FPL and mental health: Why the game is a positive to me

We regularly get some excellent submissions to the Community Articles section of Fantasy Football Scout, from statistical analysis to Red Lightning’s mini-league round-ups and everything in between.

In the article below, site regular Notlob Legin hails the positive aspects of not just Fantasy Premier League (FPL) but also you, the Fantasy Football Scout community.

First of all, let me introduce myself.

My profile name is Notlob Legin and I’ve been playing FPL for nine seasons, with seven of my finishes in the top 100k and one in the top 10k. I have been a member of Fantasy Football Scout for six years and basically, I love football and in particular FPL. I am in my late-50s and live in the United Kingdom. I have two grown-up children and about five years ago, I “inherited” my other son; he has behavioural issues, goes to a specialist school and has had quite an impact on our lives. I would never change it, though, and have no regrets about our decision to take him on.

I work from home permanently now and due to my son’s issues we rarely go out and no-one ever visits us. We are therefore quite isolated; I’m not looking for sympathy here and overall, I am very happy with my life.

I have read many articles about how FPL can affect your mental health and last year I was part of a study into this, completing a form after every Gameweek had finished. To me, every article appears to be positioned towards how FPL can have a negative effect on your mental health – but I think in my case it’s the complete opposite!

My wife said to me a few years ago that my only hobby and real interest in life is FPL. A simple logical question she asked me was, “why don’t you spend more time on it as it’s your only interest?” This completely changed my mindset and view on the mental health issue.

I love FPL and this site. I spend hours on here every day and get great pleasure in making my own decisions. I have no guilt about my passion for the game. I, like everyone else, have good weeks and bad weeks. For example, I brought in Marcus Rashford (£6.6m) on my Gameweek 4 Wildcard. What a buzz that has given me over the past couple of weeks! I also make many bad/wrong decisions. Do I get down and upset about it? Not at all, I try to learn from it – to me, it’s all about having a positive mindset.

The times I get negative mental health issues are when the game is not on, such as the close season, the World Cup this year and in the aftermath of events this last week. To me, FPL is my escapism from normal life and I unashamedly say I love it.

I am no elite manager, average at best. But to me, FPL and Fantasy Football Scout are what keep me ticking. It has had such a positive impact on my life and I love the challenge of every year trying to improve on my overall rank. I also understand that most people are in a very different situation to me personally and that the game may impact you in different ways, But to me, it is, without doubt, the thing that keeps me going.

I wasn’t sure if this would get posted as it’s more a personal story/view about the game but if it does, I hope you enjoyed reading it and maybe, just maybe, if one person out there starts seeing the game as a positive rather than a negative, it was worth writing.

My last quick point is on the comments section on this site. I read almost every comment posted and overall, love the community. However, my grandad (a very wise man) always use to say to me:

There’s so much good in the worst of us
And so much bad in the best of us
That it ill betroves any of us
To criticise the rest of us

Good luck to all for the rest of the season.