“What are you up to?” she says.

“Studying,” he types back.

“…When’s the draft?” she replies.

The summer has ended, making way for the approaching autumn. As a woman, you look forward to apple picking, cider donuts, and the opportunity to break out your brown boots and leather jacket. Fall brings a lot to the table for a woman, but these wardrobe changes and weekend outings are trivial to men. They know there are more meaningful things in life.

The guy in your life has been through a rough spring and summer. Since February, he has been moping around the house, trying to get over his love affair from the previous year. They had a great fall together, but winter brought things to a quick end. He tries to fill the void with baseball, but baseball is the girl at the bar, a six at best, who talks a lot yet has nothing to say. Just when he had given up hope, the crisp air and autumn leaves signal that she is back. For the next five months, he will be passionately devoted to the love of his life: the NFL.

Yes, it’s football season once again, a special time of year when your guy dedicates any free time to researching, drafting, and discussing his fantasy team. You may find yourself resenting his inability to watch a chick flick or go on that date he promised you last week. While injury reports and some team’s run defense statistics are obviously less important than doing, well, just about anything with you, it is important to understand the other love of his life. Because let’s face it, she’s not going anywhere.

There are work and family fantasy leagues, which make encounters with distant family members, in-laws, and that guy at the water cooler a little less awkward. The most invested leagues, however, are the friend leagues. Together, they study pre-season reports, texting each other at two in the morning about Gronkowski’s weak ankle. He does a mock draft…oh wait, he does ten mock drafts, looking to fine tune his strategy for draft night.

Now, it would be forgivable if he had a one night stand with her on draft night and then bid the NFL adieu, but the draft is only the start of their relationship. What players should he bench? Is there a trade worth exploring? When Hakeem Nicks gets hurt, it’s all you hear about for the next week. Let’s be clear, Fantasy Football is not the sport of a Patriots or Cowboys fan, but of a football fan. If he has the Eagles defense and Matt Stafford and the Lions are in Philadelphia next Sunday, just rule him out of any plans you have for that day. For that period of time, you as a girlfriend are put in the backseat while the NFL rides shotgun with your guy. Tough, I know.

As a girlfriend, how do we respond to this rejection? Pouting and passive aggressive attitudes are at the top of list. Hostility is instinctive; you just cannot wrap your head around why he invests so much in this sport. During this upcoming season, I advise you to put aside the puppy-dog eyes and assess why he loves this “NFL” character so much.

For him, Fantasy Football started when he was seven years old, memorizing roster after roster of every team in the league. After that, he would pick his favorite players, and that decision was for life. It’s consistent.

Throughout the years he grows older and deals with life as it comes to him. Things change, people change, but football stays the same. He likes sports because they are consistent. Fantasy Football never fires you, never cheats on you and never forgets to call. The NFL is consistent, and even though her relationship is short-lived, every week he is reminded of why he loves the National Football League.

This doesn’t mean you memorize every player, or purposely show off your knowledge of sports in front of him. He likes his fantasy league time because it’s a break from everything, including you. If you want to be involved and follow the daily ups and downs of the season, good luck. More importantly, be happy for him that he has this consistent love affair to turn to when all else fails. At the end of the day however, the fantasy league is not going to cook him dinner or scratch his back, and that is definitely consistent.

Christina Gregg can be reached at [email protected].