Starting Life at 30: Are You Ready for Some Football?

For me, the month of July is like being a kid during the month of November, fixated on sweet anticipation of Christmas. You know it's too early to really decide what Santa should bring you, but there's no reason you can't bank up some good "better not pout, better not shout" points to ensure your status on the nice list. And while it's only preseason and it doesn't count and it won't even be very good, I've spent the last 6 months eagerly anticipating the return of football. My personal sports quota has been way below normal, with the beginning of the lull delayed due to the Winter Olympics, and then a mild increase during Celtics playoffs, but overall, since February, I'm more than two quarts down.

I love football. Specifically I love Steelers football. But over the years I've come to appreciate the entire sport and all the players who make it great. I think this comes from having moved away from Pittsburgh and therefore being exposed (whether I like it or not) to other teams.

When I lived in central PA, I mostly got Pittsburgh games, but sometimes the Eagles would come through too. And of course I don't get nearly enough Steelers games in MA. And I have a profound loathing of the New England Patriots. So I've come to watch whatever game is on Sunday afternoon. And then the 4:00 game. And the Sunday night game. And when Dave broke down and we got cable with ESPN, the Monday night game too.

My excuse started as "Well, if I watch this game, maybe they'll give me highlights of the Steelers game." But the more I watched, the more I was interested in the different players and teams. Don't get me wrong, my loyalties lie in Heinz Field, but I can appreciate a strong player on any team and can spot a good game when I see it.

And while I'm not a fevered sports junkie, I've started doing something that I once believed was reserved only for the most dedicated sportsaholics. I joined a Fantasy Football league. And then, because I had so much fun and wanted to play with people I knew and could really get into it with--I started my own league.

I'm the commissioner of a trash talkin' league full of family, friends and coworkers. We take it seriously (well, we take the trash talk seriously) and while for the most part it is just for bragging rights, there is a Family Cup that my sister, brother, brother-in-law, D and I throw a few bucks into, winner take all for the team among us that rates highest. D won last year, but ended up not getting his money since he couldn't come to Pittsburgh and collect his winnings as a result of his back injury. So we spent his winnings on beer when the Steelers beat the Ravens at Heinz Field after Christmas. (So I think that means everyone but D won that one.)

Yesterday I renewed the league, so now begins the second most important part of fantasy football (the first being creative, funny, and insulting trash talk): picking my team name. Two years ago I start with my love of all things ninja and was the Trailerpark Ninjas. Last year, in keeping with the ninja theme, I developed several ever-changing names, including Bridal Ninjas, Ghetto Ninjas, Ninja Muffins, Rainbow Ninjas and Defeated Ninjas (I ended up in 10th place out of 14th--at least I don't take my team development too seriously). This year I'm starting out strong, with Ivy League Ninjas (What we lack in brawn, we make up for in brains) although that will require me to pay serious attention to team development. I'm open to suggestions!