LIVING IN A FANTASY

Ok football fans, time to wake up. No, this isn’t your mother waking you up for dreaded school after a sun-filled summer of sleep-away camp. It’s the opposite. This is the NFL, waking you up for September after a drama-filled summer of dreaded training camp.

For the past 4 months, our imaginations have been filled with hype and expectations, daydreams and delusions that maybe, just maybe, this season will be it. We’ve convinced ourselves that our receiving corps is stronger than average, our quarterback has what it takes, and our defense isn’t as penetrable as they say.

We’ve used statistics for predictions, experts for advice, and analysis for estimations. We’d sell our soul for a trophy but insist our team doesn’t need the extra help.

Did I mention these are our fantasy teams? However, these ideas aren’t far from our true fandom. It’s not a big difference from the squads we’ve invested our lives into versus the ones we’ve merely invested money.

We hang high hopes on players, coaches and match-ups using phrases such as “just wait” and “you’ll see.”

Well, the wait is over. We’ve sweated through our fantasy drafts and awaited final roster cuts and now our false sense of confidence has carried us right up to this moment.

Reality.

And the beginning of a new NFL season.

Fantasy or not, everyone rolled their eyes as Jets fans hyped Mark Sanchez, Washington talked about winning a Super Bowl and Favre triumphantly returned.

So this season, I’m keeping track. We are going to destroy illusions in hopes of uncovering a reality. That fantasy football and fandom in general, is more about what you think than what you actually know.

Each week we’ll follow the truths and delusions of several knowledgeable sports fans from various teams around the league. Does honesty grow with exposure or is the other way around?

And how do I prove they are knowledgeable? I can’t. The standings will do that for me.

PREDICTIONS:

Jeremy, the “Hopeful Defeatist”
Bills: 5-11... Ravens/Vikings in Super Bowl
Week 1 Quote - “That Super Bowl call is a huge gamble”

Jen, the “Psychologist”
Dallas: 12-4, no 11-5... Packers win Super Bowl
Week 1 Quote - “Cowboys will give hope that they are a SB caliber team but will beat themselves with mental errors.”

Mark, the “Unrealistic Homer”
Packers: 12-4... Packers/Colts Super Bowl
Week 1 Quote - “Our O-line is way better than anyone knows.”

Spencer, “The Dejected Realist”
Redskins: 9-7... Colts/Vikings in Super Bowl
“Sadly, the ‘Boys will win the division”

Geoff, the “Blatant Pragmatist”
Ravens: 12-4... Colts/Saints in Super Bowl
“We have a weak schedule.”


Bonus Picks:
Mom’s Pick: Panthers over Giants “Because I like the color of their jerseys.”

Dad’s Pick: Patriots over Bengals, 28-21 “Because I have Tom Brady cologne. It smells good. Plus he impregnated two supermodels. That’s pretty good stuff.”

My Pick: Redskins over Cowboys. In reality, it just doesn’t get any better than this.