Retirement From Playing Fantasy Football? (1 Viewer)

[voiceofunreason]

Never been so burned out as this year. With injuries, covid, etc it got to be a joke by the end of the year. I believe Covid will be over with Omicron. If I'm wrong and it's going to be like this year again I don't think I'll play again.

One thing is, I started a lot of IDP dynasty leagues a few years ago and I really loved the extra strategy and being more interesting than normal leagues. I'm thinking about quitting them and moving to offense only. It's just too much effort and research now. And it just makes the setting lineups, keeping track of injuries and benchings so much tougher. I wouldn't recommend anymore unless you have a ton of extra time.

I'm not really a fan of football anymore either so that makes it tough. It's more about production and hype than the games and has been for a while. The commercials don't help either. It's very difficult for me to have enough interest to sit and watch a game. If they cut down the breaks I probably could but I haven't watched normal TV for 10 years and I'm not watching an hour of commercials to watch 30 minutes of football.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Idle hands.  You gonna become the guy who spends way too much time on their yard?  Or the person that gets sucked into more social media nonsense?  As much as people think they'd do something "more productive" with their time...most wont.

Yeah, fantasy football (especially since Covid) can be a grind at times.  That will eventually get better though.  I'd rather stay in better contact with my friends this way that almost any other option.

Well said. For me it replaced the hard edged gambling I once engaged in. This hobby is both more affordable and also much more social.

 

[Ironman2131]

Been playing since 1995 and this was the hardest year yet to care about each of my leagues between injuries and COVID wrecking my teams and just being crazy busy with work.  Still very likely to keep playing just for the relationships with people, but where I was very excited a few years ago to start a new dynasty league I think I'll push it out yet again until (or if) I really want to run it.

 

[J R]

This is my problem. There's no way I can just do "casual."

For me it's part of my personality. I tend to be all in or all out on everything. So if I'm in...I'm really in...and obsessive.

I envy guys in my league that are out raking leaves or whatever on a Sunday not giving a damn if their #1 WR dropped a wide open reception.

This gave me a chuckle. Rings true.

 

[Ghost Rider]

My plan is not to play anymore after this season.  It is not fun anymore, and my interest level has dipped so much that I almost never do last minute checks anymore to make sure none of my players were late scratches or anything like that.  My level of care has hit rock bottom.  

 

[voiceofunreason]

After the bitter loss yesterday, I didn't even tune into last night's game. I don't even have desire to tune into tonight's game, and barely any desire to watch next week's game

My interest in football is purely fantasy and gambling related now. The product has gotten worse in the sense that bad teams want to be really bad, and good teams tend to stay good. The only way to rebuild is to truly suck and aim for a top pick on the draft and more teams are doing that now. Not many .500 "mediocre teams" unless it's by chance this year. The good quarterbacking is declining because defenses now just move too fast for o-lineman and there are just not enough elite o-lineman anymore. I wouldn't be surprised down the road if they skew towards offense even more to neutralize freakish athleticism. 

I'm not even sure I'll care much for the real-life playoffs either tbh. I think fantasy football has kind of ruined it for me and the sheer randomness of it all. I'd rather spend my time researching and discussing towards 2022 then care at all at how real life teams do. There's also not really a "favorite" or a path forward to think who will make it to the super bowl. It's just sheer randomness and matchups driven, just like fantasy football. It's also pure luck that some team has a legit league-winning matchup like Penny yesterday vs. a good RB in a tough matchup

I can't even say I'm a fan of any team. I never understood being a huge fan of a team unless you grew up with them. So many teams don't even give a #### about you, the fan. They just reap the rewards and some teams just choose to suck over and over and have horrible owners as people and no desire to be great. Some teams have good management and ownership, and I think those teams are more deserving of your dollar and more importantly, your time.  

TLDR Fantasy football and gambling are the only reasons to watch, and the product has become diluted. Better spending time getting ready for 2022 fantasy research. 

I'd like to see the non-playoff teams go into a draft bowl. Winner gets the 1.01, runner 1.02, etc. All sports are running into this problem, especially basketball. If you can't work your way up to above average to get better picks then too bad. Teams like the Jets & Lions stay terrible even with good picks anyway. Teams need to play to win and it would help create better games plus make the leagues more money with more playoff games.

 

[fruity pebbles]

One more year for me. I dropped down to one league this year and it’s the Superpot next season so I’ll stick it out. Team is too good to stop before that or I would.  Haven’t watched more than a few hours of the NFL this year and I doubt I’d watch any if it wasnt for fantasy. 

 

[voiceofunreason]

One more year for me. I dropped down to one league this year and it’s the Superpot next season so I’ll stick it out. Team is too good to stop before that or I would.  Haven’t watched more than a few hours of the NFL this year and I doubt I’d watch any of it wasnt for fantasy. 

I have one team on Flea Flicker and it's pretty good. I might go allin and trade all my picks and really go for it. Bit of a #### move but it would still be a good team, just no picks.

 

[joey]

I’m now in 5 leagues and still digging it since 3 of 5 are dynasty leagues I really care about: one I’m Commish of, one is a league with 11 other FBGs, and one was my first foray into the FFPC format, where I won it all a couple of years ago and  the challenge is for me to get out of the middle. 
my other 2 are redrafts: 1 has been running 25+ years with work friends, so I’ll be in that one til I drop. And the other is an auction redraft, so it’s uniqueness makes it interesting. 
 

but 5 is my max for sure and if it weren’t for FBG and especially the 5 Second Primer tool where I can see all my teams, rankings, free agents, etc in 1 spot, 5 leagues would be about 2 or 3 too many. 
 

as challenging and frustrating as these past 2 years have been, I still love (and totally hate!  ) this hobby and plan on sticking with it. 
 

also, I enjoy being in this many leagues since I can’t really remember who is playing for me or against me in all those leagues from week to week, so I can kind of "let go" when watching the games and don’t even check the league scoring pages much till after the morning games are over and then after the late games. Not worth knowing I have Taylor going for me in 1 league but going against me in the other while the games are happening. Too much anxiety that way, so I can just enjoy the games instead and see the results later. 

 

[urbanhack]

I retired 5 years ago when I moved out to the west coast. I was working more than I ever had and I didn’t like the time difference as a fantasy owner. I love the time difference as a fan just watching the games.

I came back and played in just one league this year with former co workers with some crazy rules that make high scoring games. I’ll probably just keep doing this and nothing more. 

 

[fatness]

I was up to  7 leagues years ago, 5 of them money leagues and 2 free leagues. It took more time to keep up with than I wanted to give away from the rest of my life so I started cutting back, and kept doing it until I was only in 1 free league. That ended after a few years when the commish got married, left, and didn't turn the keys over to someone else to take over. So last year I was not in a FF league. And my enjoyment of NFL games went up immensely.

The abandoned free league started over this year with most of the same owners so I played and enjoyed the hell out of it. But I kept strict limits on my time involvement, had a lot of fun that way, never looked at who I was playing or who was on their team, and it didn't diminish my enjoyment of NFL games at all.

I like both, but NFL football is more enjoyable than fantasy football for me.

 

[Saboo]

I lost my SB by 1 point largely because Antonio Brown decided to do a striptease at the 50 yard line and didn't play in the second half. I wish the season started tomorrow so I could avenge my loss.

 

[BassNBrew]

My plan is not to play anymore after this season.  It is not fun anymore, and my interest level has dipped so much that I almost never do last minute checks anymore to make sure none of my players were late scratches or anything like that.  My level of care has hit rock bottom.  

Some of us are Working Men and others we just Wish Them Well.

 

[JohnnyU]

In 6 dynasty leagues, 3 of which are devy leagues, which I love.  I commish 3 leagues, so I wouldn't quit on my league mates unless health forced me to.

 

[kyoun1e]

also, I enjoy being in this many leagues since I can’t really remember who is playing for me or against me in all those leagues from week to week, so I can kind of "let go" when watching the games and don’t even check the league scoring pages much till after the morning games are over and then after the late games. Not worth knowing I have Taylor going for me in 1 league but going against me in the other while the games are happening. Too much anxiety that way, so I can just enjoy the games instead and see the results later. 

That's key. Probably impossible to focus on any given player or team or game.

I've whittled it down to one league. On one hand, that's good, but on the other hand it's bad so all my focus is there and any randomness or bad luck is amplified.

So the results are official this morning. Won my league (which I knew). Congrats coming in. Hooray. That's two of the last three and I've been in the finals 3 straight years. Been in the finals half of the time in this league. And I'm like, thankful it's over.

Also reading about N. Harris and his late TD screwing over people last night. I can't imagine how I would have reacted to that one. Poor bastards.

 

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

Well if anything will get me to straight up quit, it was that Najee Harris TD that lost me a championship by 1 point, after losing another title game the day before.  God I loathe the Browns.

 

[habsfan]

I'm in one friends and family league since '07 and commish that one as well - good players and drama free.

I understand it's easier said than done but I have managed to find the "delta" between time / effort, caring about outcomes but not caring "too much". With COVID and injuries, I feel like our three week play-off this year really required your daily attention if you wanted to win. I couldn't give that level of attention and I'm okay with it.

 

[Drezden]

Money never was a priority for me in FF, so I am not upset about losing in the final and getting 2nd place and less cashback. What I am upset about, 32 teams, and I have a perfect season and an opportunity to get the best season ever in my 20 years of FF history, opponent pick up 4 players from the waivers and beat me by 5 points. Hardest loss for me no doubt, would I recover? Most likely because I love the game, I am cutting down my leagues from 15 (all Dynasty) to 10, trade activities a key for me, if offers sitting without response for 2-3 owners in 12 teams league, I am out. 

 

[voiceofunreason]

I retired 5 years ago when I moved out to the west coast. I was working more than I ever had and I didn’t like the time difference as a fantasy owner. I love the time difference as a fan just watching the games.

I came back and played in just one league this year with former co workers with some crazy rules that make high scoring games. I’ll probably just keep doing this and nothing more. 

I moved to the best coast as well. Makes Sunday mornings tough because that's when my wife and I relax and go do something fun. I missed a fair amount of last day benchings.

 

[JoeSteeler]

Never been so burned out as this year. With injuries, covid, etc it got to be a joke by the end of the year. I believe Covid will be over with Omicron. If I'm wrong and it's going to be like this year again I don't think I'll play again.

One thing is, I started a lot of IDP dynasty leagues a few years ago and I really loved the extra strategy and being more interesting than normal leagues. I'm thinking about quitting them and moving to offense only. It's just too much effort and research now. And it just makes the setting lineups, keeping track of injuries and benchings so much tougher. I wouldn't recommend anymore unless you have a ton of extra time.

I'm not really a fan of football anymore either so that makes it tough. It's more about production and hype than the games and has been for a while. The commercials don't help either. It's very difficult for me to have enough interest to sit and watch a game. If they cut down the breaks I probably could but I haven't watched normal TV for 10 years and I'm not watching an hour of commercials to watch 30 minutes of football.

The effort and research is one of the big things I love about IDP. There is so much information on FF out there now that is doesn’t take much to do a quick google search and identity  the top offensive waiver options.

Not so with IDP. There are some sites that  have IDP information to varying degrees but not a lot that I have found. Nothing is better than reading beat writers articles/Twitter and then pulling up snap counts to track down the next hidden gem stud LB. Especially in the deep IDP  leagues I play in.

I get what you are saying, it does take extra time and effort but to me it is so worth it! 

 

[Pipes]

Curious if many have contemplated quitting this hobby?

I've managed to retire from two of my longstanding leagues that lasted a couple decades. One league now remains and as of last night, I've now won it two of the last three years.

Feels great, but hell...I'm kinda done. 

This year has been exhausting with Covid and the usual fantasy frustrations. 

Would be nice to just watch football with no strings attached.

I'm sure I'll cave come August.

Not retiring but definitely cutting back from all the casual leagues to my main redraft league I've done with friends since 1990 and a modified keeper league with a bunch of the same friends.  Have been in 5 other redraft leagues and find I just don't care enough anymore.  This year was brutal with the covid stuff and I just don't want to constantly watch for covid news then scramble to the waiver wire.  I'll just stick to 2 leagues and drop in a DK lineup here in there if I want some more action.

 

[oswizzle]

we changed one of our leagues to overall points and took out the H2H aspect of it..... come playoff time.... it shows the best teams and minimal flukes ... 

 

[TampaMike19]

we changed one of our leagues to overall points and took out the H2H aspect of it..... come playoff time.... it shows the best teams and minimal flukes ... 

What about two games a week? H2H plus vs. rest of league, I don't know how it would be weighed. I also don't know how to increase the emotional satisfaction of points leader vs. winning it all, because the emotions don't even come close. 

 

[zamboni]

A bit bummed to see that several long-term valuable posters here are quitting cold turkey. There has already been quite a drop off here in activity over the past several years - particularly in the off-season - and I hope it doesn’t accelerate based on this.

 

[kyoun1e]

I'd be curious to know if anyone has left H2H leagues, but does more DFS and/or prop betting and that's proved a better go of it.

I think I'm so competitive that the whole H2H thing and luck factors drive me nuts. At lease with DFS I'm competing against a field and that with prop bets I'd gather I"m just competing more against myself. May be more tolerable and just as much fun.

I know this...three days later after winning my 2nd championship in the last three years in this one league I'm happy as hell it's over. Shouldn't be that way.

 

[Lash]

In same league i lost solely due to Kamara last year 40+ point game (lost game by 3 points) and Chase this year 50+ point game (lost game by 6 points)

Still gonna keep playing but I was big mad this weekend lol

 

[SproutDaddy]

I retired once for a year, but had been doing 3 dynasty idp leagues for more than a decade and took over commish duties for all 3 when the guy who started them burnt out. I burned out as well.  Took a year off and then joined a $$$ league with some workmates.  They haven’t let me leave since I won it the first 2 years.  Didn’t do more than 1 league until Covid when I got bored.  Got back into dynasty then, just no idp.  Used to be fun but became too much research. 

 

[finfansteve]

Good topic. It's a grind to deal with all the (mis)information with injuries, covid, etc., and I don't think redraft rewards that anyway (for the reasons Godsbrother points out).

Maybe this is just old man get off my lawn talk, but does anyone else just think the NFL is less interesting to watch these days?

I agree with you. I haven’t watched a full game in at least 4-5 years now. Either it’s not as interesting to me as it was in years past or more likely in my mind at least it’s just not a very good product anymore. 
Either way it’ll be on in the house but I’m not staring at it as in years past

 

[BigJim®]

Shoot, I thought this thread would be contemplating quitting a job, freeing up time to better focus on FF.

 

[ratbast]

I quit fantasy baseball after last year. I’m in two 25+ year football leagues with my buddies from high school and from college. I may drop down to one. One thing for sure, before I leave the game I will stop posting here. Some of you don’t play at all but post here? That’s bizarre. 

 

[Chaka]

If you're thinking about quitting this hobby it's most likely because you play in either too many leagues, leagues where money is the driving factor or leagues where you don't really know your league mates.

If you're thinking about quitting then your motivation for playing isn't in the right place. It's probably closer to all of us overeaters, or overdrinkers or...overvicers in general. We've all been down the "I need to quit XYZ" path about something or other. This hobby doesn't belong in that sphere, it's about friends and joy not winning at all costs.

So if you've taken this hobby to the extreme of excess and vice then, yes, you should probably quit. If you don't think you've truly reached that point then I suggest paring down to one league with mostly people you know. Preferably oy those you know well.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Quit years ago and love it. Hell, I can now see a day coming that I don’t even watch the NFL. It’s not the same game we watched growing up. Too many changes and it’s moving to 18 games. 
 

I miss:

The draft

Dont miss:

-Stupid, asinine head to head format

-Second guessing WDIS. 

-Morons trading their best player(s) for a gaggle of second tier players

-Injuries 

 

[Crippler]

No quitting here. I had no TV this year and watched zero football. Still follow my Packers and everything. I put in 15 minutes a day reading. Don’t think  this is rocket science. Just enjoy friends. I hate the micro management of things as must be at computer for inactives. My only dislike. Love to be best ball but that is not going to happen often. 
 

I have been playing for 26 years now. 
my first league was friends but left over politics. Was SF, IDP. 

my new league is friends again but new ones other than brother. Similar to first.  Going on 5 years. Not much money. But I enjoy doing things as commish. Doing mocks, team write ups etc that keep me occupied in down time. 

have tried many years ago to start different formats. I fizzled out of all. Been invited to plenty and have tried a few. But they grow stale most times and the heart not into it. Or politics/personalities  get in way and I leave. I never have left a dog team. No repercussions with people off the net.  Why I turn down most offers to join. And lots of offers as active but again being active is not a lot of work. Be courteous is key and within reason. Still do the Survivor drafts in mocks as time waster in off-season. Did Interboard challenge and like but again hate micromanagement for checking injuries. Plus my efficiency sucks. But my success rate is very good in fantasy. Wonder if this is key to enjoyment. 
 

but will never quit. Just fun in the end but don’t over extend yourself. Be the best you can in a league.

 

[kyoun1e]

If you're thinking about quitting then your motivation for playing isn't in the right place. It's probably closer to all of us overeaters, or overdrinkers or...overvicers in general. We've all been down the "I need to quit XYZ" path about something or other. This hobby doesn't belong in that sphere, it's about friends and joy not winning at all costs.

And that's just it.

I think the winning at all cost need has surpassed the enjoyment with friends and family.

I'm too damn competitive. 

Serious character flaw lol.

 

[TampaMike19]

This quote can easily apply to fantasy football lol. I think all of us want to be desperately right and be a prophet/genius but in reality it's just so out of your control:

Thanos

 

[kyoun1e]

This quote can easily apply to fantasy football lol. I think all of us want to be desperately right and be a prophet/genius but in reality it's just so out of your control:

Thanos

Yes it's an attempt to control the uncontrollable. 

 

[BigJim®]

To me the luck factor is an endearing aspect to FF. It makes winning with a good (or even mediocre) team even more enjoyable. I say that as one who got burned in 2 leagues this year, and deserved better (Dophins DST in one, Justin Jackson in the other). An analogy might be someone quitting hold'em after losing with pocket rockets to another who stayed in with rags and got lucky on the river. That's what makes it entertaining. It wouldn't be any fun if you declared a winner based on hold cards.

 

[InDitkaWeTrust]

It's interesting that there are so many "retired" GMs here that keep up with this board and post regularly.  I tend to cut all ties with a hobby once I'm done with it, but that's just me.

 

[rschroeder1]

I suppose it's a matter of perspective, but I think the key to enjoying fantasy football is to accept it for what it is - and to not take it too seriously.

I had one of my best teams ever this year (Taylor and Kupp leading the way), scored the most points but finished in 4th place.  In the semifinals, Ian Book, of all people, destroyed any chances I had (I had Taysom Hill in a 2QB league along with Kamara, and my opponent had Miami defense).  I was stuck in a random DC condo quarantined with COVID watching my hopes and dreams go down the drain.

If you embrace the game for what it is, with all its weirdness and wildness, then events like this aren't a problem.  Sure, it is frustrating in the moment, but it's maybe a good thing to have a hobby to care about.

I play in three leagues, and my overarching goal is to make the playoffs in all three, which really is a challenge.  What happens after that is obviously subject to higher levels of randomness, but setting macro goals like that for myself also makes the week-to-week management more enjoyable.

Finally, a couple of my leagues also run a side pot "Triple Crown" that can be won if a player finishes with the best regular season record, scores the most regular season points and wins the playoff championship.  The side pot rolls over each year it is not claimed.  One of my leagues now has a total pot approaching $1,000 even though we only pay in $35 each year.  It makes it fun to go for it and also to connive against the current top team shooting for it.

 

[Gally]

To me the luck factor is an endearing aspect to FF. It makes winning with a good (or even mediocre) team even more enjoyable. I say that as one who got burned in 2 leagues this year, and deserved better (Dophins DST in one, Justin Jackson in the other). An analogy might be someone quitting hold'em after losing with pocket rockets to another who stayed in with rags and got lucky on the river. That's what makes it entertaining. It wouldn't be any fun if you declared a winner based on hold cards.

I am in total agreement.  Just as it sucks to lose a game when you are 2nd in points on the week it's just as good to win with the second lowest point total.  It makes every week exciting.  Having those head to head anomalies adds to the overall enjoyment for me.  It's why a strict total points league or an all play league haven't been as fun in my opinion.  Taking that h2h randomness away for the regular season is a negative for me. 

However, minimizing some of that complete random luck for playoff matchups I would be interested in.  In general I prefer straight seasons with no playoffs but having a variety of leagues that include playoffs and some that don't does add a diversification that is nice.  

 

[joey]

I am in total agreement.  Just as it sucks to lose a game when you are 2nd in points on the week it's just as good to win with the second lowest point total.  It makes every week exciting.  Having those head to head anomalies adds to the overall enjoyment for me.  It's why a strict total points league or an all play league haven't been as fun in my opinion.  Taking that h2h randomness away for the regular season is a negative for me. 

However, minimizing some of that complete random luck for playoff matchups I would be interested in.  In general I prefer straight seasons with no playoffs but having a variety of leagues that include playoffs and some that don't does add a diversification that is nice.  

I’ve really enjoyed FFPC's 2-week, total points championship setup where the final 4 teams play for the top 3 payouts. 
I’m currently pushing for this in one of my redraft leagues as well. 

 

[BINGBING]

 overeaters, or overdrinkers or...overvicers

It's as if you stared into my soul

 

[DocHolliday]

I quit fantasy baseball after last year. I’m in two 25+ year football leagues with my buddies from high school and from college. I may drop down to one. One thing for sure, before I leave the game I will stop posting here. Some of you don’t play at all but post here? That’s bizarre. 

Not sure it would be bazaar to post at FBG if you are still a fan of the NFL even if you don’t play FF any longer. I plan on quitting FF this year and plan to continue watching a little NFL and posting about my NFL team and even a few interesting players.  There is a lot of great discussion on this board.  Seems more bazaar to cut that out.  

 

[MrJimiT]

Not sure it would be bazaar to post at FBG if you are still a fan of the NFL even if you don’t play FF any longer. I plan on quitting FF this year and plan to continue watching a little NFL and posting about my NFL team and even a few interesting players.  There is a lot of great discussion on this board.  Seems more bazaar to cut that out.  

Agreed. There's probably plenty of people on here posting not currently in FF leagues. I find other(s) strategies, takes, opinions, rants, complaints entertaining and at times informative. I don't see any reason for discussion on General Football to end.

 

[TampaMike19]

It's interesting that there are so many "retired" GMs here that keep up with this board and post regularly.  I tend to cut all ties with a hobby once I'm done with it, but that's just me.

I definitely am not following why people would post on fantasy outlooks when they no longer play lol. Maybe it's a way to stay connected to the stats and connect, while giving objective advice, but not partaking in the game itself.

I can see this being somewhat of a fun thing to do. I like discussing things as well with everyone. And being able to not keep up with waivers and not setting lineups seems cathartic to be honest lol 

 

[-arcK-]

I used to be in lots of leagues but this past decade I stuck exclusively with my original dynasty/IDP league that's been going since the 90s. Most of us were high school or work buddies, but membership has slowly changed over the years, and this past year there were only a handful of us founding members left.

One declared during the season that this was his last go, and now earlier this week we found out another passed away unexpectedly.

I can't imagine continuing on without either of those guys. Yeah, I'm done.

 

[ratbast]

Not sure it would be bazaar to post at FBG if you are still a fan of the NFL even if you don’t play FF any longer. I plan on quitting FF this year and plan to continue watching a little NFL and posting about my NFL team and even a few interesting players.  There is a lot of great discussion on this board.  Seems more bazaar to cut that out.  

I agree. This reflects FBG’s level of awesomeness. And I also would still visit here if I didn’t have a roster. 

 

[Ack88]

I suppose it's a matter of perspective, but I think the key to enjoying fantasy football is to accept it for what it is - and to not take it too seriously.

I had one of my best teams ever this year (Taylor and Kupp leading the way), scored the most points but finished in 4th place.  In the semifinals, Ian Book, of all people, destroyed any chances I had (I had Taysom Hill in a 2QB league along with Kamara, and my opponent had Miami defense).  I was stuck in a random DC condo quarantined with COVID watching my hopes and dreams go down the drain.

If you embrace the game for what it is, with all its weirdness and wildness, then events like this aren't a problem.  Sure, it is frustrating in the moment, but it's maybe a good thing to have a hobby to care about.

I play in three leagues, and my overarching goal is to make the playoffs in all three, which really is a challenge.  What happens after that is obviously subject to higher levels of randomness, but setting macro goals like that for myself also makes the week-to-week management more enjoyable.

Finally, a couple of my leagues also run a side pot "Triple Crown" that can be won if a player finishes with the best regular season record, scores the most regular season points and wins the playoff championship.  The side pot rolls over each year it is not claimed.  One of my leagues now has a total pot approaching $1,000 even though we only pay in $35 each year.  It makes it fun to go for it and also to connive against the current top team shooting for it.

Perspective is everything.

Began playing 27 years ago in my early 20s. By the beginning of new century, was up to 6-7 leagues, constantly looking for a set up with a new wrinkle. 

Once I got married, had kids, have a better but more demanding job, fantasy football just became less important. I still play but only in one league that is a very traditional set up with 9 of the same 10 original owners from 26 years ago. I do it more because of the friendships and spending a weekend together for the draft. It is still fun.

When you play in more than one league and have to route for a player in one league but against him in another, I think that diminishes the fun. Keep is simple, and if you win a few bucks and have bragging rights, that is all the more enjoyable.

 

[Steelers4Life]

After over 20 years of it, I quit playing 4 or 5 years ago.

I haven't regretted it for one minute since. I wish I would've quit sooner.

I enjoy watching football again in a way it's just not possible if fantasy football is a priority. If you can just play and not give a #### about the results, awesome.. I was never built that way. I'm especially glad I didn't invest time and energy into the last two years of the BS.

Go one year without out, see how it feels. I'd bet you won't go back.

 

[JohnnyU]

After over 20 years of it, I quit playing 4 or 5 years ago.

I haven't regretted it for one minute since. I wish I would've quit sooner.

I enjoy watching football again in a way it's just not possible if fantasy football is a priority. If you can just play and not give a #### about the results, awesome.. I was never built that way. I'm especially glad I didn't invest time and energy into the last two years of the BS.

Go one year without out, see how it feels. I'd bet you won't go back.

I believe a lot of us don't let FF spoil our fun of watching football, especially our favorite teams.  If FF isn't for you, great, but most of us enjoy FF and rooting for our favorite team.  I for one and like many, do not sit and worry about our FF results while we're watching it.  It is what it is, i can't change it.  FF is a welcomed distraction from everyday life.