It's Fantasy Football Season: 4 Shows To Help You Prepare

The season of Fantasy Football is quickly approaching. I play in about 6 fantasy leagues every year, and one league in particular is composed of several co-workers and we're already talking about the upcoming season and planning for the draft. We're checking stats and planning our strategy for the upcoming draft day. I'm probably the most devoted Fantasy player in my leagues because every year I compile all the stats from previous years and turn it all into a manageable database that looks at everything from Touchdown/Interception Ratio for Quarterbacks to Team Changes and the impact of a new role. I then take all that data and turn it into Pivot Tables to narrow down specific data to compare against similar players and teams. It's a very detailed process for me, and it's honestly my favorite time of the year.

So as I take all my data and scour my collection of internet resources, I begin my preparation in other ways; I binge some of my favorite football-based television. What do I watch, you ask? - These 5 shows are the best preparation for Fantasy Football in my mind.

4. Friday Night Lights

For five years, Friday night Lights broke the stigma that a television series couldn't live up to their major film inspiration. Friday Night Lights proved to be an outstanding series that followed the lives of a Texas high school football team. Although it's not a show that focuses purely on the gridiron action, it revolves around the coaching team and players as their lives are affected by football and the drama of living in a small-town in rural America.

3. Mike & Mike

Okay, now this isn't a gripping tale of life in a small football town like Friday Night Lights, it's two guys on a sound stage talking about football. Mike & Mike is one of the most loved sports talk shows (which explains why it's been on the air for over 10 years now. The banter between Golic and Greenberg feels as though you're sitting around a grill talking sports with your friends; except Mike and Mike are smarter than your friends. At 4 hours an episode, there's no better way to devote time to preparing for fantasy football with all the insight these guys can offer.

2. Blue Mountain State

Although Blue Mountain State follows a college football team, the antics of the players. cheerleaders and coaches make for a binge-able experience. Blue Mountain State may not technically give you an edge in Fantasy Football this year, but that's kind of the point; because eventually you need to take a mental break from all the planning and prep work and just remember the fun that surrounds the game itself.

1. The League

There are seven glorious seasons of the over-the-top antics of a group of friends as they compete in the most intense fantasy football action. Claiming victory in The League consumes every aspect of the players' lives. The comedic aspect of The League follows in the vein of shows like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Seinfeld, where terrible things equal comedy gold.

So whatever your strategy on draft day, perhaps these shows can help you find a new way to win, a new inspiration, a new hope for your ultimate league win this year.