Does Fantasy Football really matter?

Tonight I will be attending a Fantasy Football draft "party." I don't know if the word party is the best noun available for what we'll be doing tonight. Neither is celebration or bash. It's more of a social gathering - like male bonding - but no one would dare call it that.

I'm actually kind of excited about playing Fantasy Football this year. I've played in the past and it's never turned out well for me. I'm too much of a homer and I draft players with my heart, not with my mind, which is I why I'm adamantly trying to trade-up to have the first pick in the draft so I can take Aaron Rodgers. I'm sure Rodgers will be available in my original #7 position, but I can't stand the anticipation in knowing that he could be someone else's team. I probably will lose all interest in this league if Rodgers isn't on my team. My best guess right now is that I'll have 4-5 Packers players on my roster, meaning I probably won't win this league because I'm too loyal. What's a Packers fan to do, though? It's my cross to bare cheering for the green and gold and I wouldn't have it any other way. Those who cheer for other teams can't identify. Only Packers fans understand.

The media has done a very good job marketing Fantasy Football. ESPN has programs devoted to it. Magazines, books and websites are created only for Fantasy Football. It's really very ridiculous if you think about, but at the same time, it's not. Human beings' souls crave for community and men are not exempt. Somehow, our culture has decided that it's macho or manly when a man avoids community, fellowship or commitment. I don't understand why. I think it has something to do with our society telling guys that they need to be consumers to be "men" (drink a lot of beer, sleep with a lot of women, drive cool cars and trucks, take as much as you can and stake your claim), but to be a man we need to be contributors.

If Fantasy Football was called Fellowship Football or Friendship Football, no one would sign-up to play. Call it Fantasy and it becomes the land of make believe. Every man has fantasies, right? This time, the real fantasy actually isn't a fantasy at all, it's fact. Obviously, the whole coaching a make believe team is not real, but the fact that men crave fellowship and community is the single reason it has turned into such a large market in this country.

So, fittingly enough, I'll be going to our church for our Draft Party. We'll eat wings and pizza (duh, of course we will) and talk about a football fantasy world, but we will also be bonding and building meaningful friendships...don't tell anyone.