Chief Dick Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 I've been playing this game for 9 years now, and it seems that every year gets harder and harder to get excited about this hobby. The draft is usually a very anticipated event, but I know my enthusiasm has been tempered for the last several years. The reality of the situation is that I just don't really care about it any more. I know I continue to play because I have committed to my various leagues and will try to see them through, but the more I think about it the more I just want to walk away from it. Don't know if it's because of the longevity of playing, the new family commitments I have now, or just plain apathy at doing the same thing every year. What really got be thinking about it was last week. The Chiefs lost, and most of my FF teams lost, and it really put me in a bad frame of mind the rest of the day and the early part of the week. And I started wondering why this fantasy football thing has such a hold on me. It's almost like a drug in that you start with one league, and then you obsess and want more. You enter multiple leagues and all of a sudden it starts to really affect the way you think about football, and it really affects the most precious commodity we all have: TIME. And as I get older, time is my enemy. And when I think about the things most important, and how I allocate time to them, suddenly fantasy football seems like a serious waste of what precious time I have. And when you throw in all the time I sit here reading, studying, and interacting, it drains that much more time from more important things. I am starting to think I will walk away from this hobby all together after this year. And I've really enjoyed the competition, the added interest in football, and the added friendships I've been able to cultivate. But at this point it just takes up time. And I need that time to be a good husband and father, a good son to my parents, a good brother to my siblings, and a good friend to my closest compadres. So to all here, thanks for letting me get this off my chest, and thanks for any advice. And thanks for allowing me to be a part of this community: it truly means more to me than you all can ever know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grits and Shins Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 I understand. I'm thinking that taking it back to 1 or 2 leagues would go a long way toward reducing the "work" and increasing the enjoyment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primetime9287 Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 It's almost like a drug in that you start with one league, and then you obsess and want more. You enter multiple leagues and all of a sudden it starts to really affect the way you think about football, and it really affects the most precious commodity we all have: TIME. And as I get older, time is my enemy. And when I think about the things most important, and how I allocate time to them, suddenly fantasy football seems like a serious waste of what precious time I have. Only do 1 or 2 leagues...I've been playing 6 years and have always done one league. I don't even see how more than 2 or 3 leagues can be fun and you would have to do so much more work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyr0802 Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Chief- hope you can find enjoyment in this season if it is to be your last, best of luck this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RokoMotion Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 I suggest reducing down to one league, and if possible, getting in a cumulative points league. Those are more "spectator" type leagues, and less stressful. You can draft your team and not worry as much about your competition and schedule all the time. Regardless, I hope if this is your last season, that it turns out to be your best God Bless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 I hear what you are saying, Chief. I cut back to 3 leagues, each different from the other. I find my enjoyment has increased and it is not the chore it became last year. I'm looking forward to sundays and I'm looking forward to next season (I'm in a dynasty league, I'm rebuilding, and I've got 3 1st round and 3 2nd round picks.). Bottom line advice, cut back the # of leagues you're in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flip_Side Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Come on now Chief, snap back to reality. But yeah, I only participate in 2 leagues a year, one local for fun and one big cash league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishFreak Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 1) Just do be in TWO solid leagues. Too may leagues makes my head spin and after a while you're rooting for everyone. 2) Make sure the leagues are completely different (Auction, performance based, etc.) 3) Try getting into a league with complete strangers. I've found that playing in the same league with the same guys all the time gets tired and less and less exciting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rattsass Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 (edited) There must be a 9 year "wall" in this hobby. I went through the same feelings you did about 4-5 years ago. What did I do? That was the first year of WCOFF. And I signed up. I lost (Curtis Martin 1st round - ankle injury week one). But it got my juices flowing again. Maybe you need a similar jumpstart. I must agree with the advice that I have seen here so far. Cutting down the number of leagues you are in will free up more of your time, and may allow you to keep enjoying the game without completely walking away. Fantasy football is a big commitment (when you do it right) and I do understand the thoughts you are having. Weird that I had been playing about hte same amount of time as you when I started to feel a little burnt on it. But I'm feeling much better now! Edited September 17, 2006 by rattsass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishFreak Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Try signing up for bigger entry fee leagues also. At least $250+ will keep you interested and the juices flowing.....trust me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennys Vipers Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 sit back and enjoy THIS yr--you may find that 1-cutting back on # of tms will help-2-try different types of leagues--3--even if you don't use ffootball as a release-find some time for yourself-everyone needs it-ps--went through this at about the same time(9yrs)-cut back and am still at it after 14yrs--but back to this yr--enjoy it no matter what you decide ---thanx,viper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 I've been playing this game for 9 years now, and it seems that every year gets harder and harder to get excited about this hobby. The draft is usually a very anticipated event, but I know my enthusiasm has been tempered for the last several years. The reality of the situation is that I just don't really care about it any more. I know I continue to play because I have committed to my various leagues and will try to see them through, but the more I think about it the more I just want to walk away from it. Don't know if it's because of the longevity of playing, the new family commitments I have now, or just plain apathy at doing the same thing every year. What really got be thinking about it was last week. The Chiefs lost, and most of my FF teams lost, and it really put me in a bad frame of mind the rest of the day and the early part of the week. And I started wondering why this fantasy football thing has such a hold on me. It's almost like a drug in that you start with one league, and then you obsess and want more. You enter multiple leagues and all of a sudden it starts to really affect the way you think about football, and it really affects the most precious commodity we all have: TIME. And as I get older, time is my enemy. And when I think about the things most important, and how I allocate time to them, suddenly fantasy football seems like a serious waste of what precious time I have. And when you throw in all the time I sit here reading, studying, and interacting, it drains that much more time from more important things. I am starting to think I will walk away from this hobby all together after this year. And I've really enjoyed the competition, the added interest in football, and the added friendships I've been able to cultivate. But at this point it just takes up time. And I need that time to be a good husband and father, a good son to my parents, a good brother to my siblings, and a good friend to my closest compadres. So to all here, thanks for letting me get this off my chest, and thanks for any advice. And thanks for allowing me to be a part of this community: it truly means more to me than you all can ever know. And that is why i play in 1 Main league and do the huddle MVP challenge. I used to do 4 to 8 leagues and let me tell you, it's not fun at that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargerz Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 I will echo what others are saying. I would hate to see you walk away from fantasy football altogether. I would suggest cutting back to your local league and one on-line league. That way you still get to experience interacting with Huddlers and your local buds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McBoog Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 I am right there with you and started the very same type of thread a few years back on these very boards. It is like looking in the mirror reading your post. I can tell it is no longer fun, and that is why we are supposed to be doing this. My father died three years ago the Monday before the draft of my “big” money league . As the Commish of this league, I gutted it out, ran the draft and made the open announcement to everyone that I was dedicating the season to Dad. I obsessed. Lived and breathed that season and miraculously through sheer will won the Championship. Hated every minute of it and just gave the cash to my wife (she has always let me buy a toy with my winnings and has never asked for any of it). Ever since then, FF has not been the same. This was my year to walk away from it. Told everyone in the league that I would no longer play or run the league and offered it up to whoever wanted it. We had changed so much in makeup and “feeling” over the decade of this league that it just wasn’t the same. I had one real Pain In The Ass Owner (every league has one) and a few people who were good folks, but it just didn’t feel right anymore. With the twins turning four and a new baby, a move, a new city, a fresh start at my job, etc. FF just seemed too much to deal with. After endless whining by three original remaining GMs (besides myself), they bullied me into continuing the league this year. I complied with the understanding that I WAS NOW GOD ! Anything that happened in the league was what I decided, rule changes, decisions, size, EVEYTHING. The seven I chose to “secretly” continue the league were all OK with my new omnipotent powers because they know me to be a fair Commish. My first order was to reduce the high bucks league to a $20 entry and we now only play for the championship traveling trophy. The money will cover MFL, engraving and shipping if needed. Anything left over is the league buying me lunch for my efforts. All agreed and we are playing an 8 team league with some wild roster requirements. Our first week was a blast! I also got hooked into a BOTH homer league, seemed like a different and low maintenance type league. We’ll see. I am a Charger fan and have my Bolts, so it is not hard to "remember" who I have playing on that team on a weekly basis, even for an "old" guy As you can see, my “walk away” year has turned into two very low attention demanding leagues and I am actually enjoying FF for the first time in years! Chief, one year, between pay and free leagues, I managed 33 teams ! You are right, it gets you, holds you and starts to eat you away slowly. IF you walk away completely, good for you. Free leagues suck, but there is always some yahoo league you can terrorize that would be low maintenance and allow you to keep your edge if you decide to come back. OR, do what I did and choose that one group/league and do only that, and care less about it. When you worry about actually winning, it becomes a chore, almost joblike. When you play to play, it can be fun again. The people you play with can determine the level also. If you are dealing with a bunch of overly competitive guys that are themselves obsessing, they are not having much fun either. The whole experience becomes more like a job than a game or hobby (I have always doubted the “hobby” label that some put on this game we play. Is playing Monopoly obsessively a hobby? No! Collecting Monopoly sets IS a hobby though). By choosing the guys that wanted to play because they liked playing and taking the money element out of it, we are now playing for the trophy and “bragging rights”. I am glad they talked me into coming back and have trusted me to make it fun again on my terms. Hopefully, you will find this happy median. If not, Godspeed my friend, I am right there with you! But just remember one thing... IT IS ONLY A yumpING GAME! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liverlips Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 You only have 16 more weeks to go. Then get back to those other people. How much time could you possibly spend? I'm in two and I love it, hope you find joy in it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziachild007 Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Its not as uncommon as you think CD. I have talked to many hard core fantasy guys, and most seem to hit a point of burnout. I myself started feeling the same way as recent as this offseason. What helped me is just putting it in perspective as just a hobby. It shouldnt be something that takes up 12-16 hours of my day. If you take up golf or softball or any other sort of hobby, would you spend that much time working at it? More than likely not, I would think. One of the things I did was limit my ff time to certain hours. At work, I am usually either very busy or not busy at all. Before during my non-busy time, I would spend every minute here or scouring any team site I could find to get a leg up on my competition (which was fine with my boss, as long as we got our orders done). Now if I am not busy doing orders, I do some spot inventory, help the warehouse guys put up stock, or just pick up a product catalog and skim through to see if there was anything new I wasnt aware of. Pretty much the same for my home life. Before I would get home tell everyone hey and then fire up my laptop. Now I usually come home, play with the kids, help with homework, help the wife with housework (she works full time and handles four kids, so I dont mind lending a hand), and then get the kiddos to bed and spend a little QT with the Mrs. I still block an hour or two for myself once everyone is in bed, and usually will do some ff stuff during that time. So I guess basically what I am saying is not so much cut back to a certain amount of leagues, but more or less make sure the time you put into this hobby is appropriately balanced with the rest of the things that are important to YOU in your life. Keep your head up and know you arent the only one who has gone through this. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down Goes Frazia Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 I'm straight up addicted to it... it's still very much a hobby to me & never seems like work. I hope it never gets old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 I'm in 7 leagues and will probably drop back to 4 next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down Goes Frazia Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 I'm in 7 leagues and will probably drop back to 4 next year. I say that every year but end up adding one anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canman1104 Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Finally someone that is thinking the way I have been since last season. I to am thinking about giving up fantasy football and getting my old Colts season tickets back (they are in the family) and just going back to the real games and having fun just watching football and not trying to watch my fantasy players (got NFL Sunday ticket). Im only in 2 leagues but, its just not fun anymore. I been playing for 7 years and I to am just getting tired of it. I think about all the time I have waisted on the internet watching the fantasy sites, reading and posting things. Just not worth it to me anymore. Thats time I could be spending with my kids. It's sad when your child says on a Sunday "lets go see a movie cause all dad will do today is stuipd fantasy football". I think thats a signal to give it up and get with whats real. Maybe its just me but, this might be the last year for me with fantasy football. Im right there with ya CD. Glad you posted that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispirons Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Quitter!!! don't be bullied. do what your heart tells you to do. it is an investment of time. if you can't sacrifice it, don't do it. you'll be happier. jmo. i sacrifice the time cause i'm a slacker. plus, i'm gathering info for wagering purposes anyway. i'm hoping i can win a championship in one of my both leagues this yr. i'm still oh-fer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 (edited) Yea...went from 7-8 leagues last year to 4 leagues this year. I will just say that you have to be borderline freaked out to not experience diminished returns on a hobby like FF. We aren't spring chickens anymore. I remember my first year, drafting a QB in the first round, getting my rearend kicked, but cheering for every single guy on my team like it was life or death. I became aware of the importance of RBs in my 2nd year and drafted Emmit Smith along with a rookie named Edgerrin James; my starting QB was Doug Flutie but I won it all that year. That was a strange and innocent time. Having one team. Nothing else mattered. Now I have multiple players that I cheer for and cheer against due to the multiple leagues I've joined. Not only that, I am betting on 5-6 games a week. It's like I set myself up for a mathmatically impossible parlay of Fantasy Football and real time money. I don't know if I should get excited when TJ Houshmanzadeuah catches a TD pass or if I should curse him out. Did Housmanzaduah win me a FF game? Did he lose me a bet? Am I cheering for a terrorist? No matter, I put blinders on and cheer for the Seahawks like there is no tommorow. After that I cheer for my bets and my FF teams. The chips will fall, but I love this game and I love all this ridiculous stuff I do with it. Edited September 17, 2006 by bushwacked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turf Smurf Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Great way to expose weakness...lol...never occured to me! Should help the site leagues... If it is true though...putting your family, religion, and whatever, above this??? Guess I would just say Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 There must be a 9 year "wall" in this hobby. I went through the same feelings you did about 4-5 years ago. What did I do? That was the first year of WCOFF. And I signed up. I lost (Curtis Martin 1st round - ankle injury week one). But it got my juices flowing again. Maybe you need a similar jumpstart. I must agree with the advice that I have seen here so far. Cutting down the number of leagues you are in will free up more of your time, and may allow you to keep enjoying the game without completely walking away. Fantasy football is a big commitment (when you do it right) and I do understand the thoughts you are having. Weird that I had been playing about hte same amount of time as you when I started to feel a little burnt on it. But I'm feeling much better now! Well said... and WCOFF could be the answer. I am hitting my "9-year wall" here this season, I think. I have always just had 2-3 leagues - at most - and last year I upped that total significantly. It's too much. I need to pare back - starting next season. Would hate to see you go, CD... but I think there's ways to keep this thing fresh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turf Smurf Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 No sorrow for a Chef fan......just to bad it wasn't a Raider fan...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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