Every year at about this time, countless football fans put on their "managerial hats" to test their abilities of drafting and managing a successful National Football League roster. Those who participate in and embrace this phenomenon, refer to their hobby as, "Fantasy Football". (The spouses of fantasy football enthusiasts probably call it something entirely different.)

The concept of fantasy football is actually quite simple; participants, (also known as "owners"), get together to "draft" real NFL players to their roster. Depending on how these NFL players perform during a game, points are allocated for various achievements, (touchdowns scored, yards gained, etc...). Each week during the NFL season, owners are paired up, and the roster with the highest point total, is the winner for that week. The regular season leads to a series of playoff games, and ultimately a league champion is crowned.

My wife actually gets a kick out of witnessing my involvement in fantasy football. As a stock analyst, Jennifer sees similarities between my strategies, and her professional, day to day activities. For example:
Jennifer invests real dollars in well-performing stocks.
I invest draft picks in players who are likely to score points for my team.

Jennifer researches new companies with a "good story" and high-potential upside.
I research "sleeper players" that I can pick up as the season plays out.

Jennifer's under-performing stocks get dumped.
My under-performing players get dropped from my roster.

The biggest difference between what Jennifer is doing and what I am doing is that her efforts bring home a paycheck. The best I can hope for is bragging rights among my fantasy football brethren. (As a side note, all trash talking within my fantasy football league must be delivered in limerick form. It is unorthodox, to be sure).

Why do so many guys get excited about fantasy football? The answer will come as no surprise. Fantasy football gives us a chance to actively show off our "expertise" in a sport that we are woefully under qualified to participate in. We know that we will never have the opportunity to be on the field with the likes of Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. But by "drafting" these NFL legends and deciding when they will "start" or when they will be "benched", gives us the false sense of power that we so desperately crave. The word, "fantasy" in "fantasy football" is grossly understated.

Today, fantasy football leagues are not exclusive to men, as many women are getting into the pastime as well. And the technology involved with fantasy football has evolved drastically. When my league first started twelve years ago, we relied on the Monday morning sports page to search for player stats so that we could manually tally our scores. Now, internet sites are available so drafts can be conducted online, and scores can be automatically tallied in real time.

While I can't get into all of the details of what happens at draft night in my fantasy football league, I will say that it's a once-a-year event that is the epitome of "male bonding". The stakes are low, but the excitement level is high. And with the recently unretired Brett Favre on my roster, I can't wait for the 2008 NFL season to begin!