With fall comes football. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement of most college sports seasons, the NFL appears committed to proceeding undeterred, meaning the all-digital version of Americas most-watched sport is already ahead of the curve. Yep, its that time of year, when your inbox is met with email invitations and reply-all threads from friends asking you to join their fantasy football leagues.
For sports fans, fantasy coverage can feel like the pre-season of the pre-season as your favorite sites, channels, and podcasts begin to feature tips, cheat sheets, and mock drafts for the season. But for some of us (what I expect is an increasing number, honestly) this year might offer the best opportunity were going to get to dodge the stress of the game.
Of course, if you love fantasy sports and want to play, thats great! Fantasy sportsfootball in particular, given its weekly formatcan be a fun, structured way to keep in touch with friends and family. If this sounds like you, well, well see you on the virtual gridiron, and there are plenty of internet articles for you. This isnt one of them. But if the thought of taking part in a pretend draft and juggling your lineup every week for the next four months hits you with a pang of anxiety, consider this my permission to say no to fantasy sports.
You dont need my permission, but again, in case it helps: you dont need to play fantasy this season. Or next season. Or ever! You dont have to play in a house, with a mouse, in a chair, here or there… No fantasy baseball, no fantasy basketball, nor any other fantasy sport that you once thought would be a cool, passive adventure before you realized it can be a little too serious or in-depth for your enjoyment. Once fantasy sports tip the scale from being majority-fun to becoming a genuine source of stress, you canand should, I arguelet them go.
The strongest obstacle in the way of you adopting a fantasy sports-free lifestyle is social pressure. Ive been on both sides of that game, and I know what its like to scrounge for players in your work league, casual friend league, close friend league and beyond. At my worst, I was involved in four fantasy leagues at once. It was, to put it plainly, terrible. But while the volume I took on was obviously extreme (you might know someone even worse, or be that person yourself), any number of fantasy leagues can be more trouble than theyre worth if youre not invested, unless that number is zero.
Personally, I accepted most invitations for two reasons: I either underestimated the time commitment involved, or a friend was asking nicely and I didnt want to let them down. Youre no doubt especially familiar with the latter feeling if youre known for being a sports fan, as the expectation from your friends is that youll be more than happy to join in. But there are realities here worth facing: fantasy is a stressful, is a time-suck, it requires significant buy-in, it can sometimes ruin your enjoyment of the actual sport involved, and brings you more anxiety than actual fun.
Lets hit on each of those, and explore how you can use them to say no to fantasy football:
Fantasy is stressful
Plainly, fantasy sports can be anxiety inducing. Take fantasy football. It takes a significant amount of time to play well, and your odds of winning are low and, unless youre a data scientist, quite unpredictable. You could always sign up and play without proper effort, surebut then youre that person. The one who ruins the balance of the league by serving as a doormat to those other players who have the benefit of a free, unfair win against your skeleton roster of benched quarterbacks, bye-week receivers and running backs on injury reserve. Youre not doing your friend or the league any favors by saying yes if youre hearts not in it. You are doing the league a favor by saying no, whether they realize it at the time or not.
Fantasy is a time-suck
Fantasy is an investment, so ask yourself if the return is worth it. As someone whos won several fantasy championships, let me tell you: nobody cares. When bowing out of a fantasy league, its more than acceptable to be honest about your unwillingness to spend time on it. Politely decline, and keep it short and unapologetic. Dont fall into the game of listing your competing priorities, which will only give them somethin to push back against. Youre busy, and thats okay; or youre not busy and would rather spend your time napping than investigating whether Ezekiel Elliott is listed as questionable or probable, and thats okay, too.
Fantasy requires buy-in
And I dont mean financial (although thats another way out as wellIve successfully bowed out of many fantasy leagues by citing finances, which most league managers gracefully accept). But fantasy requires emotional buy-in for months, and maybe life is a bit stressful right now, given… everything? Now more than ever, a simple I cant handle the stress of that right now is more than enough. Maybe youd rather enjoy the game of football with a little less stress.
Fantasy can ruin football for you
One of the most insidious side effects of fantasy, particular if youre a team-based football fan, is the shame that comes with cheering against your team when your fantasy player is on the wrong side. This is an especially useful excuse if youre known to be a sports fan and the previous offerings (fantasy is a time suck and fantasy is stressful) ring hollow. You waste your time and emotional energy on sports, sure, but this year you want to focus those resources entirely on your team.
Of course, you could be that team manager who drafts only from the Detroit Lions to avoid conflicts of interest, but lets refer back to the doormat problem: Youre not helping the league by sabotaging your team with a losing strategy.
Remember that youre doing your friends a favor by being honest and upfront about your buy-in (or lack thereof). Their league will be better off with a substitute. And then you can enjoy other things this fall, minus the stress of fantasy. Once youve set this precedent, youll be free to only play during the seasons in which youre invested. Who knowsyou may never want to play a season of fantasy ever again.read more
It’s Okay to Say No to Fantasy Sports
