely loosing touch with someone. I have a couple friends that I only see 2 or maybe, maybe 3 times a year. One of those times is at a FF draft.

People move and have families.

 

[Freelove]

I am not sure how a "friendship" would die if you stopped playing fantasy football.

Really? I'm assuming you're very young. No offense, in any way, by that. As you get older there is less and time for friends. Fantasy football is a time when you can be in loose communication. You're not completely loosing touch with someone. I have a couple friends that I only see 2 or maybe, maybe 3 times a year. One of those times is at a FF draft.

People move and have families.

And you tend to drift geographically, to boot.

 

[Fariq]

I am not sure how a "friendship" would die if you stopped playing fantasy football.

Really? I'm assuming you're very young. No offense, in any way, by that. As you get older there is less and time for friends. Fantasy football is a time when you can be in loose communication. You're not completely loosing touch with someone. I have a couple friends that I only see 2 or maybe, maybe 3 times a year. One of those times is at a FF draft. People move and have families.

There are online drafts and Skype and whatnot. I have participated in in-person drafts and I didn't get what was so special about it. Okay, all the owners are together, but big whoop. Maybe that's just not my bag.

Most of my friends live in other states and we still participate in leagues.

 

[Borden]

I am not sure how a "friendship" would die if you stopped playing fantasy football.

Really? I'm assuming you're very young. No offense, in any way, by that. As you get older there is less and time for friends. Fantasy football is a time when you can be in loose communication. You're not completely loosing touch with someone. I have a couple friends that I only see 2 or maybe, maybe 3 times a year. One of those times is at a FF draft. People move and have families.

There are online drafts and Skype and whatnot. I have participated in in-person drafts and I didn't get what was so special about it. Okay, all the owners are together, but big whoop. Maybe that's just not my bag.

Most of my friends live in other states and we still participate in leagues.

If you don't think getting together with 10-12 of your friends and spending a summer afternoon/night doing a draft, having some beers and talking football is more fun than doing an online/Skype draft then have to call BS on you. I'm assuming you're just busting my balls.

 

[Fariq]

I am not sure how a "friendship" would die if you stopped playing fantasy football.

Really? I'm assuming you're very young. No offense, in any way, by that. As you get older there is less and time for friends. Fantasy football is a time when you can be in loose communication. You're not completely loosing touch with someone. I have a couple friends that I only see 2 or maybe, maybe 3 times a year. One of those times is at a FF draft. People move and have families.

There are online drafts and Skype and whatnot. I have participated in in-person drafts and I didn't get what was so special about it. Okay, all the owners are together, but big whoop. Maybe that's just not my bag.Most of my friends live in other states and we still participate in leagues.

If you don't think getting together with 10-12 of your friends and spending a summer afternoon/night doing a draft, having some beers and talking football is more fun than doing an online/Skype draft then have to call BS on you. I'm assuming you're just busting my balls.

I prefer online. I truly don't care for in-person drafts. What can I tell ya?

I draft to pick players, not to socialize or drink beer. I find it sad that people need a draft to maintain relationships.

 

[DocHolliday]

Thanks to the posters for explaining this for me. You got it. We are a bunch of guys in our 40s that spend more time with our family and new friends rather than childhood friends. Many years, I only see some of those guys at draft day. The cool thing is that we are such good longtime friends that it feels like we are still hanging out all the time like we did in our 20s.

Never take good friends for granted. They are tough to find.

 

[Fariq]

Mainly what I am not grasping is the fantasy football draft aspect. Can't you guys simply get together for a barbecue or just drink in someone's house? Why is the fantasy football necessary?

 

[Gopher State]

I started in 1997 in a "just for fun" league, and since then have branched out to money leagues, (relatively) big money leagues, multiple leagues with holdovers, dynasty, auction, played in the WCOFF a few times, you name it..

As this season was approaching, I just wasnt feeling it. So I texted the commissioners of all the leagues Im in and told them I was retiring. One of them joked that I was only 4 years away from my FF pension. I laughed.

Anyway, I feel good. Excited to just watch football and the Vikes this year, and not have to deal with the "stress" of it all. (watching the Vikes can be stressful enough)

It's weird though, as it used to be one of my favorite hobbies. Maybe I just need a year (or two) off.

Anyone else play for a long time and retire? How was it for you? Did you unretire at some point? Go back and forth, like the Brett Favre of FF?

Just curious to hear other peoples experiences.

I sure you have a great time watching TV with your wife on Sundays, maybe a repeat of the movie Heidi will excite you

 

[Borden]

Mainly what I am not grasping is the fantasy football draft aspect. Can't you guys simply get together for a barbecue or just drink in someone's house? Why is the fantasy football necessary?

That's understandable. Everyone is different.

I would guess that a large portion of people on here started playing fantasy football with some of their good friends many years ago. Probably before wives, kids and work started being the focus of their time. For me the draft is a yearly thing that wives, kids and work can be somewhat planned around. The wives have already accepted the yearly ritual so it's a non issue with her. So, it's a preplanned get together for the guys. It's easy and understood.

As for not just having a BBQ or going out for a beer, it's either a time or geography issue. Not everyone lives close enough to just drive over for a barbeque, lots of guys work out of town or shift work. Lining up the schedules of people is very difficult, especially when they have to travel. For me personally, I work a 6 on 6 off schedule that varies to include nights. My good buddy is a fireman whose schedule is the exact opposite of mine. With the draft it gives us a year to figure out plans around the schedule.

 

[Fariq]

Okay, I can understand it. For sake of argument, you could probably just plan one shindig a year and it need not be fantasy football related and accomplish the same thing (seeing old friends and stuff). But maybe without a fantasy football angle, the wives and kids would want to come?

 

[Dentist]

Mainly what I am not grasping is the fantasy football draft aspect. Can't you guys simply get together for a barbecue or just drink in someone's house? Why is the fantasy football necessary?

That's understandable. Everyone is different.

I would guess that a large portion of people on here started playing fantasy football with some of their good friends many years ago. Probably before wives, kids and work started being the focus of their time. For me the draft is a yearly thing that wives, kids and work can be somewhat planned around. The wives have already accepted the yearly ritual so it's a non issue with her. So, it's a preplanned get together for the guys. It's easy and understood.

As for not just having a BBQ or going out for a beer, it's either a time or geography issue. Not everyone lives close enough to just drive over for a barbeque, lots of guys work out of town or shift work. Lining up the schedules of people is very difficult, especially when they have to travel. For me personally, I work a 6 on 6 off schedule that varies to include nights. My good buddy is a fireman whose schedule is the exact opposite of mine. With the draft it gives us a year to figure out plans around the schedule.

this guy is spot on.

this is the only reason i maintain my 2 leagues.

when you hit your mid-30's or better and everyone is busy with kids, jobs, etc... you have to fight and work to maintain friendships unfortunately... FFL doesn't have to be the only way to accomplish this, but it's one of the few ways you can do something where the wives/kids want nothing to do with it.

 

[ceo3west]

Retiring lol

 

[Rushmore]

Retiring lol

It certainly does sound kind of silly until you remember times saying to yourself while mulling over a pick, trade, or add/drop thinking "For ####'s sake, I am putting more thought into this than some pivotal life decisions that I've made in the past .

 

[shadyridr]

Fariq, youre weird

 

[datonn]

Does anyone ever admit "yeah, I'm not really that good at FF, I've paid out much more than I took in over the years" in one of these threads?

Well I played ten years. i won it all 3 times. With those wins I probably covered my losses. I would guess I broke even more or less. But while I was into it the money was worth it for the entertainment.

I played FFL for about 15 years...won about $3 for every $1 I put in over that span. But last year, I just realized how hard of a time-suck FFL is. How much it takes away from family and much more important things in life. How horrible the per-hour ROI of FFL is (a $3:$1 return sounds good...until you factor in the few hundred hours/year wasted on it). How much it took away from my ability to just sit down and watch a football game and care more about who wins on the field instead of who scored the most FP. So this Winter/Spring, I dropped out of my last 3-4 leagues and called it a hobby. And I haven't missed it at all. Not through NFL free agency. Not through the NFL Draft. Not with mini-camps and now Training Camp opening. I can just be a Vikings fan again...not be glued to my computer from 10am-12pm on Sundays to make sure I get those last-minute line-up tweaks taken care of, et al.

My suspicion is that I'll enjoy watching Vikings games a LOT more...while barely caring about any other NFL games that happen to be on. And I'm looking forward to that. As well as the couple hundred "extra" hours to play with my girls, play disc golf, et al.

 

[Fariq]

Does anyone ever admit "yeah, I'm not really that good at FF, I've paid out much more than I took in over the years" in one of these threads?

Well I played ten years. i won it all 3 times. With those wins I probably covered my losses. I would guess I broke even more or less. But while I was into it the money was worth it for the entertainment.

I played FFL for about 15 years...won about $3 for every $1 I put in over that span. But last year, I just realized how hard of a time-suck FFL is. How much it takes away from family and much more important things in life. How horrible the per-hour ROI of FFL is (a $3:$1 return sounds good...until you factor in the few hundred hours/year wasted on it). How much it took away from my ability to just sit down and watch a football game and care more about who wins on the field instead of who scored the most FP. So this Winter/Spring, I dropped out of my last 3-4 leagues and called it a hobby. And I haven't missed it at all. Not through NFL free agency. Not through the NFL Draft. Not with mini-camps and now Training Camp opening. I can just be a Vikings fan again...not be glued to my computer from 10am-12pm on Sundays to make sure I get those last-minute line-up tweaks taken care of, et al.My suspicion is that I'll enjoy watching Vikings games a LOT more...while barely caring about any other NFL games that happen to be on. And I'm looking forward to that. As well as the couple hundred "extra" hours to play with my girls, play disc golf, et al.

Yeah, the 2-3 hours before the early games are annoying with having to check inactive lists. It's bad enough that my wife and son get tuned out while I watch football for 9 hours, but I also have to pay attention to my phone or TV for at least the hour before the first games.

 

[jon_mx]

I don't understand the time commitment. In today's world all the stats are available and sortable in a couple clucks. It takes 10 minutes to prepare for the draft and a couple minutes to evaluate weekly pickups. Both of those tasks used to take hours.

 

[Fariq]

Fariq, youre weird

That is true.

 

[Tom Servo]

Been "retired" since 2008. The time suck was killing me and I was losing interest in the NFL in general. I watch baseball to the bitter end of the season, and then, maybe, just maybe, I'll watch an NFL game if there's absolutely nothing on. I have other things that interest me more now.

I don't miss it a bit.

 

[17seconds]

I think some of you are a little obsessive.

I typically play in 4 or 5 leagues a year which is enough to get pretty well involved but not so much as to be a significant time suck. I wouldn't add more. If I want to get more involved I'll just up the stakes.

Because of family commitments I don't necessarily watch football at all on Sunday. You don't have to sit in front of a bank of TVs all day Sunday. Your lineup is set, there's nothing you can do.

I did quit it for a couple years, but I'm into it more than ever now. What really turned me off was being a commish for a long time. I'll never commish again. Just play in online leagues, a work league, and maybe one other local friends league.

 

[Gene Sackman]

I had to give up shooting dice for a while.

Oh..Porterhouse!!!

 

[Papa Georgio]

I've wanted to give it up for a long time, but I can never decide if it would be good for me to. On one hand I think I spend too much time at it, feel obligated to watch the games every Sunday and then wonder how much better I would be at other things if I devoted that much time to them. Then I can't help but think it is really the only thing I do that is just for me. I don't really know how I would spend the free time but I imagine on something that has no more real value than FF does. I also have such fond memories of watching games. As a kid I would set pillows up on the floor on the other side of our couch and would do goal-line dives over the couch in the endzone. I know I would still watch the games but I could see me not being nearly as interested.

As far as staying in for friends, I've been in one league since the early 90's and only 2 original members exist. We haven't gotten together for a draft, Superbowl or game 1 season kick-off in over 10 years. Over time people move and we are now all over the country. However I think this is a very valid reason some people keep doing FF.

I was dead set on "retiring" a few years back. It seems silly to say but I was too into the hobby. I couldn't enjoy it. Once I accepted the fact that I really have no control over anything I have had way more fun again. I don't play in any big money leagues and I usually go the noob route and take players I like or players from teams I like. I am back to it being more about adding to my enjoyment of watching football again.

 

[shadyridr]

My SIL is having a c-section on Aug 22 and still attending our draft on Aug 31. You bunch of #####es

 

[ntz08]

Meh. I started back in early 90s in TD only leagues and then getting stats out of USA today on Monday and etc. I've played in all kinds of different leagues over the years. The best competition I found was in online leagues (organized on another site/board) that were exclusively for bragging rights and that inspired me to find more leagues. Add in a couple baseball leagues (roto and H2H) and someone even tried to get me in NBA league once but no thanks. Tthen I spent a few seasons on a dynasty IDP league with a 35-45ish man roster and etc. With other things happening in life, all that started to be far too much time and effort and it was time to pare it down.

These days I'm down to 1 baseball league and 1 football league. I joined both of those years ago mainly to have yet another reason to keep in touch with one of my best friends from HS. I do well in the leagues, so that's a definite plus. When I'm able, I visit him and his family a few times a year, 2 of which that just happen to coincide with our drafts. We usually work in a brewery tour and some craft beer events and my checked luggage is typically 2 cases of bombers/cans from breweries that don't distribute in their area, while they stockpile things I can't get where i live. My buddy and I find many more reasons to stay in touch these days, but there were several years when we were both extremely busy and fantasy sports helped facilitate interactions that kept things going. I now consider several of the guys in the league to be good friends of mine as well.

I could probably do one more league in either or each but that would be it.

 

[jon_mx]

I find doing more than two leagues bites. It is always confusing on who to route for and why. In some leagues you want this player to do go, in other leagues league you don't. Compund that by 20 players for each league and it gets too crazy.

 

[datonn]

I don't understand the time commitment. In today's world all the stats are available and sortable in a couple clucks. It takes 10 minutes to prepare for the draft and a couple minutes to evaluate weekly pickups. Both of those tasks used to take hours.

For me, it was all dynasty and IDP leagues...as offense-only redraft leagues just felt WAY too much like luck. Building and maintaining a competitive dynasty team, while having to understand who the best DE/DT/LB/CB/S are going to be in different systems (then things change when players sign with new teams and/or new coaching staffs are brought in with new defensive schemes)? That takes time.

And for how "Richard-ish" it might sound to say, probably the largest time-suck in FFL are other owners CONSTANTLY pestering you for trades, trade advice (in other leagues), trying to pick your brain for draft/FA help, et al. Dropping out of my leagues, I immediately gained probably 6 hours/week of time I'm not sitting on IM. Chatting with other owners about why I won't deal them a certain player for the flaming pile of "poo" they're offering in return.

 

[Rushmore]

I watch baseball to the bitter end of the season

Usually enjoy your contributions at the ORG (this losing streak needs to stop!)

 

[meatwad1]

I don't understand the time commitment. In today's world all the stats are available and sortable in a couple clucks. It takes 10 minutes to prepare for the draft and a couple minutes to evaluate weekly pickups. Both of those tasks used to take hours.

I was just going to say that....A smart person barely has to look up anything anymore. I could be in church at 11:45, excuse myself to use the restroom and switch my lineup if needed in less than 1 minute.

All pick ups and hot waiver plays are written out for you. If you subscribe to this site, they are doing all of the dirty work, so cutting back is not really a big deal.

 

[meatwad1]

I find doing more than two leagues bites. It is always confusing on who to route for and why. In some leagues you want this player to do go, in other leagues league you don't. Compund that by 20 players for each league and it gets too crazy.

I am with you, two is my limit. Even with two there are weeks where you are playing against a guy on one of your teams.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I quit a few years ago. Last year I was asked to draft a team because the owner couldn't make the draft or run the team so I was brought on for no risk and I would get half of any winnings.

I won the whole freaking thing. Nothing is better then showing up at the draft after a 4 year absence and zero preparation and taking all my friends money, and more importantly the bragging rights.

I walked away on top and with more then &2,500 in winnings and bragging rights for life.

Edit to add- I didn't miss it at all and thoroughly enjoy not having to check my roster, second guess myself or possibly lose money.

Also- the reward for winning isn't nearly worth it when you consider the amount of time and effort put into a full season.

 

[17seconds]

Draft-only best ball MFL10s/25s/50s/100s are the answer to regular season time suck. Do 1 or 2 normal leagues and several MFL10s.

Drafting is half the fun of FF anyway

 

[NREC34]

Retiring lol

It certainly does sound kind of silly until you remember times saying to yourself while mulling over a pick, trade, or add/drop thinking "For ####'s sake, I am putting more thought into this than some pivotal life decisions that I've made in the past .

Championship last year. Brady or Foles. Literally spent all week right up until kickoffs stressing about it.