Daily Fantasy, Daily Life: Volume XXXIII - DFS Surfer
It was noon Sunday afternoon – an hour before lock – and I wanted to hunt for single game and showdown overlay on FanDuel and DraftKings, but instead, I was surrounded by a few hundred or so autistic kids on surfboards.You just never know, y’know?
Listen: The first Sunday of the NFL season is a holy day on my calendar. Heck, it’s the holiest day of the year. After months of waiting (and drafting best ball teams), opening day is … well, it feels pretty holy.
Now understand: I’m not a guy that sits around watching 10 hours of football on Sundays (at least not anymore). I have three kids, two dogs, and one wife. My time is better spent with them on Sundays than perched on my sofa. Now mind you – when the opportunity presents itself, I’ll perch. Oh baby, I perch.
But most football Sundays? I’ve got family stuff. Believe me, I check my phone about 12,000 times, but I’m mostly present with the gang, whether we’re at a park or at the mall or at a friend’s house or at a soccer game with this one and a lacrosse game with that one.
However, it’s well understood that Sunday mornings leading up to lock are my time. Sure, I’ll pick up groceries and might even fold some laundry, but – and I can’t stress this to my wife enough – Sunday mornings are work. I’m finalizing lineups, entering lineups, hunting for overlay, everything. You know the drill. And after 23 years of living with me, so does my wife.
Which is why these autistic surfers were sticking in my craw.
See, one of my kids – my 11-year-old – is autistic, and this past Sunday, a non-profit calling themselves Surfers Healing was in Belmar, New Jersey – 45 minutes from my house – as part of the Autism Family Services of New Jersey Beach Bash. And who are Surfers Healing? They’re a California-based non-profit, and their entire mission is to get autistic kids on surfboards.
My wife told me she signed up our daughter months ago for a noontime surf lesson.
“Awesome!” I said.
I then looked at the calendar.
“You’re gonna hafta drive,” I said.
When asked why, I explained thusly: “It’s week one.”
Let me say this: Aaron Rodgers eye roll has nothing on my wife’s.
Christian Watson dropped a 75 yard touchdown on the first play of his career
— Eric Rosenthal (@ericsports) September 11, 2022
Aaron Rodgers is disgusted
pic.twitter.com/drkxeg5sss
So … Sunday morning rolls around, and – honestly – I had little to do, which is rare for a week one. There wasn’t any injury news I was waiting on, my lineups were set, no biggie. All I really wanted to do was overlay hunt, but it wasn’t time for that yet, so I drove to the shore.
Parking was a bear, so I dropped off my wife and daughter and spent the next 15 minutes looking for a spot while yelling at my other two kids for various car-related infractions, including, but not limited to,
“He’s touching me!” and “I’m hot!” and “I’m cold!” and “She’s touching me!”
By the time I parked and got to the beach, it was like 11:45 and I needed to check my phone and make sure I didn’t miss anything. I entered a few extra lineups while I was at it. I was given a stern look from my wife. And then I snuck a peek at the ocean, and … wow. There must’ve been 50, 60 surfers there, and one by one, they’d take a kid out into the ocean. The surfer would catch a wave, and then they’d either (literally) yank the kid up or let them just coast in on the board.
Virtually every kid went into the ocean with some trepidation. Virtually every kid came out of the ocean with the biggest smile on their face. When it was my daughter’s turn, she went out there like a champ. She didn’t manage to stand up, but she loved – loved!!! – riding in while her designated surfer – a dude named Bucky – handled the waves.
After a bit, her turn was over. I asked her how it was.
“Sick!” she said, with a smile that defies description.
Big thanks to
SurfersHealing</a> for their program that puts autistic kids on surfboards, including my 11-year-old yesterday in Belmar. <br>"How was it?" I asked her afterwards.<br>"Sick!" was her response. <br>She's got the lingo down. <a href="https://t.co/aySPkqk9Md">pic.twitter.com/aySPkqk9Md</a></p>— Jeff Edelstein (jeffedelstein) September 12, 2022
It was awesome. It was also now about 12:45 p.m.
My wife gave me the nod while she took the kids to wander around the autism-themed beach bash. As for me? I wandered to the shoreline where I entered some tourneys that looked like they might not fill. DFS life, right there. But I’ll tell you this much: I’ll give up all the overlay in the world if I could get that smile out of my daughter every minute of every day.
Probably give up DFS too. Where do I sign? (OK fine, maybe 75% smiles, 25% DFS. Let’s not get carried away.)