Not quite 6 years ago I fell into a rabbit hole and discovered this whole new world of fantasy football. My life from that point on has never been the same. This is my story.

I remember the phone call like it was yesterday. My brother had called to invite my husband and me into this new game I had never heard of before - fantasy football. We had played in pick 'em contests before, but this was something completely new to me. Being fairly competitive and always on the look out for new things to try, I agreed to join his league. It sounded like fun.

It didn't rank up high on my list of things to do, and it took a couple of reminder phone calls before I actually went online and signed up. By that time I was the last to do so and earned the last spot in the draft. The league was on Yahoo and the draft was conducted automatically rather than live. But I didn't even move my rankings around on Yahoo beforehand, though my husband tried to persuade me to. I don't remember much about that first team that was drafted by the computer for me. I know that Steve Young was my quarterback, but it was late in his career and he injured his thumb early on in the season. Peyton Manning was a rookie and was on my team. I remember Muhsin Muhammad and Emmitt Smith being on my team as well.

The guys in our league were spread across the country from Boston to Grand Rapids. Most of us didn't know each other personally, only through my brother. So soon after the draft, an introductory e-mail was sent out. Everyone was introduced. It was a bit daunting actually as one of the guys in the league is a sports radio talk show host in Boston and has done play-by-play for the New England Patriots. And then there was me. Next to my name were the words - token chic. That's kind of how it was that first year. I had no idea what I was doing. I was the token chic.

Now, I had always enjoyed the NFL. I grew up in the great city of Cleveland, Ohio and have been a Cleveland Browns fan for as long as I can remember. But I really didn't follow the rest of the league until the Super Bowl came around. My husband would watch games on Sunday, but I had no interest in them unless it was the Browns. And as far as any sort of knowledge about the game of football, mine was pretty limited. I followed the wins and losses, but how they got there, I was clueless on. I knew that quarterbacks threw the ball, wide receivers caught the ball and running backs carried the ball. Tight End? Ozzie Newsome was a great one, but that's about it.

It was amazing to me how playing fantasy football suddenly changed how I watched football. I was interested in any game that was on because it had implications for my game or others in the league. I was rooting for players on teams that I never thought I would. Deep seated animosity toward the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos slowly turned into mild annoyance as I had players on those teams I was now pulling for.

It was my goal that first year as the token chic just not to finish in last place in the league. And I am happy to say I didn't. I finished somewhere in the middle of the pack. That's not to say I didn't make some bad trades. My husband and others in the league conned me out of a number of players, all on the pretext that they were helping me out. I know better now.

My second year was a bit better. This time I actually made up my own rankings, feeble as they were. I still wasn't thinking for myself or trusting my own judgment and when my husband proclaimed that the quarterback position was the most valuable to draft, I fell right in line with his thinking. Again, I know better now.

We had scheduled a live draft for that year. But it was scheduled on the same weekend as had been a trip to Canada with some friends of mine to see some plays. I had already bought my tickets, so I left my draft in the hands of my husband. Something I will never do again. So at this point I had still never experienced the thrill of the draft, which is now one of my favorite parts of fantasy football. I remember that Brett Favre was my quarterback, and of course this was the year that he injured his thumb. Charlie Garner and Jamal Lewis were amidst my running back stable. The best player on my team was Terrell Owens.

I had become a better student of the game of football my first year. I was beginning to understand the ins and outs of the game. This second year, I was beginning to learn all the things that newcomers to the game of fantasy football need to learn. Looking back at my second year, I can see how I was making the classic fantasy blunders. I wavered in my Who to Start and Who to Sit decisions and did not completely trust myself. I didn't give the rookies on my team the chance to develop and traded away Jamal Lewis before he broke out. I was beginning to realize the value of the running back position to one's team.

At the end of the second year, I had again finished somewhere in the middle of the pack. As a good competitive fantasy football player, I wasn't there yet. But the groundwork was being laid.

I have never been quite sure if my own experience in fantasy football has been colored by the fact that I am a woman, the token chic in the league. I am sure that it has since it is my story, but I think my journey is similar to the one that everyone who plays fantasy football for any length of time goes through.

I am sure that there are some of you reading this and wondering why on earth would Footballguys hire her. I mean, she has all but admitted to being clueless when it comes to the game of football. But this is not the end of my story. I am not the same person today that I was 6 years ago, as I am sure that none of you are as well. For those of you who are new to the game of fantasy football and are feeling a little overwhelmed by it all, you have got to think that if there is hope for me, there will be hope for you too.

Stay tuned, there's more to come.