I was watching the World Series last week with a group of friends, among them an avid Cardinals fan. And by avid, I mean the most boisterous, over-the-top, obnoxious fan I know.

But he was annoying enough about the Cardinals to turn me, someone who didn’t care much about this World Series matchup and had no rooting interest, into a full-fledged Rangers fan for two weeks. And after hearing the 16th comparison of Albert Pujols to a combination of Hercules and Jesus, most of them bellowed directly into my now-deaf right ear, we struck up a conversation about the appropriate level of sports fandom.

Our conversation got me thinking about fantasy football fandom. Fantasy sports are slightly different because you’re not only rooting for the team; you’re running the team. You are the owner, general manager, scout and coach. You feel a connection with the players on your roster, a connection that exists only between you and your computer screen but can feel unnaturally real (I speak from experience. I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for Brian Westbrook after he led one of my teams to back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007. And everyone already knows how I feel about Jamaal Charles).

That connection leads us to be strangely talkative about our fantasy teams with other people. We tell our friends about how Aaron Rodgers keeps lighting it up in the first half and scoring hardly any points in the second. We talk about bad beats, bad luck and bad start/sit decisions we made. We talk about it all the time. Earlier in the season when Michael Vick injured his hand, my roommate told me more about Vick’s status and the effect on his fantasy team than the health of his girlfriend, who was hospitalized with an ulcer at the time.

But with last week’s destruction of my right eardrum came an epiphany: nobody cares. Nobody actually enjoys listening to their friends’ fantasy football stories and news. It’s a completely self-centered experience. Everybody thinks his or her story is the most important thing in the world. I’m as guilty of it as anyone. The entire time you’re “listening” to your buddy tell you about how Devin Hester’s kickoff return won his or her fantasy matchup last week, you’re actually just waiting for his or her lame story to end so you can one-up it with yours.

So give it a rest. Don’t ramble on about how the Lions defense exploding for almost 30 points cost you the win last week. Stop telling me how many points you need from Dwayne Bowe to win on Monday night. Nobody cares. And if you catch me violating this rule, call me out on it. We can get through this if we work together.

h2. Start

*Eli Manning, QB, Giants:* While all the attention has been placed on his injured older brother, Eli is quietly putting together his best season as a pro. Through the first seven games, Manning’s passer rating is 102.1, a full nine points higher than any other season in his career. And while the Giants’ weak schedule has attributed to that success, it doesn’t get any more difficult this weekend against a Patriots secondary that is allowing the third most fantasy points to quarterbacks in the league.

*Shonn Greene, RB, Jets:* Prior to New York’s bye week, the Jets had been gradually phasing LaDainian Tomlinson out of the running game and giving Greene more carries. Greene carried the ball more than 20 times each game and appeared to get in a groove in the Jets most recent game against San Diego, rushing for a season-high 112 yards. On Sunday, New York travels to Buffalo for an important divisional matchup, and Rex Ryan won’t want to trust erratic quarterback Mark Sanchez in this tough road environment. I don’t blame him. You wouldn’t trust John Mayer in a room with your girlfriend, right? Why would Rex trust Sanchez on the road?

*Victor Cruz, WR, Giants:* See Manning, Eli.

*Antonio Brown, WR, Steelers:* Yes, Pittsburgh is facing the Baltimore Ravens, and these games are usually low-scoring affairs. The Steelers will come out passing as they have the previous two weeks, though, and won’t stop even if they get ahead to exact some revenge on Baltimore for the Week One beat down they put on the Steelers.

h2. Sit

*Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Steelers:* Pittsburgh has beaten out its last two opponents — Arizona and New England — by airing it out, with Ben Roethlisberger throwing 89 times in those two games while giving Mendenhall the ball only 26 times. He just won’t get the touches against a tough Baltimore front seven.

*Chris Johnson, RB, Titans:* Somehow Johnson is still starting in many fantasy lineups despite having done nothing to earn it. While Titans head coach Mike Munchak has said Johnson is still the starter in Tennessee, Javon Ringer received as many carries and outgained Johnson 60 to 34 on the ground last week, and I expect more of the same going forward this season.

*Steve Johnson, WR, Bills:* Two words: Revis Island. In other words, the place where Johnson will be marooned all game against the Jets.

_Daniel is a junior in Media. Contact him for fantasy/relationship advice at [email protected] or Twitter @danielmillermc._