Fantasy Football is a brilliant design, especially to those trying to run the business of the NFL. It’s remarkable, really, how well it keeps football fans engaged in the game even when, say, the football team that they actually root for has no hope to get into the playoffs because Vinny Testaverde gives it up more often than the high school slut.

It also keeps you engaged in otherwise meaningless games. Last Monday night, I was rooting for Miami Dolphins to run the score up on the New England Patriots. I’ve hated the Dolphins my whole life, but last week, my opponent had New England’s defense, so Dolphins TDs were the difference between winning and losing. And it makes you root for players you normally despise. From the day Randy Moss showed up on my fantasy football team, I turned from a hater to a booster. That is, until he got injured, and proceeded to play the rest of the season like a little girl.

Of course, the strange thing about Fantasy Football is that it sometimes has you rooting for some strange things. Down 8 points today, I was actually rooting for the Redskins to tie the Cowboys with 15 seconds left, solely to give Julius Jones a chance to get one more TD. I can guaruntee I’ve never rooted for the Redskins to do anything positive (although rooting against them is less fun without Spurrier making faces on the sidelines).

Anyway, the Redskins missed the figgie, and the Cowboys won. Me, after cruising through the regular season in first place on the strength of Peyton Manning, Randy Moss, Muhsin Muhammed and Willis MacGahee, I lose the championship. Ah, well. I guess I’ll have to start rooting for teams for the right reasons in the playoffs.