Fantasy Gazette

Darren
Age: 29
Hometown: Encinitas, California

The morning sun playfully peeks through the bamboo shades in the bedroom corner. The warm glow hits his eyelids and gently persuades Darren to awake from a deep sleep. “Hmm…no alarm, must be Sunday” he thinks as he rolls over to greet his wife Sara. The bed is empty – and already cold. “She must have gone out to get stuff for breakfast,” he concludes as he swings up off the mattress and slides into his loafers.

As he does every Sunday morning, Darren makes his way to the master bath for a refreshing cold rinse. After showering and preparing for the day, he dons his house robe and heads for the kitchen. He can already smell the freshly ground Arabica beans wafting through the hall as he approaches. “Sara made herself some coffee before she went out” he guesses.

Darren loves Sundays as it is he and Sara’s only day off of work together. Maybe they could finally go kayaking today or even hit the new winery downtown for evening drinks. Sara had been talking about going there for weeks, after all.

As Darren ponders the day ahead he exits the hall and comes around the corner into the kitchen. After pouring a still hot cup of coffee into his favorite mug he turns to discover Sara’s car keys resting in the catch-all basket on the kitchen island.

Knowing she wasn’t in any of the back rooms he had passed on his journey to the kitchen, Darren wanders inquisitively across the room and peers through the glass door between him and the den.

Immediately Darren grows somber; the upscale Whole foods coffee blend turns bitter in his mug.

He forgot today was opening day for NFL football. Sara was curled up on their worn leather couch, phone in hand, wearing her new jersey of some quarterback for the Rams. What was his name? Oh yes, Mark Stafford. That’s him. Plus, the last he knew the Rams were from St. Louis. Not freaking California.

“Why does she even like them considering she has never been there before? Who knows. Football is dumb. She will spend all day checking scores and flipping through her teams and watching that stupid RedZone show where you can’t even see fullscreen. It’s like I’m not even here. Football will always be her first love. I hate fantasy football.”

With his Sunday hopes dashed, Darren pours the remainder of his barely-touched coffee down the drain. With the weight of countless lonely Sundays now settling upon his shoulders, Darren trudges down the long hallway and back into his still unmade bed.

“February is a long ways away” he thinks as he kicks off his loafers and climbs into their California King. He barely survived last year as he spent most Sundays sleeping, forcing himself to read, and walking around the neighborhood alone. Sara was unbearable to be around some weeks, she kept going on about some Saquon guy she had drafted that let her down and it made me miserable.

Darren wasn’t sure if he could stay positive for five whole months without Sara again. As he slowly sinks back into the mattress, a growing depression sinks back into him. “She’s gone again”, he thinks as he closes his eyes and tries to waste away the lonely day.

For many spouses, fantasy football and the NFL season can represent cold, bitter times away from each other. Fantasy Gazette has some recommendations for how lonely spouses can deal with their loved ones’ times away:

• Write them a letter
• Send them photos of your kids or pets
• Plan time together (not on Sundays or Thursday nights or Monday nights)
• Take care of yourself
• Make time with friends

The fantasy football season can be a lonely and difficult time for spouses, it’s important to make connections and remember the promises you and your significant other have made before their time away.