You won't REALLY quit, will you? (1 Viewer)

[Shutout]

Looking in numerious threads, I have never seen so many people say they are fed up with FF and are quitting. Granted, especially in the Venting thread, its an immediate knee-jerk reaction as people are getting bumped out of the playoffs and can be taken with a grain of salt BUT the underlying theme is pretty consistent:

There are A LOT of people citing how its just not the same anymore,

how every teams lies and deceives who is playing,

how players are seemingly replaced on a whim,

star players are more decoys,

injuries (especially concussions) are making players unavailable en masse,

how suddeny everyone's league rules are rediculous because of divisions or head to head (I have NEVER seen so many people report a statement like "I'm the point leader but I'm out because...."), and so on and so on.

So it's being said...A LOT. But at the end of the day (or more likely, the beginning of the Spring), I really don't know anyone who has ever truly just said they have had enough and walked away just because they were frustrated with it.

So, If you answer yes to the poll, why are you and how are you making yourself able to do it.

If you answer no, is it because you are doing well or because you just can't see it happening?

 

[pittstownkiller]

Answered no. I always felt that the end of the season issues (resting players, etc.) were part of the game and had to be planned for. I play in a league where we have 7 moves all year, small rosters, and have our championship game on week 17; you better plan accordingly.

 

[roadkill1292]

Define "fantasy." I dropped out of my standard league this past year. But I play some related types of contests and I'm trying to implement some new kinds of games for next year as well.

 

[NeverEnough]

I think I just need to get back into a $ league again. I am the #1 seed in 2 our of 4 leagues, but not playing for any prize. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[Topes]

I won't come back till I am 100%.

Seriously, there's a huge amount of shirt-pointing going on this time of year, every year. Folks get up on all manner of high horses, preaching fairness. The fantasy playoffs are Chapel Perilous for any fantasy league, as it's this time of year when all manner of nonsensical rules are conceived and proposed.

Folks behave as though:

1) The goal of a fantasy league should eb that the best team wins the championship.

2) Fairness is paramount.

3) Losing reflects poorly on them.

Truth is, if you don't win it all, it's often not time to do anything different at all, for your team or for your league. Just come back next year, up on the same horse.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Finished with the most points & still missed the playoffs due to almost everyone coming up with their best weeks against me.

But I still refuse to quit.

 

[roadkill1292]

I guess I feel compelled to add that I didn't quit regular fantasy because of frustration. I was just a little bored with playing the same game after 20 years. I'm not a competitive enough person to get frustrated over a fun little game.

 

[faulkfan]

I'm ready to throw in the towel every year even when I win. I just get worn out trying to maintain my edge in a league where folks hate to trade. But I'm 23 years into this so I probably will stick around.

 

[Shutout]

I won't come back till I am 100%.Seriously, there's a huge amount of shirt-pointing going on this time of year, every year. Folks get up on all manner of high horses, preaching fairness. The fantasy playoffs are Chapel Perilous for any fantasy league, as it's this time of year when all manner of nonsensical rules are conceived and proposed.Folks behave as though:1) The goal of a fantasy league should eb that the best team wins the championship.2) Fairness is paramount.3) Losing reflects poorly on them.Truth is, if you don't win it all, it's often not time to do anything different at all, for your team or for your league. Just come back next year, up on the same horse.

that is an excellent perspective and yep, seems that way. I guess some of us (looking in mirror) get too serious or competitive and think the universe should be fair. I do SO much better than I used to. I don't know how I lived with myself before..LOL.But I have seen SO many people just virtually throwing their hands up this year, its crazy...more than ever before.

 

[Shutout]

I guess I feel compelled to add that I didn't quit regular fantasy because of frustration. I was just a little bored with playing the same game after 20 years. I'm not a competitive enough person to get frustrated over a fun little game.

I sometimes wonder if I have ended my shelf life. Gets harder to find a reason to come back and I've changed over the years. Really interested to see if I can get a good sample size of responses.

 

[Dentist]

Every year it gets less interesting to me, but if it wasn't for the leagues and the fun drafts there are a few friends i'd completely lose touch with.

So i'll keep it going

 

[roadkill1292]

I guess I feel compelled to add that I didn't quit regular fantasy because of frustration. I was just a little bored with playing the same game after 20 years. I'm not a competitive enough person to get frustrated over a fun little game.

I sometimes wonder if I have ended my shelf life. Gets harder to find a reason to come back and I've changed over the years. Really interested to see if I can get a good sample size of responses.

I miss our auction. If you can't have fun doing that, you're just not trying. The parts after that, not so much any more. So I'm on the hunt for interesting new alternatives that still revolve around picking NFL players in some manner.

 

[footballnerd]

Def cutting down, want to get it down to just two good leagues, but can never do it. Gotta choose between the main league, the return league, the IDP league....and then the charitable "office" league. Never can seem to drop one.

 

[PIK95]

I'm dropping almost all of my leagues but I'll stay in the fun draft one for social reasons. I can't waste time on this anymore. Titus punch-Rivers coming out early was the straw for me. Too much luck and not fun.

 

[davper]

I lost interest 2/3s of the way through this season. And not because I was loosing, I was 2 out of 12 that had a $1200 first prize. My interest in research and staying on top of depth charts had a mid season wain.

At this point, I am on the fence about continuing with my team. But if I decide give it up, I will give my league mates the courtesy to announce my retirement at the end of the season at the start of the season. This will give the league plenty of time to find a new manager.

 

[Shutout]

I guess I feel compelled to add that I didn't quit regular fantasy because of frustration. I was just a little bored with playing the same game after 20 years. I'm not a competitive enough person to get frustrated over a fun little game.

I sometimes wonder if I have ended my shelf life. Gets harder to find a reason to come back and I've changed over the years. Really interested to see if I can get a good sample size of responses.

I miss our auction. If you can't have fun doing that, you're just not trying. The parts after that, not so much any more. So I'm on the hunt for interesting new alternatives that still revolve around picking NFL players in some manner.

I am in one league with an auction and I have to say it is easily the highlight of my entire FF season.

 

[Shutout]

I lost interest 2/3s of the way through this season. And not because I was loosing, I was 2 out of 12 that had a $1200 first prize. My interest in research and staying on top of depth charts had a mid season wain.

At this point, I am on the fence about continuing with my team. But if I decide give it up, I will give my league mates the courtesy to announce my retirement at the end of the season at the start of the season. This will give the league plenty of time to find a new manager.

Yeah, I don't know if the numerous injuries affected this but I had the same thought: The amount of work it takes to get solid and consistent info any more is very time consuming. Its like mining all day to find a nugget...seems to be much more than it ever has been. Maybe there is just TOO much media reporting now. I think I wasted a day and a half of my life trying to read Arian Foster's MRI...LOL

 

[Papa Georgio]

Thinking very hard about not playing. It's more about time invested to something that is ultimately left out of our hands. I think of all the things I COULD do with my time that would actually be far more rewarding than watching some POS corner taunt on a play allowing a fresh set or downs and a freaking Steven freakin Jackson TD....huh...where am I? Sorry it seems like all day today my rage takes over which is yet another reason I am thinking about giving it up. I am too old to be yelling at the TV in a game between 2 teams like Seattle and St. Louis.

I love it but I hate it. I think I'd rather spend all the time I have on FF with my kids. I wish I could say I will just not put as much time into it and just continue the hobby but I am not built to do it that way. I am like a synapse, it's all-or-nothing for me.

 

[Lavachebeadsman]

Never quit.

 

[proninja]

I used to play in like 7 leagues, play for $$, and this time of year I was just sick of it.

Now, I play in one league, it's a free league with a few GB's around here, I might pay attention to my team twice on a good week, and it's pretty fun. I'll definitely do that next year too. Also, the realization that fantasy sports is 99% luck, and if I'm doing well it's because I got lucky, and if I'm doing poorly it's because I didn't get lucky helps. Why so serious?

 

[Cenobite]

Every year it gets less interesting to me, but if it wasn't for the leagues and the fun drafts there are a few friends i'd completely lose touch with.So i'll keep it going

This. I play in 1 league of mostly friends - although the entry fee and xactions fees are fairly high ($600-700 per team) . If it folds, I stop too. I actually don't like FF but play it to maintain contact with people I wouldn't ordinarily.

 

[footballnerd]

I lost interest 2/3s of the way through this season. And not because I was loosing, I was 2 out of 12 that had a $1200 first prize. My interest in research and staying on top of depth charts had a mid season wain.

At this point, I am on the fence about continuing with my team. But if I decide give it up, I will give my league mates the courtesy to announce my retirement at the end of the season at the start of the season. This will give the league plenty of time to find a new manager.

Yeah, I don't know if the numerous injuries affected this but I had the same thought: The amount of work it takes to get solid and consistent info any more is very time consuming. Its like mining all day to find a nugget...seems to be much more than it ever has been. Maybe there is just TOO much media reporting now. I think I wasted a day and a half of my life trying to read Arian Foster's MRI...LOL

Hugh Jackson can *&$%$#!!

 

[Shutout]

Thinking very hard about not playing. It's more about time invested to something that is ultimately left out of our hands. I think of all the things I COULD do with my time that would actually be far more rewarding than watching some POS corner taunt on a play allowing a fresh set or downs and a freaking Steven freakin Jackson TD....huh...where am I? Sorry it seems like all day today my rage takes over which is yet another reason I am thinking about giving it up. I am too old to be yelling at the TV in a game between 2 teams like Seattle and St. Louis.

I love it but I hate it. I think I'd rather spend all the time I have on FF with my kids. I wish I could say I will just not put as much time into it and just continue the hobby but I am not built to do it that way. I am like a synapse, it's all-or-nothing for me.

I hear ya there. I thik that is a strong common theme I've read. So much time tricking yourself into thinking you actually guide the outcome in some way yet the reality is you control nothing more than selecting your lineup based upon what is on your team at the time.I'm starting to develop a new theory: That FF is like a life cycle and, similar to life, it starts off in a way where the less you know about it in the beginning, the more fun it is; even though those are the years when you probably won't be as successful because you are still learning the game. And then you find a sweet spot where you're winning leagues and doing well and balancing all your time and rewards. And then, once you really get smart about everything and really know what's going on and what should be, it goes dark and makes you cynical because your common sense tells you one thing while "quirky" things actually happen. So no matter what you play for (fun, money, competitive nature, etc), you are left a bit disappoitned more often than not because no matter what you try to reason or control, there is no logical answer when your all-star lineup just doesn't do it when you know they should or the odds seem crazy that its YOUR guys that are going down with injuries, etc.

So there you are: an educated football guy that can't enjoy it anymore because you can't control it, you can't justify it, you put WAAAAY too much time into it, and you can't even watch football anymore without being like Papa Georgio and find yourself yelling at your tv.

 

[Dizzy]

Fantasy Football makes the unwatchable, watchable... StL @ SEA on MNF for example.

 

[Shutout]

Fantasy Football makes the unwatchable, watchable... StL @ SEA on MNF for example.

I agree with that also. Its actually what I usually toss out there as a selling point to someone to start playing. But one could also argue that you could simply do a pick'em contest and get the same effect. Sometimes too much IS truly too much. Especially when they start having games on Thursday and Saturday. Its half a week of non-stop micromanagement as you try to figure out who made what tackle on each and every play for what net effect on every single play....

 

[Papa Georgio]

Thinking very hard about not playing. It's more about time invested to something that is ultimately left out of our hands. I think of all the things I COULD do with my time that would actually be far more rewarding than watching some POS corner taunt on a play allowing a fresh set or downs and a freaking Steven freakin Jackson TD....huh...where am I? Sorry it seems like all day today my rage takes over which is yet another reason I am thinking about giving it up. I am too old to be yelling at the TV in a game between 2 teams like Seattle and St. Louis.

I love it but I hate it. I think I'd rather spend all the time I have on FF with my kids. I wish I could say I will just not put as much time into it and just continue the hobby but I am not built to do it that way. I am like a synapse, it's all-or-nothing for me.

I hear ya there. I thik that is a strong common theme I've read. So much time tricking yourself into thinking you actually guide the outcome in some way yet the reality is you control nothing more than selecting your lineup based upon what is on your team at the time.I'm starting to develop a new theory: That FF is like a life cycle and, similar to life, it starts off in a way where the less you know about it in the beginning, the more fun it is; even though those are the years when you probably won't be as successful because you are still learning the game. And then you find a sweet spot where you're winning leagues and doing well and balancing all your time and rewards. And then, once you really get smart about everything and really know what's going on and what should be, it goes dark and makes you cynical because your common sense tells you one thing while "quirky" things actually happen. So no matter what you play for (fun, money, competitive nature, etc), you are left a bit disappoitned more often than not because no matter what you try to reason or control, there is no logical answer when your all-star lineup just doesn't do it when you know they should or the odds seem crazy that its YOUR guys that are going down with injuries, etc.

So there you are: an educated football guy that can't enjoy it anymore because you can't control it, you can't justify it, you put WAAAAY too much time into it, and you can't even watch football anymore without being like Papa Georgio and find yourself yelling at your tv.

You know when I got to the life cycle part I thought you were gonna lose me but you just described my FF career with it so maybe you are on to something there.

 

[Wingnut]

First off, I didnt quit, I retired.

I walked away 5 years ago and get asked to re-join every year by my buddies. It has no appeal to me anymore. I enjoy football with none of the FF crap. For me it was easy, I was burnt out a year before I retired.

 

[firstseason1988]

First off, I didnt quit, I retired. I walked away 5 years ago and get asked to re-join every year by my buddies. It has no appeal to me anymore. I enjoy football with none of the FF crap. For me it was easy, I was burnt out a year before I retired.

Curious as to why you are posting in the Shark Pool 5 years retired?I love fantasy football too much. I am in 1 dynasty, 1 keeper, and 1 redraft league. Each league helps me with other leagues. I am helping a neighbor lady with her team and she is in playoffs this year after being in last place and taking a lot of grief for it last year. I am basically running her team, but she is learning, hopefully she can go at it on her own next year. She just enjoys the trash talk with the other women. So I have 4 leagues this year. I have never done an auction league and might drop the keeper league if I can find a live auction league some day. I will play until the day I die, I also find that fantasy helps me with my handicapping of teams to bet on.

 

[Raiderfan32904]

Fantasy Football makes the unwatchable, watchable... StL @ SEA on MNF for example.

perfect example. That was a horrible game. Even the announcers were saying that America deserves a decent game to watch on Monday Night. Tirico kept updating the game time left every 30 seconds or so midway through the 4th quarter. Horrible game to watch. Yet it was edge of my seat entertainment cuz I had the Seattle defense and I was up 3 points early in the 4th and ended up losing by 2 points when Bradford made those garbage throws and SJax scored that garbage TD. Yeah I lost, but somehow still backed into the playoffs. But I would never have stayed up to midnight watching horrible football if it weren't for fantasy football. It's no wonder the NFL plugs fantasy football so much.

 

[PIK95]

Thursday games are a HUGE reason I'm retiring. It's like a job.

 

[mjr]

The answer for me in so far as quitting is yes and no.

Yes, I got completely fed up and stopped playing in redraft leagues all together a few years ago. Seems I had a very special knack for using my first two draft picks every single year on players who would go on to suffer season-ending injuries. 4 years in a row that happened to me. Priest Holmes...Tom Brady...I was the owner during all of those seasons those "cant miss" players didn't play.

But no, I can't stop playing FF all together. I've been relatively happy with my Dynasty teams even through the injuries and the oddity of racking up losses this year despite being one of the top scoring teams. I'll be back next year.

 

[wholligans]

I have been in fantasy football for over twenty years. At one time I was very active in four leagues. Now I am down to one league an I find playing in one league much more enjoyable. I play in a league with mostly friends and it has a $100 entry.

I have been on a hot streak the last few years, so my attitude has been pretty good, but I have been frustrated in the past with fantasy football and the randomness of the games and playoffs.

Two years ago I won the league with a decent team, last year I lost in the first round with my second best team in 20 years, and this year I am in the conference finals with a decent team. So it's tough to predict.

But I plan on playing in this league forever. It makes Sunday's interesting.

 

[comfortably numb]

If I ever quit, I would probably do a Best Ball league.

Low maintenance

 

[ivnabru]

I played for a lot of years and at one point was up to 10 leagues even wrote for a site. I got burnt out (plus got way more busy with life). Now I'm mostly 'retired' playing in one league that's not very competitive with friends. I do very little research and spend very little time on that league. It's kind of nice not to care about the Monday night game when it's terrible teams like St Louis/Seattle. I did have Jackson going, but was only down 1 point with him going and my opponent had nobody left. I figured my odds were good enough that who cared even though it was playoffs.

I'd be fine not playing honestly, but it's kind of fun to get the trash talk going every once in a while. I don't mind not winning, it's more fun when you can ride whatever hot waiver-wire guy is out there because your team is that bad than it is to watch your studs fall apart sooner or later and get mad.

 

[Abe Strohman]

So, If you answer yes to the poll, why are you and how are you making yourself able to do it.

If you answer no, is it because you are doing well or because you just can't see it happening?

It's really not that difficult. This colossal waste of time/effort I've been partaking in the past 20 years is 90% luck. Skill is largely a myth (as you'll often see threads talking about mid- or late-season speculative pick ups as "lottery tickets"), and after a while it gets tiresome seeing your players get hurt or #### the bed at inopportune times. I actually look forward to just watching games and enjoying them for what they are - entertainment. No more shouting, "Catch the ball, you bum!" or "Nooooooooo, I'm playing against that guy today!" It helps that I've lost five RB's to injury this season, and am just generally fed up with trying to bail a sinking ship with a thimble.And in the interest of full disclosure, I've won way more than my share of championships over the years. The thrill is gone, though. I've outgrown it, finally. Good riddance, I say.

 

[two_dollars]

I'll let you know after this week.

 

[Todem]

I have realized that the less leagues your in...the more fun you will have.

I cut my leagues in half this year (from 14 to 7)...and plan to whittle it down to just 5 next season. And I have little doubt for 2013 I will only have 3 teams max. One redraft and two dynasty teams.

Just too much work. And FF should not be work. Yes it was very profitable for some time.....but it was becoming diminished returns as the amount of work to run all those teams, stay on top of injuries, waiver moves etc etc etc. Nuts. Plus the conflicts of needing this guy in this league.....but not in that league.

My head was spinning.

I just want to watch football and have a handful of players I root for every Sunday.

Now that I am in the playoffs and only 2 teams have advanced to next week....it feels like fun again.

And this year was truly brutal for me injury wise. I have never seen it this bad for so many teams I have. Wow.

Less = more in FF.

 

[Da Guru]

I probably will never quit and will always have one team, but I don`t enjoy it nearly as much.

Nobody really has to work at it anymore..you can win leagues on auto-draft with some chit luck.

 

[shadyridr]

same guy in my league has threatened tonquit every yr cuz he cant deal with the bad luck or bad trades. hes still playing

 

[Todem]

I probably will never quit and will always have one team, but I don`t enjoy it nearly as much.Nobody really has to work at it anymore..you can win leagues on auto-draft with some chit luck.

Yes. This is what really get's to me these days.I have been playing this game since 1989. I remember how it was pre internet days. It was really all about research and getting good information, doing your homework and watching the games. The weak were slaughtered. It truly is a lot of luck....that we know. But to get to the playoffs almost every year usually took a decent amount of skill. Not anymore. Too much info available.

 

[footballnerd]

I probably will never quit and will always have one team, but I don`t enjoy it nearly as much.Nobody really has to work at it anymore..you can win leagues on auto-draft with some chit luck.

Yes. This is what really get's to me these days.I have been playing this game since 1989. I remember how it was pre internet days. It was really all about research and getting good information, doing your homework and watching the games. The weak were slaughtered. It truly is a lot of luck....that we know. But to get to the playoffs almost every year usually took a decent amount of skill. Not anymore. Too much info available.

wouldn't this mean you have to work even harder? I think the new edge is being able to analyze past situations to make a decision before the news comes out. Like those that were saying Best and DMC were done for got a jump on everyone else waiting for the news to come out (I was not one of them unfortunately). Its a new phase required in FFL.

 

[Todem]

I probably will never quit and will always have one team, but I don`t enjoy it nearly as much.

Nobody really has to work at it anymore..you can win leagues on auto-draft with some chit luck.

Yes. This is what really get's to me these days.

I have been playing this game since 1989. I remember how it was pre internet days. It was really all about research and getting good information, doing your homework and watching the games. The weak were slaughtered.

It truly is a lot of luck....that we know. But to get to the playoffs almost every year usually took a decent amount of skill.

Not anymore. Too much info available.

wouldn't this mean you have to work even harder? I think the new edge is being able to analyze past situations to make a decision before the news comes out. Like those that were saying Best and DMC were done for got a jump on everyone else waiting for the news to come out (I was not one of them unfortunately). Its a new phase required in FFL.

Experience has given a lot of us the edge today.

However the availability of information today has narrowed the gap.

 

[DocHolliday]

FF is not what it used to be for me. I decided a few weeks ago that I am quitting the head to head league. I am in the playoffs so it is not that I am upset about my showing. I finished 4th and have the last playoff spot. I do not know most of the guys, even though it is a local league. It is an online draft so I have no idea who some of the people are that I am playing.

I am on the fence with my only other league. This is my 10th year in that league with close friends, brother, and cousin. It is an all points league. Draft day is an all day party. That has been the only part I really enjoyed this season. I will probably continue to roll with that league just because I enjoy our group.

Other folks have told me that FF has become boring. Not sure what happened. Maybe it is like many things and simply lost its luster over time. Maybe it is because it is less about skill these days and more about luck.

 

[simey]

i have fun playing fantasy football every year. why would i want to quit?

 

[rangerforme]

They key for me was getting into leagues with close long time friends and we are all very competitive, 10 years we have had one repeat champion its been that tight. Its great because its constant smack talk and we just have fun with each other. Once I admitted to myself that its about 90% luck and 10% skill, maybe less now adays its just more fun since I know its pretty much a game of chance.

Our auction is a 2 day deal where we golf, then use the clubhouse for our action draft(low weekly score puts $5 into the beer kitty), drink free beer till 2am, then get up the next day and golf again, its a blast. I don't think I'd play in anymore leagues with strangers or guys I dont know well.

 

[Class Dismissed]

The worst teams in my league are the teams that had the most points scored against them, not for them.

Just about all luck.

 

[The Jerk]

I'm starting to develop a new theory: That FF is like a life cycle and, similar to life, it starts off in a way where the less you know about it in the beginning, the more fun it is; even though those are the years when you probably won't be as successful because you are still learning the game. And then you find a sweet spot where you're winning leagues and doing well and balancing all your time and rewards. And then, once you really get smart about everything and really know what's going on and what should be, it goes dark and makes you cynical because your common sense tells you one thing while "quirky" things actually happen. So no matter what you play for (fun, money, competitive nature, etc), you are left a bit disappoitned more often than not because no matter what you try to reason or control, there is no logical answer when your all-star lineup just doesn't do it when you know they should or the odds seem crazy that its YOUR guys that are going down with injuries, etc.

Shutout,Extremely provocative post. I agree with nearly everything you wrote, although I have slightly different twists on your theme. For people like me who are entering their third decade in FF, those initial years coincided with the rise of the Internet, and it was possible to have a decided information edge if you had the access, the time and the motivation to go get it. I actually had the privilege of exchanging e-mails with Joe Bryant himself late in 1996 during our mutual playoff runs in which we were giving lineup suggestions to each other. There was an old usenet site called rec.sport.football.fantasy where comparatively early diehards were exchanging information and ideas on a daily basis while a lot of the rest of the competition were still looking at their June-printed magazines trying to make lineup decisions. In my case, I had a very brief learning curve and then had a massive run of success that has become less frequent as my information advantage has all but disappeared. Like some other posters have said, the challenge is in finding other ways to develop an edge on the competition, and I seem to have found some of that as I have had another run of success after cooling off in the early 2000s.What gets me occasionally considering retirement is the realization that it will almost be impossible to replicate my success of the early years given the changes to the NFL in terms of its rules and the change in football information. There is both too much (anyone can get a good cheat sheet in less than a minute of work) and too little (so many teams playing the cloak and dagger routine). But the real point is that I have won 7 head-to-head and also 7 total points championships in 18 years in my longest running league. If I don't win a championship, I cannot honestly say I had a good year. It's like being a Patriot or Steeler or Packer fan. Championship or "failure" basically is how a season is defined now. And I'm sure many FBGs feel the same way. And that's just hard to do when there is luck and strong competition, in which the odds of winning one championship in a given year by the straight numbers is 1 in 12 for each category. This year, I'm in my league's final four and neck and neck with another team for the total points. If I finish second in both formats, I'll end up with a mostly negative vibe from this year. And I shouldn't. But that's what happens when you have so much prior success. I can't be like a Browns fan who would be ecstatic just to win a playoff game.Anyway, what I do when I start to head toward the "darkness" in FF is remember what got me involved in the first place. It makes a game that I had no interest in watching a compelling matchup. (And by the way, another reason "veteran" FF players get less enjoyment is that almost as a rule, their lives have become more hectic as they have moved toward their late 30s or 40s...) I actually enjoyed that debacle yesterday, which would not have been possible without some outside interest. And that brings me a decent way back from the brink of retirement.

 

[kardplayer]

I often think about it, but can never see it actually happen. This year, I'm basically in semi-retirement... made far less moves for most of the season (in fact, I feel like I blinked and it was Week 10) and muddled through and should make the playoffs in 2 of my 3 redrafts. Tonight I'm doing some old fashioned research to try and get the teams "playoff ready", but the reality is it's all about draft night and the playoffs now, the FFL season is just the part I need to get through. And The Jerk has it dead on. I started playing FFL with my fraternity brothers while I was in college. It heated up in the first few years out of college in NYC with my roommate and my drinking buddies and the ample amount of trash talking that goes with it. Now married, living in the burbs with kids, there's just not as much time to dedicate - and that seems likes it's ok.

 

[mozzy84]

Thinking very hard about not playing. It's more about time invested to something that is ultimately left out of our hands. I think of all the things I COULD do with my time that would actually be far more rewarding than watching some POS corner taunt on a play allowing a fresh set or downs and a freaking Steven freakin Jackson TD....huh...where am I? Sorry it seems like all day today my rage takes over which is yet another reason I am thinking about giving it up. I am too old to be yelling at the TV in a game between 2 teams like Seattle and St. Louis.

I love it but I hate it. I think I'd rather spend all the time I have on FF with my kids. I wish I could say I will just not put as much time into it and just continue the hobby but I am not built to do it that way. I am like a synapse, it's all-or-nothing for me.

this is what makes ff fun and makes watching a crappy game like that worth watching. That kind of stuff happens to you but it also happens for you on a monday night, it all comes around eventually. I got the boot from the playoffs (and a bunch of cash)by 1/10 of a point on that Lynch td run, its not gonna ruin my day though

 

[The Jerk]

Now married, living in the burbs with kids, there's just not as much time to dedicate - and that seems likes it's ok.

This is so true.One of the reasons I've stayed with it for 20 years is I don't watch every minute of every game that I can, and like I once could often do when I was in my 20s. It used to be killing me to be away from a significant game in the late 1990s, and of course now it's easy enough to track with a phone, but for large parts of the 90s and 2000s, it was much more difficult. I make sure I coach my son's sports teams, do the occasional family trip, and keep up with yard and house work for parts of most Sundays so that I don't get too totally obsessed. Luckily, my wife is nearly as interested in the Steelers as I am, so that part of the week is easy. Week 16 is going to be rough with the Christmas overlap but in some ways it makes it easier. Football isn't going to ruin my holiday. If I am fortunate enough to gain a championship, it will enhance it. But I've got two little ones who are going to be getting far more of my attention than my team, and seeing their excitement is going to easily overcome any disappointment I might feel from the results of a collection of random strangers I've never met and have no control over.