When it comes down to it, being a football fan is all about cheering for the players and teams we love. For most people, those allegiances come from where they grow up, or core memories from their childhood while watching football with friends and family. For others like myself, our favorite players are largely determined through fantasy football.

The ability to create my own teams has been a large reason I have been able to remain a football fan while dealing with the past 25 years of ineptitude as a lifelong resident of Northeast Ohio. As most Browns fans experience another season of heart break in 2024, I still find myself full of optimism and excitement leading up to kickoff every Sunday due to the existence of fantasy football.

With veteran running backs dominating the beginning of the fantasy season, 2024 has not necessarily gone as planned so far. There will always be hits and misses in any given week or year. But Week 9 provided us with a breath of fresh air, as we got big-time performances from a multitude of our favorite 2024 draft targets. As we inch closer to the fantasy playoffs, we must remember that it is not how the season starts, but how it finishes.

For an up-to-the-minute recap of the biggest storylines regarding the NFL week that was, come join Blair Andrews, Hasan Rahim, and I live at 9:00 p.m. ET every Sunday night on the RotoViz YouTube channel for the Fantasy Football Report.

As always, we will be using the Monday Review tool to look at all of this week’s action as we head into the Week 9 finale between the Chiefs and Buccaneers on Monday night.