How To Avoid "Sunday Depression Mode"

My friends and I often talk about what we refer to as "Sunday Depression mode."  Sunday Depression mode is the feeling you get on a Sunday after a fun, usually alcohol-filled weekend when the excitement wears off and all you can think about is how the following morning you have to start a 5-day work week.  It's a little like "a case of the Mondays" except worse.  It's worse because it is still Sunday, a day where you aren't at work and have the entire day to do whatever you want.  But instead, you spend all day being depressed (and, perhaps hung over) and dreading Monday morning.

Now, it's easy to avoid Sunday Depression mode by having a Sunday-funday instead.  Basically, just pretend like Sunday is just another Saturday, drink some beers, hang out with friends and put off the depressed feeling until you wake up Monday morning when you would already be feeling depressed anyway.  That is pretty much what I did this past weekend. 

I had my first (of four) fantasy football drafts on Sunday.  The draft was for my longest running league, now appropriately named "Daddy Day Care."  My friend Colin came up with that name last year when, prior to the draft, three of the guys in our league all had pregnant wives.  Probably a funnier name last year...but still applicable today.

One of the rules in our league is that every team must have a unique name each season.  Even though this is a "keeper" league and we are starting our 7th season, having unique team names is fun and usually leads to some laughs.  I'll give a quick rundown of the guys in the league and the team names.  The names are not always appropriate for a family-friendly blog, but I'll do my best to censor them and explain their meanings:

Kevin's team:  "Shots of Jame-O" - Kevin as a person may be the most unique guy in the league...but he certainly is NOT the most original.  Last year, his team name was "JES"....because he was wearing a t-shirt with "JES" on it at the draft.  Kevin drinks a lot of Coors Lights on draft weekend, leaves spitters all over my house and is a Libra. 

Brad's team:  "Start Talkin DYNASTY" - Brad has won the league 2 times.  He is very proud of this.  Brad was 5'8 in 6th grade and is still 5'8 today.  His son, Kal, is about 9 months old and already going through puberty (I admittedly stole this joke from someone at the draft - I can't remember who).

Walsh's team:  "Ze Pipes Ze Pipes" - In the song Danny Boy....ok, never mind.  Explaining the origin of this team name would take too long and would not be funny.  Walsh loves his team and DEFINITELY drafted the best team in the league this year.  Also, the Eagles are DEFINITELY going to win the Super Bowl this year.  Boom.

Novak's team:  "*********" - Novak's team name cannot be printed on the blog due to inappropriate content, but McCarthy definitely had one on Sunday.  Novak is a unique individual who likes to say the F word in front of grandparents at family parties.  He also has twin boys - "but one with a girl's name!"  His team is by far, without a doubt, the worst drafted fantasy football team in the history of fantasy football.  I think even he would agree.

Colin's team:  "Pierre Jennings" - for now.  Colin changes his team name every week.  In fact, Colin started the draft with the team name "SeattleSydneyNovaks" and changed it before the draft ended.  He drafted Pierre Garcon and Pierre Thomas, and also Greg Jennings and Rashad Jennings.  Hence, "Pierre Jennings."  By the time I post this blog, his team's name will probably be "Jameson'sblogisn'tfunny." 

McCarthy's team:  "MIKE!!!DYKE!!!" - inside joke, I think.  Honestly I forget why this is his team name.  But I'll tell you what - it was fun to yell out every time his team was on the clock.  Mike hates his team every year after about his 4th or 5th pick in the draft.  Last year, prior to the draft, he named his team "Last Place" and then finished the season...in last place.  Not sure what he's trying to tell us this year by naming his team Mike Dyke....

Jesse's team:  "Bo's Jackson" - he said something about how he's re-reading Bo Jackson's book right now whenever he told us his team's name.  I still don't quite understand the meaning or the point of the name.  But it definitely is a copy off of my team name last year, Calvin's Johnson.  Apparently Jesse isn't original either.  He's also too nice of a guy for me to make fun of in this blog.

My team:  "Touch Me N I'll Suh" - named after Ndamukong Suh, the Detroit Lions' defensive tackle.  He's a BEAST.  Like Walsh's dog Reggie.  Also, the name is a play on words from a line in the movie "Rocky V."  Only in America - George Washington Duke.

Ott's team:  "REX-N-EFFECT" - named after his favorite human being on Earth, Rex Ryan.  Ott drafted Andre Johnson in the first round for the 15th straight season.  He has 1 championship in this league.  1 more than I have. 

Willie's team:  "300lb Club" - the name would have been more appropriate if it was the 40+ club, as he's the only guy in our league over 40.  He isn't 300lb, but even if he was, he certainly wouldn't be the only one pushing 3-bills.  Not as long as McCarthy alive. 

All in all it was a fun draft, even though we had it on August 14th, approximately a million weeks before the season starts.  McCarthy is the one to blame for that.  He was invited to 34 weddings this summer, all of them in late August.  Hard to believe, right?  Dude is the most popular man on the eastern seaboard. 

We finished up the draft nice and early, around 3pm.  Plenty of time for the guys who live out of town to get back home at a reasonable time.  I spent the rest of the evening hanging with my girlfriend Kait - we ordered Thai food and watched a movie.  Well, she watched the movie.  I fell asleep about halfway through, successfully avoiding Sunday Depression Mode.

Now if only I could say that about the Mondays....

P.S.  Past champions:  Brad twice, Colin, Ott, Walsh and Novak.  Championships for me:  0.