As a new football season kicks off, fans around the country that don't live in Atlanta are excited because it's a new year and dreams of their team going to a Super Bowl are dancing in their heads. Unfortunately for most fans by week two reality has hit and they realize that their team has about as much chance of winning a Super Bowl as a joint has of making it out of Ricky Williams's house un-smoked. Luckily for those fans that are stuck in crummy football cities, there is still hope of winning a championship in your fantasy football league. That's right, fantasy football is back and as women across the country roll their eyes in frustration, men are already monitoring every minute of every game so that they can track the stats of the players on their make believe football teams.

Girl One: "I met this guy last night and I think I he might just be the one."
Girl Two: "Wow what's he like? Is he cute? Does he a good personality? Does he have a lot of money?"
Girl One: "No, but he's won his fantasy football league two years in a row!"
Girl Two: "Oh my god, you HAVE to play this one JUST right because you don't want to lose this guy!"
Girl One: "Oh I know, because if there's one thing I've learned over the years it's that if a guy can't run a fantasy team there's no way he's going to be able to run a family!"
Girl Two: "You are so right Jenny; do you want to make out?"

And here's the deal, every one is playing fantasy football and every year it's getting more and more competitive. For example, I was at a bar before the season started talking to a friend of mine who was all excited because this year the prize for winning his fantasy football league was $2,000.00! The only rub is that he somehow had to break it to his wife that he had spent $500.00 to draft a team in the league. Let me tell you, as a fantasy football veteran I don't know which task is more daunting, trying to win the championship in a 12 pool league or convincing your woman that blowing the rent money on the sports version of Dungeons & Dragons is a good idea. So I did what any good friend would do in that situation, made fun of him all night, wished him luck, and then offered him my couch to sleep on just in case Ron Mexico's All-Stars didn't take home the grand prize this year.

So we as fantasy sports players suffer the ridicule and the jokes about having no life because we know that when it comes down to it, winning your fantasy football league is the ultimate accomplishment in any group of sports-loving friends. Sure, winning 2 G's would be nice, but the real reason to play fantasy sports is for bragging rights over your friends. Your best friend could hook up with Jessica Alba tomorrow night and win the power ball lottery the next morning, but if his fantasy football team is in last place he's still going to be the butt of 95% of the jokes in your circle of friends. Sure, his life would be SUPREMELY better than everyone else in the league, but he that's why they call it fantasy football.

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