A few months ago as I was researching my favorite rookies, I saw a picture for the Fantasy Football Expo. I immediately went to the site and couldn’t believe that there was an entire weekend where you can get together and discuss fantasy football, meet like-minded people and possibly turn a passion into some sort of job. I put it on the back burner but told myself that I was going to go next year. Yet days later, here I am on my way to Canton, Ohio. Waiting to meet all of these wonderful people in person. I feel like a kid waiting on Christmas morning to arrive. Join me as I recount my experience at the FF Expo and describe what it was like to be Just a Girl in a Fantasy Football World.
My Experience at The FF Expo
The first thing to know about the FF Expo is that it’s mainly on Sunday. At the same time, it’s also a full weekend affair. Sunday is when all of the Expo panels are and is when the majority of the formal events take place. All of the booths are set up so you can go around and check out everyone’s company or podcast. It’s what a “typical” expo is like, although this one wasn’t typical by any means.
My Origin Story
I was nervous, I have only been seriously watching football since 2020. That sentence I’m sure will lead certain people to think I’m impressive. While most will believe that I don’t know my stuff. I have been around football since I was born, although originally my experience was in my home in Northern Ireland. Once we moved to the States it changed to American Football and my love for the J-E-T-S was born. My dad was the biggest sports fan I know, he watched everything from football to golf and anything in between. I played mainly softball and basketball on teams all through high school.
My favourite memories, however, are hanging with my group of guy friends. Playing basketball with my Shaq ball and playing football at recess. When it came to the rules we didn’t really abide by them much. The best part was since I had gone to school with them they didn’t take it easy on me. I never actually watched football or bothered to learn the rules so I didn’t find it that interesting. Once my dad was gone I needed to feel closer to him somehow. During Covid, my best friend JC started teaching me football. He took the time and patience to break down all the rules. Quickly it became a bit of an obsession and then we discovered Fantasy Football.
In order to get better, I started listening to podcasts and going on websites and apps daily. I couldn’t get enough of the endless supply of information out there to read and listen to.
Opening Day
Friday is when almost everyone arrived. It was a frenzy on Twitter with everyone tagging people, excitement, pictures of those arriving and those that had serious FOMO. My goal was and is always to win, up until I walked into the first event on Friday. The first official event was the Football Guy Expo Ice Breaker Poker Tournament at M Bar in Canton. Poker games in general are intense. Throw basically the best of the best from the fantasy world all in one room and it’s madness. It’s almost like you have to pinch yourself when you look around. I am horrible at poker so I was happy enough to sit out and watch. Here’s the issue, have you ever watched a poker game live though? No? It’s boring!
I was feeling very overwhelmed at this point. Those of you who met me and interacted with me at the Expo know that I am a bit high energy. I do however get totally overwhelmed until I warm up in larger groups. I was, however, happy to have recognized a few faces to start chatting with. The game lasted hours before we had to move on to our next scheduled event, The Toilets to Titles Frankenstank League Draft. I only found out about this league when I got to Canton so I didn’t sign up. I did join my buddies Aaron (who was drafting) and Tim to see what it was all about.
Let me tell you this, it’s a really cool League, but I am so happy I didn’t sign up. As my first year doing actual leagues, I was definitely out of mine with this one. If you want to check it out and all the crazy cool “monster” rules head on over to the league page provided above.
Party Time
I have to say that what I was looking forward to the most was the party at the end of the night and the cornhole tournament. SGPN threw a great outdoor party that everyone showed up to let loose at. For me, this was the start of the weekend. Up until now, the events were great but no one was there to just relax and chat. Once everyone landed at the party zone all bets, no pun intended, was off.
There were a few booths set up, some people doing live broadcasting, some recording content for later and lots of alcoholic beverages and mingling. I made my way through the crowd painfully aware that no one really knows who I am. Then I heard my name and came across Courtney of Get The Real Deal Podcast, the first podcast I was lucky enough to be on and chatted with him for a bit. Then I ran into another face I knew, then another and another. I slowly realized that I may not be as unknown as I thought I was. People were starting to get more comfortable and everyone was relaxing a bit more as the cornhole tournament started, the drinks were flowing a bit more freely and the music was pretty on point.
Meeting My Heroes
While the tourney was going on the rest of us were mingling, It made it that much easier that my friends Aaron and Tim were hanging out with me for the weekend. They both knew quite a few people so as we were walking around they would get stopped and I would get introduced. The two best things I had going for me when meeting someone were that I didn’t recognize a lot of people. I know I know, I realize this isn’t something I should probably admit, but it leads to the second thing. At this point in my life, I also don’t hold back. I will ask anyone pretty much anything because the worst they can do is say no or just think you are crazy right? The best part about both of these things is that it tends to reduce nerves when talking to people since you treat everyone the same.
I will drop a few names later on that you will probably hate me for not knowing, but there were also a few people that once I heard their names I knew exactly who they were. One of which was Dave Heilman from SGPN. I must admit that I did fangirl out quite a bit on this one especially when I met his co-host Ryan Kramer. My biggest takeaway from meeting them was how down-to-earth and easy to talk to they were.
After the initial few “wow” meetings I started to settle into a groove, conversation became much easier and before I knew it the night was almost over. At one point I was alone for a bit and looked around at all of these people, individuals smiling and laughing, men and quite a few women that all came together because of our love of football but by the end of the night solidifying that we were one big community and I realized that this is where I fit in and felt like I belonged.
Somewhere I Belong
I’ve always felt like I was lacking a true place to be myself. I’ve always gotten along well with people. I make friends easily but never quite felt like I could be completely me. If this weekend has shown me anything it’s solidified the fact that these are my people. A random group of people that in one weekend became a solid community and lifelong friends. Even sitting here writing this article I’m still kind of in shock. I’m writing about football, meeting people that I listen to every day and some of them were excited to meet me. It’s all surreal and I don’t want to wake up.
Closing Time on Night One
I settled back into the hotel and began going over the events of the day. I really wasn’t sure what to expect going forward. If you had told me that it would continuously get better and better as the weekend went along I wouldn’t have guessed that it would have been quite so life-changing. Part of me wishes that I could have stayed in my little Expo bubble. At the same time, I was also eager to get home to start this next chapter and to see where it could take me.
Stay tuned for the rest of the weekend. I’ll share some stories and more of my thoughts and by the end of it all, you will be ready to buy a ticket for next year. Just be prepared to not sleep, not eat nearly as much as you should and have the absolute time of your life. Next year can’t come soon enough, but thankfully we have an entire football season to look forward to in between. Now all I need is for my teams to do well so I can come back here and claim my victory!
Tracy Gilroy-Norton
When I'm not walking dogs/pet sitting for my own company I am thinking about football. I have been a Jets fan since living in Northern Ireland, where I was born, but my die-hard team is the Chiefs. I was lucky enough to join The League Winners this year which lets me showcase two of my favorite things, writing and football. One of my newest passions is IDP leagues with a goal of making it into the King's Classic! I believe in always following your gut and am never afraid to reach in a draft! I welcome any questions or advice so always feel free to reach out! "Football is life" --> Danny Rojas