Fantasy ‘trophy’ achievement or point of contention?

Equal parts exhilarating and juvenile, I’m not ashamed to admit my membership in the nation of NFL fan geeks known as fantasy football junkies.

For those unaware, fantasy football is a game played where a group of people, oftentimes men, gather before the professional football season begins and select players from throughout the league to play on made up teams. Most leagues work in a head-to-head format in which each fantasy team plays against a single opponent from their league each week.

A fantasy team scores points based on how well the individual players they have preselected do in games. If a fantasy team has New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and he throws six touchdowns then those points go to the fantasy team owner that week.

At the end of the year, win-loss records determine league rankings.

To sports fans not consumed by the growing trend, the whole practice seems confusing and sophomoric, but to those growing numbers who play, the action is addicting.

The league I play in, dubbed the League of Unextraordinary Gentleman almost a decade ago, is comprised of mostly former Louisiana Tech University students. Although not college contemporaries of mine, I joined the group five years ago through the invitation of a former boss.

As a group of a dozen “grown” men with jobs, we converged in Alexandria last month to draft our teams. The hoopla, a male-only event, consisted of an informal championship ceremony in which the previous year’s victor donned his celebratory champion’s sports coat.

My team, named the “Shemelts” by my compatriots in the league, won a best-of-the-worst competition last season, which allowed me to take home a trophy that has a name I cannot mention in print. It consists of a brown toilet seat and cover connected to a trophy, complete with proper phrasing.

The “trophy” sits on my living room’s coffee table and has become a source of contention between my wife and me. She wants it at the bottom of an out-of-town trash bin, and I want it mounted on the wall in between family portraits. Her plan seems to be the one we are favoring, but my 17-month-old son loves to play with the “trophy’s” bobblehead feature.

Myself and the rest of fantasy football junkies across this country kicked off our season Sunday when many of the NFL’s games were played. However, we have two more games to go in our league’s first week as the NFL has two Monday night games scheduled tonight.

To the friends and family out there who can’t seem to grasp why their loved ones enjoy this fantasy football charade so much, I offer a humble plea for understanding. Every sports geek needs a place to feel welcome, and these few Sundays of joy give us all a place to call home.

To those in the Teche Area wrapped up in fantasy football: Good luck and have a great season.

STEPHEN HEMELT is city editor of The Daily Iberian. He can be reached at stephen.hemelt@daily-iberian.com.