DEAR MR. FANTASY

How a trio of library ladies are leading their fantasy football leagues

RISTEN WILLIAMS IS A BUSY PERSON. DURING the day, she’s a software engineer at CSI. In the evening, she is an adult services clerk at the McCracken County Public Library. So when a group of guys at CSI asked her to join a fantasy football league, she responded with a furrowed brow that conveyed one sentiment: really?

“I like sports. I’ve loved basketball since I was little,” she says. “But I didn’t care much about football. But the boys needed another person for fantasy football to make their number of teams even. I said, ‘I won’t like it. So why?’ But they just kept saying, ‘Oh c’mon, c’mon. It’ll be so much fun. You can auto-draft, and you only have to pay attention once a week.’ So I gave in. And that first season, I ended up number one in the league. So I thought yeah, if I can win, this is fun!” Twelve years later, Kristen is a fantasy junkie, joining another league with her family and starting one at the library.

Each season, fantasy football players construct their ideal teams comprised of real, NFL players. This is accomplished via a pre-season draft. Teams, usually in number of about 12 to 14, form a league and compete against one another each week. Wins and losses are determined by how their players do in real-world games when they earn their fantasy players points based on their performances. Each week requires some amount of management. And Kristen warns that it is addictive.

“When I started, I understood football just a little bit,” admits Kristen, “but not a whole lot.” Now, Kristen spouts football knowledge and stats with ease. “I am the oldest of four kids—three sisters and one brother—and bless my brother’s heart, he was a big football fan, and we didn’t care. Now, me and my sisters are texting during the games saying did you see this or that? If you had told me twenty years ago that I’d be texting them about the outcome of games, I’d have said you were crazy.”

When Kristen started a part-time job at the library, she decided to share her passion for fantasy sports with her new coworkers. Enter Dusty Luthy, a former sports journalist, who, at the time of our interview, led the library league. “Let’s be real,” says Dusty. “That’s just an accident. I’m in this for the wings when I host the draft party. I feel like there is some pressure on me because I was a sportswriter, but I was never a stats person. So I do not have an advantage.”

“This is my first year,” says library associate Lesley Garrett, who, according to Kristen is “all in.”

“And I am now doing fantasy hockey, which is even more of my thing,” adds Lesley. “I’ve not followed football, and I did auto-draft. I’m learning. I like following the narrative, getting to know individual players and seeing how they interact and get me points within the context of teams. Especially when it comes to hockey. I don’t have to pick just one team to root for—I can watch the whole league with interest. And it’s not just all about the stats. It’s about picking players based on who they are as well. I support team players who are worth getting behind on and off the playing field.”

“I feel really dirty for having Tom Brady on my team right now,” laughs Dusty. “Even though he gets me a couple more points than Aaron Rogers, I play Aaron Rogers more. I can’t trade my soul for points. And since I am from Missouri, I have Kansas City’s defense. I try to pick the hometown guys or someone from Mizzou. I feel like I have a little say.”

Kirsten is also part of a hockey league as well as a NASCAR league. She says it’s just that addictive. But she does have a few overarching philosophies when it comes to playing in any fantasy league. “I try not to draft players I can’t root for, either because of the way they play or their off-field behavior. And I rarely draft players from teams I don’t like. Once again, I want to be able to cheer for my guys. The main thing is to not take it too seriously. I don’t want to lose real-life friends. These are the folks I love to be around. But I do like the competition, although it is often against myself. I like to think I know things about sports that I may actually not know. So when something I pick happens, I can think Yes! I am so smart! And if I can beat one of the boys, that makes me happy.”

“Really, though, we haven’t talked about the most critical part of fantasy leagues,” says Dusty. “That’s naming your team. It can reflect your team members, your personality, or reveal your sassiness. My team name is the Turf Herders so drawn from the name Princess Leia calls Hans Solo in The Empire Strikes Back when she says you scruffy-looking nerf-herder.”

Lesley’s team name? The Possum Trot Trash Cats. Kristen takes a different approach. “It usually depends on which celebrity I have a crush on,” she says. “This year, it’s Hasan Minhaj, so named after my future husband.”