Sometimes A Fantasy...
I spent this weekend in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I play in a fantasy basketball league (well, I play in a couple of them), and this was a first annual get-together.
I feel compelled to explain some things about fantasy sports, because I catch a lot of flak from various people about it. It is juvenile. It is not a worthwhile pursuit of time. It cheapens the real experience of sport, and causes fans to root for events and players that have no bearing on actual life.
All of this is true.
But fantasy sports also have the capacity to bring a diverse group of people together in ways that they may not have explored otherwise. Sure, some leagues are virtual by nature, and you never meet, much less care about the other people you play with. But some leagues are catalysts for getting people together, and developing relationships. A fantasy sports league can be just as critical for developing friendships as a church group, or a dinner club, or a block party.
Communities start when people find common ground. Fantasy basketball was this particular group's common thread, but by no means is that our only shared love. A weekend with many of the other people in your league allows you to put a name to a face, but more than that, you put stories and histories, connections and jokes with that face.
Like any endeavor, you get out roughly what you put in. When people invest time and money and space to get together with the other people in a league, you're going to get a lot more out than just bragging rights for winning a league. Which is good, because if that's all I got out of being in a league, I wouldn't have anything at all this year.
Milwaukee Rules...
I had never been to Milwaukee, but it's a fun town. Earthy, old, preserved, and funky in a lot of different places. And so many bars to choose from. I don't say that from the perspective of someone who likes to spend all their time in a bar. I say that as someone who appreciates old spaces, and people having a good time. Bars that have a history, and a character, where there is still an actual bar, carved of wood, with mirrors behind it and a brass rail for your feet. More places like that than you can imagine in Milwaukee, and I enjoyed my time in one of them very much this weekend.
And as for seeing a game from a luxury box, all I can say is that it's going to be REAL hard to go back to the cheap seats.
1:59:58 PM 
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