Friday, October 12, 2007

Fantasy Update #6: Speed of the Game

Naturally, in real life each sport has its own pace and rhythm. The seasons differ dramatically from one another. The most obvious difference, of course, is in number of games. Major League Baseball plays 162 regular season games; the National Basketball League, 82; and the National Football League just 16. Baseball plays almost every day, basketball 2 to 4 games a week, football just one game a week.

In every sport fans, writers, coaches, and players talk about "the speed of the game." This is usually in the context of a particular contest, or in contrast to other sports or other levels of competition. Players moving from high school to college, or college to the pros, have to adjust to "the speed of the game."

With the end of the fantasy baseball season and the onset of the football season, and with basketball not yet begun, I made an interesting discovery. I'm sure it's one which millions of other fantasy sports enthusiasts already know, but is new to me, since this was my first year playing fantasy baseball. (Did I mention that I fielded a championship team in my rookie season?) The discovery was the sudden shift in gears going from baseball to football -- I miss the action.

The speed of my total fantasy game has changed, slowed way down. Two of my three baseball teams allowed me to make any number of roster and lineup changes every day. The action was every day. Now, with football only for a while, I can check and change rosters and lineups every day, but I have to wait for the weekend for the action, the competition -- it's just Sunday games and Monday Night Football. I am a very hands-on owner. I like football much better than baseball, but I miss the daily action.

I'm having to adjust to the speed of the game.

No comments: