How Shopping & Fantasy Football Are Basically the Same

Jonathan and I are going on a wee bit of a shopping spree tomorrow. We've been planning this for a few weeks now and have just been waiting for a free Saturday to go. We even have a set dollar amount for each of us to spend so we don't go out of control. If you're like me, you typically only buy things as you need them, rather than going on a shopping spree just because. So needless to say, I've been pretty excited for this day.

We were talking about it earlier this week and Jonathan goes, "I'm not sure what I'm going to buy...I doubt I'll even hit my budget." I laughed and told him I've been prepping for weeks and I'm more concerned about going over budget!

I was talking to a friend about this at work this morning and realized the time I've spent prepping for this shopping trip is about the same amount of time people are spending on their fantasy football team. Now, I don't know much about fantasy football, but I do know it seems like quite the commitment. How could fantasy football be anything like a shopping spree, you may ask?

1. Research. I have spent the last several weeks checking out the websites for my favorite stores. I've checked out the new arrivals and I've pinned some of my favorite items on Pinterest so I don't forget about them when shopping day comes. This is much like researching the stats of the players you'll want on your fantasy team, only my shopping version was much more fun.

2. Game plan. We have a lot of ground to cover in our one day of shopping. I want this necklace from Anthropologie and after doing my research, I know the only store in our area is at a different mall than the one we're planning on going to. I also know that Target got some really cute running shorts in recently, so we need to factor a Target visit into our day. Not to mention that while we're there, we'll need to grab coffee at Starbucks, so it only makes sense to go to Target first to fuel up for the day. Considering all this and trying to plan so we're not wasting time driving back and forth, I've had to develop a "game plan" for our day. I'm not quite sure how this relates to fantasy football, but I do know the term "game plan" is thrown around a lot in sports.

3. Back ups. Did your wide receiver get injured last week? Did your fantasy team quarterback get benched for the season? You've gotta have a backup plan for this stuff in fantasy football...players you're ready to trade for and whatnot. That necklace at Anthropolgie? I realized it is on Clearance and while I've already checked online to see if our store has them in stock, that's not a guarantee. I've already got a back up plan in place to order it online the moment we leave the store if they don't have it in stock. I know what stores sell the shoes I want so I know where else to look if I can't find my size. In fantasy football and shopping, you've just gotta have a backup plan.

 4. Stress. The other day, I sat at lunch while my male coworker spent the entire hour negotiating back and forth with his friend via text about a fantasy football trade. It was stressful to watch, never mind the stress he seemed to be under trying to convince this dude to trade with him. I’ve obviously never been part of a fantasy football league, but from what I can tell it is pretty stressful. I’m half kidding on this one because in the grand scheme of things, planning a shopping spree is pretty darn fun. But when you think about it, trying to decide between spending money on shoes vs. clothes, jewelry vs. scarves, bottoms vs. tops, can be a little stressful. I mean, we’re not working with an unlimited budget here, so these are pretty serious decisions.

What I guess I'm trying to say is fantasy football people, I get it. I have a new-found respect for the work you put into this. Just like prepping for a shopping spree, it's not easy but it's worth it.