Anyone that knows me knows that I don’t know much about football. I was the cheerleader in grade school and high school that loved to cheer on the team, but didn’t know the difference between defense and offense (seriously, not joking). Over the years and after marrying a sports-loving husband I have gradually picked up on things. Now I can watch an Eagles game and understand what is going on!
Since every guy I know plays Fantasy Football…that means all of my friends’ husbands, fiancés, and boyfriends play Fantasy Football. And what does that mean for all of us girls? The TV is monopolized every Sunday during football season. And not just for one game – for the WHOLE day! So a bunch of us girls decided to start our own Girls Fantasy Football League!! Our #1 reason was to be able to join in the fun and have a reason to watch the other games on TV! It will give us something to get excited about and give us a reason to root for different players!! And since all of us are on an even playing fields in terms of understanding/not understanding Fantasy Football, I think it will be a fun time!
Our new league is rightfully named “Virgin Fantasy Girls” as it is mostly everyone’s first time playing Fantasy Football. There are 12 of us in the league (and I’m excited to say we even have someone on the wait list for next year if anyone drops out!!) With girly team names like “Tough Cookies” (me) and others like “Victorious Secret,” “Show Me Your TDs,” “When in Romo” and “My Husband’s Team Sucks,” we got into the spirit right away!!
I held our draft party at my house and loved decorating for it! I made custom Fantasy Football Wine Glass Charms by tying ribbons around wine glasses, adding a football cut out of card-stock, and personalizing them with each person’s name. I made a Fantasy Football Money Jar by cutting out a football and tying it around a mason jar. I also made two fun drinks: a sweet summertime sangria and cucumber water (recipe to follow later this week). And of course, the draft party would not be complete without Pink Glitter Football Cake Pops! (Recipe also coming later this week)
To pick our draft order, I got little wooden footballs from the craft store and wrote the numbers 1 – 12 on them. I then put them inside a football that has a top that opens up. You actually push a button on the front of the football, it plays music, and then the lid opens up! It made for a very dramatic and fun way to pick the draft order!! Each girl got to push the button, close their eyes, let the music play, and pick their tiny football out!
To get excited for the upcoming competition between us all, we did food potluck style where everyone brought their favorite game day appetizers and foods. From homemade guacamole, salsa, pigs in a blanket, and buffalo chicken dip to pizza, meatballs, and smoked ribs…we definitely ate like queens! Everything was severed on football shaped plates. And I couldn’t resist putting out yellow “Penalty Flags” for napkins!!
The actual drafting of the players? A little more stressful than we thought it would be!! We only had two minutes to pick each player online and as you get down to the wire, your computer starts beeping at you to make your pick NOW! But once we got the hang of it, it went pretty smoothly. (And thank goodness for cheat sheets!)
Overall, it was a successful draft party and we had a great time! There’s some good money at stake as we each put in $50. But really, we are most excited to have fun each week playing against each other and rooting on our players. Can’t wait for the season to start!!!
I would also like to give my husband a special THANK YOU for his late night Fantasy Football tutoring sessions…love you!
Christi Duke
Hi! I have a blog called Fantasy Football for Chicks {FFC} and I wanted to reference your post on hosting and playing in a fantasy league? I hope that is ok! Your party and league is awesome and I wanted to share that with my readers! Thanks!
BA Haggerty
HI Christi – yes please do feel free to reference my post on your blog! That would be great!! Happy to share the party ideas!! 🙂 I will definitely have to check out your blog as well….especially now that we are starting to come up on Fantasy Football draft time!