I fully planned on "retiring" from fantasy football going into this season. I've been wanting out since 2020. Just been a rough go of things in my personal life and something's gotta give so football it is. It's entertainment at the end of the day and I've been in this particular league for over 12 years.
2020 - I won the fucking league 2021 - We had a guy who won the league then bounced and didn't give us an opportunity to win it back from him...my intention was not to try and just drop it to someone gracefully and then exit. I did literally zero preparation and did the minimum in season management because I did not expect that I could ever, possibly get last to these shit sippers...but no, my hubris needed to be humbled and I probably had more games where players got injured mid game and did not finish than all of my previous seasons in this and other leagues combined...what a dumpster fire. I ended up getting last and had to do the last place punishment. Fuccckkk 2022 - I couldn't go out last. That's not me. That's not how I go out. Maybe it's ego but I don't give a fuck. I decided this was it. No more straddling the fence if I was in or out. If I won the title and then walked off...then so be it. I am fairly confident that if I tried I will not come last but be a contender for the playoffs. I did a decent amount of prep work before the draft and even had a strategy going in for the first time in a long time. For the most part I executed that strategy. I missed the playoffs by losing the last game of the regular season to one of the last place contenders...I needed to win to 4 in a row and have a bit of luck to get in. I got 3 in a row. It especially hurts a bit because I objectively have the hottest and highest scoring team. I have 100 total points more than the next highest scorer in the season. I had the third hardest schedule. I scored 17pts/game higher than the AVERAGE of the team. Alas some of us are just unlucky.
The ironic and hilarious thing is that I lost in the most San Diego Chargers way possible lol. I went heavy into the "charger country, bolt up" sauce. I swear San Diego has one of the worst owners, coaching and training staff in the NFL...Herbie with his rib injury(we've seen this before unfortunately), Ekler was fine but he was injured for like three plays when they were on the redzone(d'oh). The dumb shit decision not to put Keenan Allen on the IR for his hamstring injury which ended up costing him more time missed and a bench spot than if he was just put on the IR. I swear other teams have been far far far better at judging injuries and rehabbing their players by USING the IR spot intentionally. It's almost like player safety is actually a good thing for football. The players, the fans and the owners bottom line because they don't give a shit about the players or fans...they know we are fucking crack addicts and will keep coming back for more. Seriously though what the fuck is a catch anymore? The product is quite bad at times but at least this season has been so fucking batshit crazy and entertaining. It's one for the books. I'm actually legit excited for the playoffs for the first time in a long time.
Finally...I'm free. It's been crazy to reflect on all these years and the big moments in life that I and my league members have gone through. I described fantasy football to foreigners in hostels that football is basically a melodramatic artistic choreography. It's the American and primarily male version of like a knitting or book club with your mates. I think the reason I was on the fence was that I would lose that camaraderie in the group chat. I'm not particularly close to anyone. It's basically an arms length distance friendship relationship that centers primarily on football and sports related things...and I'm totally good with that. It's worked. I can't stand ESPN regurgitated bullshit or if some random bozo asks me about fantasy football. They probably suck donkey balls and draft a kicker in the first. Not sure how to replace that...but maybe I'll re-up with them if a spot opens up. All I know is that I need a break and I want to free up some time in the fall/winter going forward. Admittedly, I didn't practice a healthy balance at times.
I'm free. COVID was a hard reset for me and I have much higher priorities. I'm free to enjoy football again without the fantasy football bullshit. I feel like people enjoy fantasy football more so than the actual game and it's...I don't like it. These are people competing at the highest level and shitting on someone or going to their Twitter to slam someone is rubbing me the wrong way. I've learned a bit from my years of fantasy football but I'm soooo looking forward to put this in the rearview mirror and just...be free to try new things. Maybe I'll turn into an F1 asshole.