Are You Ready for Some Football?

~ Submitted by Darolyn Skelton (aka Blonde Ale) on behalf of the Girl’s Fantasy Football League in Incline Village ~ Twenty years ago, two girls were hanging out at a sports bar in Incline Village and were curious about all the rage for this thing called “Fantasy Football”. When they inquired about how they could get involved in the local league, they were told “no girls allowed”. They didn’t care for that answer and thus the Girl’s Fantasy Football League was born in Incline Village! Founders Darolyn Skelton and Shelley Robins, with the help of the late Ron “Coach” Bryant and Shelley’s husband Mike, worked on the details of the league and then set out to recruit teams for their first season. Recruiting wasn’t easy in those days. “It’s too hard”, “I don’t have time”, and “I don’t know anything about Football” were some of the hurdles they had to overcome. They managed to recruit eight teams that the first year and found that once they got a woman playing for one season they were hooked. 

“On Sundays in my house, from the time that I was a little kid, and to this day, you never asked what you want to watch on TV. You asked, which game? It’s the reason for the season. I love FF because I love football. In the first years that we had this league, I asked my niece to be my partner. We live on separate coasts because I moved from the East to the West Coast. We had lost some of the amazing communication because of our distance and FF gave us a reason to stay in touch often. It was awesome!”, shares original league member Rosie Webber.

Today the league has grown to two divisions; the Pearls and the Diamonds. The division champions from each division play for the Superbowl. There is a crystal football trophy that is passed around to the winners and there are also financial payouts. “But more importantly are the bragging rights. We are very competitive and have a lot of fun trash-talking each other every season, all in good fun!” says Skelton, aka Blonde Ale. The draft is held in person on Labor Day every year. If you can’t be there in person, you must find someone to recruit for you or you can’t join the league. And the league is strict on its no men policy: no boyfriends, husbands, or male friends are allowed in the draft. The ladies enjoy food and drinks and camaraderie at the draft thanks to all the monies contributed from the drop/ads during the season. 

Carol King and Gayle Griffith, aka the Champagne Chickadees, are the reigning league champions. Carol and Gayle are both longtime locals, but Gayle now flies up from her home in San Diego every year for the draft. “It took us 20 years to win the Superbowl,” said Carol King. “I literally didn’t know one thing about football when I was recruited but was told it is a lot of fun and there were a lot of parties so I thought I would try it out. It’s true – it has been a lot of fun!” Most of the players are or were Incline locals at one time and some fly in from California and a few drive up from Reno. The league has some crazy team names that not rated for publication, but you can find the Pack Attack, Pub Muffins, Fantasy Divas, Dago Dynasty, and Brady Gaga on the roster every year. They now have four commissioners to keep everyone in line including Carol King, Sue Paynter, Shelley Robins, and Rosie Webber.

The league is full this season, but they usually have a few openings each year. If you are interested contact Chktahoe@yahoo.com or RosieHall89450@yahoo.com.