Women Against Fantasy Sports
Online support group for fantasy sports widows a hit with dispossessed wives and girlfriends.
Written by Filed under Sports
According to the founders, creating a strong sense of community—a place where women can commiserate with each other—is WAFS’s overriding goal. Certainly, members haven’t been shy about sharing their personal experiences. Lodish heard from one woman whose husband carted his laptop into the delivery room so he could draft players while she was giving birth. Another claimed her husband delayed evacuating his family during a hurricane, staying put long enough to get an update on his team. And one wife related how she went shopping while her husband hosted a fantasy draft, only to return home to find her kitchen on fire—the assembled men so engrossed in fantasy land that they were oblivious to the smoke and flames in the next room.
With stories like these, it’s no wonder that WAFS periodically spotlights the experiences of members like trophy wife Suzi Shelton, who married a Cleveland Browns fan with a large collection of fantasy football trophies, which “he designed and sculpted with his own hands.”
Those affected by fantasy sports addiction will no doubt be dismayed that the industry is still in growth mode. Companies like Fantasy Sports Insurance have sprung up to insure players in football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, golf and NASCAR. Meanwhile, Web sites like fantasydispute.com and sportsjudge.com offer impartial fantasy dispute resolution—for a fee, of course.
Under the circumstances, it’s not surprising that Lodish is often asked for advice on how to handle a fantasy sports obsessed man. In general, she urges women to make an agreement that limits how much time their boyfriend or husband spends on his fantasy team(s). Lodish also advocates “finding some humor in the situation, because they’re the lame ones—not you,” she reminds.
As for Lodish’s personal situation, she admits that her husband—a Philadelphia Eagles fan who took her to Eagles training camp on their anniversary this year—remains a work-in-progress. “He took up fantasy baseball this year, perhaps out of spite,” she quips, noting that baseball (with its 162 game season) takes up more of his time than football. “I thought I had it bad when he was in ten fantasy football leagues,” she begins, “but one baseball league is worse.”
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