I'm out. No, not the closet kind of out. I'm out of yet another organized entertainment endeavor. It has been suggested to me twice within the past 24 hours to leave a fantasy football league that I enjoyed. It's not that I did anything wrong in the league except voice my opinions on how the league could be better. Unfortunately, those opinions were always different the the majority of the league. Apparently, my strong desire for a fair and balanced playing field is one that very few people uphold. That seems to be the case with any type of gaming league I become a member of. I've already expressed my frustrations in playing in a baseball league at the local gaming store.

Ever since I graduated from college, I've had a problem trying to find a competitive, balanced gaming league. I've tried different games, different stores, different people, but most all end the same way, deserted after a year or so for some reason or another. I chalk it up to my mutant power. Want to watch something crumble, let me be involved. I can't count the number of card or miniatures games I've tried to get into only to have the community disintegrate. I was thinking just the other day that I should try to sell most of that off on ebay. Maybe I could make a little something for my troubles.

What ticks me off the most about the fantasy football league is that I knew a couple of the members. They were friends I had in high school, one of which I considered a close friend at one point, but not so much now. Not becaue of the league, but because I moved away to college and then Cleveland and Tuscaloosa. He found a whole new group of people to hang out with and I'm merely an acquaintance now. I thought this league would be a great opportunity to meet some new friends, but such was not the case. Everybody in the group knew everyone else; I was just a name on a computer screen. Nobody cared what I had to say. If the four vocal members of the group decided something was good, the rest of the league followed like sheep. It seemed that I was the only one that added any comments about how the balance of the league would be affected. Nobody else really cared.

The latest event was the discussion of raising the fee from $20 to $50 (or more). This money would go to pay for the cost of the league, providing larger monetary prizes and buying a trophy and "gag" awards. It seemed like a waste of money to me, but everyone else thought is was the best idea ever. I think I'm the only one who disliked the idea of paying so much money. I could take that $50, buy the next Madden game and play it for many years to come.

The league itself costs $150, yet the same league could be played on a free service. $150 just so the members can see real-time stats and scoring? You can accomplish the same thing on a free service. The people that want the extras can buy them without driving up the cost of the league. Apparently this was unacceptable.

So here I am, wading through the dust, wondering why I care. I guess I wanted a lot more than I got out of it. It also bothers me that so many people only play to win. They don't care how it affects the balance as long as it puts them in a better position to come out on top. I guess it's back to my video games. At least I can change the game if it starts to cheat without causing an argument.