Diary of a Dream Team Tragic

Monday

Wake up excited because I get to check my ranking. Disaster – I’ve slipped 5,023 positions overall. Damn that new sub rule! Finger hovers over the trade button of that damned sub – an inner voice shouts “Don’t do it – it’s only Monday”!!! Sense prevails and I go and get ready for work instead.

After work – an unwelcome interruption to my DT schedule – I check the DT Talk page and read the Round’s review. A couple of other good articles – well done fellas. Hop to the AFL page and devour all the news articles there. Read the article by that Ph D (Piled Higher and Deeper) – a pity his scores aren’t as big as his ego. Then to my team – shuffle the players around so that I don’t get caught out later in the week with a player on the field who has a bye – gotta avoid that donut.

Finger hovers over the trade button again. It’s a disease, just like alcoholism or drug addiction – trademania. Barely able to suppress the urge to get rid of that sub. How can I possibly last until Friday? Take a deep breath, look at the stats from every game instead – update my 4 spreadsheets. (One for my current team, including starting value and averages, updates, projected magic numbers 3 weeks and 6 weeks out, and projected values. One to update my upgrade and downgrade targets, one where I record my trades and one rather complicated multi-coloured mess that I use to try to figure out what my team will look like in the multi-bye rounds.)

After midnight – have spent more time on DT than at work today. Go to bed and dream – you guessed it – about DT.

Tuesday

Wake up the computer and check out the DT Talk articles and chat. On to the AFL page and then my team page. Tempted to trade that bloody sub. But it’s only Tuesday. What if my trade in is injured? What if he’s been caught with the coaches wife and won’t be selected this week? Curb the urge.

Go to work.

Check out the injured list – thank God none of my team are there this week. Finger poised over the “T” for that sub again before I even realise it. Catch myself, log off and go to bed.

Have trouble getting to bed – start counting Swannie’s points from his last game and nod off at 186.

Wednesday

Up bright and early and kick that computer in the guts. Check out all my sites and have to resist that urge to trade. Is there a pill you can take?

After work I print out Fantasy Freako’s newsletter. The guy’s a Freak and deserves a medal. I spend 2 hours with a highlight pen and a warm fuzzy feeling (gotta stop drinking so much).

Have trouble getting to sleep again so take up where I let off last night counting Swannie’s points – get to 313 and nod off.

Thursday

It’s selection day. I wake up excited. (Then apologise to my wife.)

After work I kick the computer in the guts. And review all the DT Talk articles and chats. Eat dinner at my desk waiting for the team selections. Have to stop myself trading that damned sub 3 times. Selections are finally in and I check each team out carefully. Bugger – my on-field rookie in the Mids isn’t playing this week. Gotta use my DPP and move them about. It’s 1 minute after midnight in Perth and that means it’s almost Friday afternoon in Melbourne. I trade out that damned sub and trade in a decent mid-priced player on the way up. Huge sigh of relief. Want to trade again – damned trademania – but can’t find any justification so reluctantly shut down after double checking my team is ready to go. Go to bed and sleep well because I lasted until Friday before trading.

Friday

Up at the crack of dawn and on to the DT Talk site, then the AFL site, then my team page. Looking for late changes, or rumours of late changes, or rumours that there will be a rumour later….

Reluctantly go to work.

Sneak out early and home to crank the computer up. Get the DT Talk site, the AFL site Match Centre, dtlive and my team page up on the screen at the same time. I could be sitting in my comfy lounge chair enjoying a drink and watching the game on tellie – but it’s delayed and they don’t give you a running total of the DT points.

So here I sit flipping between the AFL match centre, dtlive, my team page and the latest DT Talk chat. Can’t describe the feeling when the only guy in your team sits at the top of the list and a green band appears with a +12. Oh the joy.

It’s been a good start so I go to bed and finish counting Swannie’s points from last week – nod off just as I get to the last one (406).

Saturday

Up early and check the newspaper, then the web sites for late changes. One of my team is a late withdrawal – bugger bugger bugger. Then I remember I’ve got coverge – should be OK, but down a few points.

Mow the lawn.

On the computer going cross-eyed as I watch the numbers pile up. 200 behind my opponent – but I’ve used 3 players less and still got captain Swannie up my sleeve. The guy is obviously a rookie because he hasn’t got Swan with a C and hasn’t even selected emergencies.

All the games are done and I’m ahead in 3 leagues, behind in 2 – but still in with a chance.

Am pretty tired but my mind is buzzing. Decide to count sheep instead of points – don’t want to feel like I am addicted or anything.

Sunday

Log on 10 minutes before the game only to find bloody Harvey has used my new trade as a sub this week. He comes on half way through the last quarter and scores 23. The guy I traded out makes 156.

Oh well, that’s DT.