Autumn begins this weekend – soon the leaves will brown and shrivel away, leaving the lush trees of summer as a distant memory. This seemingly dismal seasonal transition is only a sign of good things to come. It’s finally football season: what more could anyone want? And this fall will be glorious, I can assure all of you of that. We’ve got the brand-new College Football Playoffs, the Bears looking to make a run with one of the best offenses in the league, LT’s team vying for a state title … but perhaps most importantly – fantasy football.

Fantasy football is unforgiving, that’s what’s so great about it. Nobody cares if you gave the season your best shot — good sportsmanship is totally thrown out the window and beaten with a sledgehammer. Your best friends quickly devolve into your worst enemies. It’s basically a three month-long game of Mario Kart, with football and real-life consequences. Your players will get injured, your first-round pick may be the bust of the year, and you may win your first seven games only to drop the next eight and be eliminated from playoff contention.

If you’re still reading this and don’t have a burning desire to immediately get into some fantasy football goodness, you’re probably the kind of guy who brings veggie burgers to a barbecue. But in all seriousness, if you’re going to play, you’ve got to be cognizant of the kind of player you are and use that to your advantage. Some people like to stalk the waiver wire and pick up the fantasy flavor-of-the-week, every week. Others like to propose grandiose and often pointless trades daily (e.g. Reese Dellios ‘15). Don’t be either of those guys. Your best bet is to mix waiver wire signings and a few key trades while keeping a solid core of starters to last you through the year. Like most things in life, balance and moderation are the keys to success Take it from me, champion of one of the most LT’s most competitive fantasy leagues last year, ESPN’s “Football’s Finest.”

Regardless of how you feel about fantasy sports, it’s hard to ignore the fact that fantasy is quickly becoming a cornerstone of American sports culture. I mean, fantasy football is already a billion-dollar industry that’s growing by the day. And in my opinion, it deserves all of the massive mounds of cash that it’s earned so far. No other type of media will make one follow the NFL with the amount of intensity and dedication required to win a fantasy football league, or bring a group of friends closer together (or further apart). Give it a shot, you’ll have a great time.