Sports Update

I realized the other day that, for all of my earlier talk about how involved I am in various sports things this Fall, I haven't given any updates whatsoever. Here, then, is an update on my various teams and how things are going...

Fantasy Football:

I am currently tied for 1st place with two other players in my 12-team league. This comes across as amazingly lucky to me since I am only 4th place in total points and don't really have that great of a team. My strategy has been to sign a nearly new team every week, picking up the best free agents and getting rid of last week's sign-ups. Because I know very little about individual players, this looks like a risky approach to me, but it seems to be working okay overall. Now that Donovan McNabb is out for the season, however, I am really worried about pulling off wins each week! He was my superstar QB!

I am watching less football than I was earlier in the season, thereby proving to everyone that I'm really just a fake fan. I also spend less time each week agonizing over which players to pick up or drop. I am not sure if this is because I have a system in place now or because I am less interested in it. Overall, it seems like the less time I have spent on this, the better my results have been!

Fantasy Hockey:

Since there are so many hockey games per week, I spend even less time agonizing about my Fantasy Hockey team. I don't make a lot of bench changes either (pick-ups or drops), but mostly just go through each day a month ahead of time and make sure that I have players in as many games as possible. I am currently in second place in my six-team league, so it's working out okay, but I feel like I'm taking a very half-baked approach to this fantasy league.

It is interesting to note that Fantasy Hockey has far fewer perks than Fantasy Football does. For instance, you can't "smack talk" in Fantasy Hockey -- the most fun part of Fantasy Football! And there is less expert advice as well, making player selection feel like a shot in the dark. This represents part of the reason that I am probably not as into it as I am into Fantasy Football. But I am still enjoying being in second place!

Nashville Predators:

The Preds are currently at 13-3-3 (wins-losses-overtime losses), and it's always nice to watch a winning team! I am still really enjoying being a season ticket holder. For some reason, I find going to the games very relaxing. For those 2.5 hours, you are completely immersed in what's going on around you, taking your mind off of anything that is currently stressing you out. And there's something rejuvenating about yelling and screaming, and dancing around when your team scores a goal. Although it has been an expensive endeavor to pay for two season tickets, I must say that I am currently up for getting season tickets again next year. It gets you out of the house regularly, gives you a feeling of belonging to a club, and really is a lot of fun. Plus, the Preds organization really goes out of their way to offer perks to their season ticket holders, so it feels like you really do get something extra for signing up.

The only con to this experience has been how it has affected the flexibility of our schedule. With 42 home games in the regular season, there are a lot of other things you can't participate in. We've had to forego a couple of out-of-town weddings so far this year and are staying in Nashville for Thanksgiving because we have games on Thursday and Saturday. That has been the only "hardship" about being a season ticket holder.

So, that's the update on all my sporting involvement this year. I'm having fun and keeping busy!