It’s the same when it comes to Fantasy Football, a game that many think is exclusively played by middle-aged, middle-class white guys. Whilst that stereotype isn’t quite as inaccurate as the video gaming one, it is still some way off the mark.

That stereotype doesn’t account for the hundreds of thousands of female football fans who eagerly work their way through the fantasy draft each year, many of them moms. In this article, we cover everything you need to know about Fantasy Football and why moms, as well as dads, should be indulging in one of America’s favorite pastimes.

Why Play Fantasy Football

When you give birth to your first child your world changes dramatically – that’s if being pregnant itself isn’t dramatic enough – all of a sudden your responsibilities and whole outlook on life have changed.

You’re not just in charge of your own life but also of the needs of a teeny-tiny, helpless baby who depends on you for everything. As your baby gets older they slowly become more and more independent but for many moms, it can be a struggle to adjust to that and relax to their child’s lessening needs.

If that sounds familiar then you need to prioritise doing something that helps you relax and turn off that worrying mom mode that has become your default operating system. One of the best ways to do that is through throwing yourself fully into a hobby and there are few as suited to the job as Fantasy Football.

It's a hobby that will alight your imagination and require you to sit down and trawl through statistics and data to ensure that you have the best chances of winning. In short, it is a hobby that will require 100% of your attention, providing you with the opportunity to turn off your mama worries and live in the moment.

How to Play

The first thing that you need to decide is whether you are going to play informally for friends just for fun or whether you’re going to be taking this seriously and trying to win money! If it’s the former there are plenty of great websites and companies to choose from that can help you make the most of your Fantasy Football odyssey.

Depending on your budget you can go all out there and purchase props to make your draft event as immersive as possible. Or if you have limited funds you could find a free website to play with and just set up a Whatsapp group for the team managers.

If you’re going to be playing for money there are a number of reputable companies offering their services but one that we can’t recommend highly enough is Draft Kings. They are one of the top names in the Fantasy Football industry and have a reputation not just for great prices but for excellent customer care too which is always factor high in our list of priorities.

(Fantasy Football for beginners.)

Top Tips

If you’ve never played Fantasy Football before you might be worrying about how you’ll fare. Our best piece of advice is to do your research before you start, which fortunately in this day and age is quite easy.

There are lots and lots of great YouTube channels out there dedicated to Fantasy Football, guides on the NFL website, newspaper articles, and even a subreddit. If we were to give one top tip though it would be to make decisions coldly. 

What exactly does that mean? Well, the vast majority of Fantasy Football players select their roster based on emotions. They like a particular player on their team, or they don’t rate their rivals quarterback out of jealousy and they let these feelings inform their decisions.

Avoid doing this at all costs. Only add someone to your team if the statistics back up their inclusion. If the stats are telling you that a player is overrated, they are.

Our final tip? Have fun. Fantasy Football should be a distraction, it’s a hobby at the end of the day and the whole point of it is to have fun, so if you’re not enjoying yourself, maybe it’s time to stop playing.