One of my favorite distractions is fantasy football and my favorite fantasy football league is the one I run every year. It’s a keeper league and we’re starting our 3rd year (technically 4th year but I’m not counting that first season on Yahoo!). The reasons that make it great are the same reasons many people wouldn’t like it.

• it’s complex. I have dozens of spreadsheets and have spent countless hours balancing the scoring. There are several different keeper rules under which you can retain players from the previous year, so the draft is very unique. most people like simple rules, but adding layers of complexity adds layers of strategy.
• it’s competitive. everyone in the league knows what they’re doing and wants to win. the fantasy football IQ in the league is very high and it’s highly unlikely you will get the better of someone in a trade. we don’t play for money, but we might as well. most people like a friendly game, but we take it pretty seriously. if you didn’t win last year, you lost.
• it’s non-stop. year round people are checking the site, trading players for draft picks, and researching stats from last year. most people don’t think about doing a fantasy football league until football preseason starts, but I am thankful to have a league I can check in March and expect everyone else to be engaged as well (in case i’m looking to trade a player).
• it’s verbal. we talk a lot. message boards, email, and even phone calls. no kidding, I got a phone call recently from one of the guys in the league and all we talked about was working out details of a trade. most people just want submit rosters and that’s it, but i just don’t think it’s as much fun unless there’s endless talk.

I took 48 hours to post the leagues keepers after the deadline to turn them in and no less than 3 of the owners got on my case for taking so long. everyone is ready to get started. so I am.