Sports fantasy pools a way to exercise the aging brain

By Lethbridge Herald on July 23, 2022.

LEAVE IT TO BEEBER
Al Beeber
Lethbridge Herald

Being an early riser – most days I’m awake before 4:15 a.m. – I take great joy in getting outdoors  early to embrace the day.

That joy extends in spring to sitting on the deck well before dawn with coffee and phone in hand checking my fantasy sports teams to see how I fare the previous night and to pick my rosters for the present day.

The hockey and baseball fantasy leagues I’m in with a group of guys from Ontario are ones which require spending time managing every day. While many leagues let managers pick their rosters weekly, ours is the type that allows daily changes.

In baseball, this is a necessity, especially with catchers who don’t play every single day. And of course, teams have days off throughout the week so to be competitive, a manager has to pick a starting roster every day.

At least with Yahoo, a manager can see who is starting by mid-morning, providing a chance to bench a player and insert another one into his position if need be. It’s time consuming but as a fantasy league junkie, I’m all in. 

Coming off the all-star break, I am beginning to wonder why I spend so much time on the baseball pool. I had 10 players in Tuesday’s all-star game, including Juan Soto who won the home run derby on Monday night. But I’m inching ever closer to the basement despite a talented roster that collectively isn’t doing it for me this year. And by “it” I mean winning in our weekly head-to-head competition against other managers. 

The head-to-head format is also one which not all leagues use with some preferring to rely on stats of individual players to determine rankings in various categories.

And if ours was like that, I might be higher up the standings. But I won’t complain because over the years, we’ve developed a great camaraderie with each other and there’d probably be less-interaction if we didn’t play each other.

We all need a break from the daily grind of life and fantasy sports pools are a way to provide that break, even if it’s only for two quick minutes to peek at the lineup or maybe check the waiver wire to see who’s available that might improve a roster. For me, checking available players is part of the morning routine. It’s about the first thing I do when I wake up because I’m competitive and want to be on top. 

All of our leagues are keepers, meaning we are allowed to protect several players before the start of a new season so we can hopefully maintain some continuity through the season. The philosophy of our group, which has played together for years, is that we build rosters through the annual draft. This means an astute manager has to follow the leagues closely during their respective seasons. For my fantasy NFL pool, I now spend hours watching watching college football highlights and checking game results to get an idea about which players may be worth considering when they’re draft eligible. The annual NFL draft, to be honest, is one of my television highlights of the year. I keenly watch the first several rounds to see which skill players are taken when.

This year’s was particularly interesting for me since I need help in the wide receiver and running back positions so I’ve got a few players in mind for our annual August online draft. And to be be extra sure, I’ll soon be buying a couple of magazines devoted to fantasy drafts to get a better idea of how my selections might turn out.

After finishing second last season and winning it all the year prior, my draft positions haven’t put me in the best spot to pick clearcut future stars so I need to be creative when my turn comes to pick.

And that’s a fun part of fantasy sports. While a person can let the app do the picking and hope for the best, taking a hands-on approach makes it much more satisfying when a guy actually makes the league playoffs, which in any league is a monumental achievement, whether keeper or not.

I know a lot of people question why a middle-aged person would devote so much time and energy to a game. Simply, because it’s fun and challenging. It’s a way to destress in a way that’s productive and rewarding.

Some people prefer to have a drink or two after work to relax or now that it’s legal, do cannabis. I’d rather walk the dogs – or more accurately dog since Rio’s arthritic hips are making even jaunts to the backyard to relieve himself a chore – then plunk down in front of the phone and a sports channel and dive into my pools in the evening.

For a brief period every autumn, our crew is not just focusing on one or two teams but three since professional baseball, football and hockey leagues are all active at the same time. 

For those of us who because of age and/or physical restrictions can’t do sports anymore, fantasy is the next best thing. We can exercise our minds instead of our bodies and as we age, keeping sharp mentally is important, as well.

Follow @albeebHerald on Twitter.