"Spooooooky" is not the first word that came to mind when I read that, brother.
Never played myself either and I am sure it is yet another time waster of time I most definitely do not have but I could be willing to give it a go with enough folks involved.
There is definitely some time involved, but really not a ton. I am sure some of the experienced players can mention some tips to make it as easy as possible, and painless as possible for the newer players. ESPN will take care of most of it for you. Yahoo, if we use that platform, will take care of the rest.
Before deciding whether to join or not however, newer players need to be aware of a few things. First, the good:
1. It will definitely increase your football knowledge. You will know who the fourth best TE in the league is, and who the second best kicker is. You will be challenged mentally all season. Is your kicker playing in a dome this weekend? Or is he kicking outdoors at a windy Soldier Field?
2. It willl definitely give you even more to look forward to as Sunday approaches. Or Thursday night, these days.
Now the bad, at least what I perceive as the bad. Others may feel differently:
1. It is similiar to poker, in that you can be the best player, and dominate all season, but if on the last hand(game in this instance), your opponent luckily hits 4 Aces, you are dead meat. Like in poker, there is definitely luck involved. You may have Peyton Manning as your QB, and kick butt all year. But in the last game of the regular season, the Colts have already clinched, and they decide to bench him. You are in serious trouble. That can end your season immediately if you haven't prepared for it.
2. It can make you feel "dirty" at times. As an example, say you are watching a Redskins game. You have both McNabb and Santana Moss on your FF team:
3rd and goal from the 2. McNabb drops back, and runs a draw play to Portis, who scores a touchdown. As a Skins fan you go crazy. But as a FF owner, you would have preferred to have seen Moss catch the TD.
If you can accept those negatives, and just treat it as a fun game--similiar to poker without betting, you will probably love playing it. It is a kind of a combination between football, which we all love, and chess.
For those who love to be challenged mentally, or for anyone who would like to be the GM of their very own football team, it is a blast.