Is there an App that cures FTF (Fantasy Teams Fatigue)?

The craze that has swept the World in the last few years could possibly have another victim.

English Premier League (EPL), Australian Football League (AFL), Australian A-League, The Ashes and most recently, the FIFA World Cup have me caught up in finding the right team balance whilst adopting the most appropriate list management strategy to succeed in pursuit of the ultimate prize.

What started out as harmless fun with the AFL Supercoach competition amongst family members and friends has spread to AFL Dreamteams, Fox Sports Fantasy AFL, Fantasy Ashes, Fox Sports Fantasy EPL, Premier League Fantasy Football, Fox Sports Fantasy A-League and Fox Sports Fantasy World Cup.

I have even given serious consideration to Fox Sports NRL and Fox Sports Super 14; two sports where my knowledge of individual players is (and will be) limited to the Melbourne franchises.

The competition against family and friends has also led to me referring to them as ‘rivals’.

For those who feel like they may be getting caught up in this fad, here are a few of the signs, symptoms, scenarios or emotions to look out for. If they occur, something may be amiss:

  • Your wife or girlfriend, who openly admits to not knowing much about the sport, beats you in a head to head match up! She has only joined your competition for the “fun of it”. As soon this scenario happens, the ‘fun’ concept no longer applies.
  • In addition to the many hours in front of the PC at home you find yourself logging on at work for the entire allotted two hour lunch time because your employer only allows that two hour ‘window’ to surf non work related internet content.
  • You have been able to find ways to get into competitions such as Supercoach through different websites during your whole working day despite your IT department’s best attempts to limit your access to the aforementioned two hours. It’s amazing how regional newspapers’ websites come in handy in these scenarios…
  • Applications on iTunes are purchased so that you can access and make changes to your fantasy teams 24 hours a day.
  • You start to believe that Mondays are now set aside to email or contact your ‘rivals’ and ‘sing your own praises’ about your weekend feats or reflect on how a certain player or players cost you significant points and ultimately the ‘all important’ win.
  • The most used excuse by yourself when beaten is “How do you expect me to win when I played one or two players short and didn’t have any coverage on the bench”.
  • The most nervous days of the week for you are Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This is when all of the ‘chosen ones’ in your fantasy teams are either selected to play or omitted because of injury, illness or ‘team balance’. Don’t match committees understand the importance…?
  • Selecting your teams with your heart instead of your head just leads to you being non competitive and constant frustration.
  • No matter how well they are performing, you can’t bring yourself to put certain players in your team. You know this is to your own detriment.
  • You find yourself barracking for players from teams that three years ago you were happy to criticise and be openly judgmental about their (lack of) ability; without foundation. You are even satisfied when they have numerous contested possessions or kick goals against your beloved team. Blasphemy!
  • You have pondered “How much would Wayne Carey, Dennis Lillee and Maradona have cost?”
  • Insomnia can become an issue when overseas competitions are involved. The FIFA World Cup certainly did not help the sleeping patterns of us in Australia: it was like suffering from 5 weeks of jetlag. And now we face six months of late Saturday nights and Sunday mornings with the EPL. Thank goodness there are no fantasy teams for La Liga, the Bundesliga or Serie A: yes I have looked…
  • Your obsession with fantasy teams can you result in you losing track of who plays which sport and when they are actually playing. Should I substitute Fernando Torres for Adam Cooney this week; is Ricky Ponting a better option in the forward pocket or midfield; and is Didier Drogba the obvious choice as my Ashes all-rounder?
  • Anyone who is not involved in fantasy teams is not normal.

I have ignored the signs, symptoms and emotions for too long. Time to take action.

Do I go ‘cold turkey’?

Do I just reduce the amount of competitions involved in one season at a time?

Or do I wait and see if Apple launches an application (sorry ‘App’) that will enable me to continue the status quo without suffering from fatigue and guarantees that my rivals morph back into family and friends?

About Stephen George

I am an avid sports fan who admires anyone who can play or participate in sport at pretty much any level. My favourite sports are AFL, soccer, Major League Baseball, Rugby League and NFL. I have recently finished my Diploma in Sports Journalism and I am interested in improving my skills by contributing to the Footy Almanac

Comments

  1. Very amusing article, Stephen.

    I think Apple needs a FCAA app (Fantasy Competition Addicts Anonymous).

    They’d make enough from that to launch the iPhone 5.

    What I mean is, I think you’re far from being alone :p

  2. No matter how well they are performing, you can’t bring yourself to put certain players in your team. You know this is to your own detriment.

    ^ Very true. I could not bring myself to add Nick Riewoldt or Gary Ablett to my team, no matter how well they were doing. I did weaken this year though, buying Ablett a few weeks ago as he plummeted to a very low price. He won’t be in my team next year though, I can guarantee.

    Also, now that you mention it, how much money would Wayne Carey be worth at his peak if Supercoach was played in the 90’s?

  3. Hows about Gary Senior? Polly Farmer?

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