Fantasy Football for Firefighters

The Fall season of Fantasy Football is upon us. With the beginning of the National Football League schedule this weekend, hundreds of thousands of fantasy leagues are getting underway. Online accounts are being made, draft parties are being planned, and player stats are being scrutinized.

Full disclosure: I don’t do fantasy football. Not against it, just not my thing. So maybe my perspective is a bit biased, but I don’t think it is. Bear with me for a minute.

Quite frankly, I don’t want to hear about your fantasy team, picks, record and whether or not you should start one player versus another on Sunday. I don’t care.

At least, I don’t want to hear about it until I’ve heard you discuss something that has to do with reality, not fantasy.

Firefighting.

Let me hear you discuss an article you’ve read, a video you’ve watched, a conference you attended over the weekend. I want you to ask me about that last run and how we could have improved. Bring me a new idea for training or a different way of racking the line. Ask me to take you out to the bay and go over the truck compartments. Tell me how you’re investigating a new tool or technique to see if it will benefit our department.

Are you honestly putting the same amount of energy and passion into learning about the fire service as you are about the next opponent’s defense? Is the amount of time you spend researching player performance metrics proportional to the amount of time you’re investing in those players on your firehouse team? Are you focused on improving your skill set that might save a life or just on improving your standing in the league rankings?

Are you so focused on fantasy right now that you’re forgetting that firefighting is a reality?

Talk to me about the best job there is first for a few minutes. Then, by all means, tell me about your league. Seriously, please tell me. It’s always fun to hear how you’re losing to your Grandmother or your 8-year-old son in the family fantasy league. You’ll be sure to have my full attention!