Fantasy Football

Sunday is a sacred day . Some go to church, some visit family, and from September to February, men all over the country huddle around their flat screens to cheer on their teams, or teams facing their teams rival. I am first and foremost a baseball fan. September and October excite me as a sports fan because of the pennant race, playoffs, and the World Series, much more than the NFL. Football and Basketball help me bide the time during the winter while baseball is on hiatus, but I am not one of the many who now call football out national pastime. That is fantasy.
Baseball might not be what it once was, but it will always be our national pastime. It's America. It's had more of an impact on the world than football. Remember NFL Europe? Central and South America have embraced it as fervently as soccer. Southeast Asia (Japan, Tawain, South Korea) have as well. Jimmy Fallon said it perfectly in Fever Pitch. You can't hide in a 162 game season. You have to have the skill in baseball. Even though it's a team sport, the individuality of the hitter makes it unique. It's one on nine.
Skill is involved in any sport. I'm not saying otherwise. Baseball just requires it more vigorously and over a longer period of time. Football is ephemeral. 16 regular season games, and if a fan is lucky, another three or four in the postseason. Because of America's short attention span, football is the easier choice. It's flashy, more available because of the savvy TV contracts the league has worked out. I consider it instant gratification. Baseball is more drawn out, but not in a bad way. It's the minutae, the subtleties, the strategy of small ball, or the grandeur of the homerun.
I am not immune to hipocrosy. I've said in an earlier post that I am in a fantasy football league. It actually make football more exciting to me. It adds a level of strategy I find the game lacking. Also, it is more short term than fantasy baseball, which I don't like as much. How's that for hipocrosy?
The way I look at it, baseball doesn't need any help. It is what it is. It's a game that I watch and enjoy. It's a game I can talk about with my nephew. It is a game I look forward to introducing to my kids when they're old enough to understand and enjoy it. It's a game I'm enjoying as I'm writing this. Go Phillies!