Ready for some football

As I type this post, I'm watching the NFL season opener: a wild game between the Packers and Saints. The last four weeks or so have been dominated by three things: the kids starting school, the new puppy and fantasy football. After days of research and podcasts, the season has at last arrived. My NFL focus won't only be fantasy football; at work, I'll be putting together the NFL roundup every Sunday night for the Monday newspaper, just as I have been almost every Sunday for several years now.

The one thing I haven't been doing is blogging about the NFL. After four years, I stopped writing my NFL blog. I hadn't been as serious about posting over the last year or so, and even after trying to reignite my enthusiasm for back in the spring, I found myself slacking off on it again. I enjoyed the blog when I was actively posting, but it had become too much of a chore. And these past few weeks, I haven't missed it. In past years, I'd avoid too much outside analysis and opinions so as not to cloud or influence my own original posts. This year, without the blog hanging over me, I've been free to research like crazy. And I have researched like crazy, and it's paid off: I'm happy with the five fantasy teams (yes, just five this year) I ended up with.

By December, my NFL buzz will subside, just like my baseball buzz dwindles by late July. The buzz doesn't completely subside, particularly if I have a fantasy team or two in playoff contention, but by then, my enthusiasm for putting the NFL roundup together will wane and I'll be looking toward the end of the regular season. But that is weeks off. For now, I'm ready for Week 1 -- checking my fantasy stats, doing that first roundup, and enjoying a game that is synonymous with fall.

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