2018 FIFA World Cup Russia: Opening Day Pre-Deadline Chat

How great is it when you find a prized possession in a box in the back of a closet after years in deep storage? Do you remember waiting for Christmas (or equivalent gift-giving holiday) as a child... and your feeling when you woke up on the day knowing this is the day?

Was your eye ever caught by a certain special someone who then dropped out of your life... How did you feel when he/she turned up after all of the time you spent, patiently waiting, longing, hoping... wondering if he/she would ever come back, checking your calendar, cursing and pleading with the Gods? Well then, I have glad tidings of great joy...

Yes, indeed, Arrested Development has recently come back to Netflix with new episodes after all these years... again! That’s what we were talking about, right? The long-awaited return of Michael, George Michael, Buster (a.k.a. Mother Boy), Mother (a.k.a. Lucille One), Maeby, Lindsay, Gob, Tobias, George Senior, Steve Holt (“Steve Holt!!!”) and Lucille Two? Along with the frozen banana stand, the model house, the retaken 2 Hour Teeth office and of all of the other wonderful craziness?

Oh, you mean the World Cup? Yes, absolutely, I mean the World Cup, too! How long has it been? Four years? FOUR YEARS!!! You’ve got to be kidding me. Well, let’s get going! Hoo boy, this is exciting! WORLD CUP! Woo-hoo and woo-hoo and woo-hoo again! Now that I think about it, Tobias is definitely a huge fan of the French national team. After all, why else would he paint himself in blue so often? Right?!

Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for Netflix

In just a few hours (7 at the time this article goes live), the host nation Russia kicks off against its first group-A opponent, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. So then, it‘s time for what we at NMA call the Pre-Deadline Chat — when the fantasy football obsessed congregate online to talk ourselves and each other into last-minute mistakes, er, transfers based on last-minute news... that we hope is not fake!

How much of your teams are set? How many players are you thinking about changing? How good do you feel about things? Are you confident? Anxious? Petrified? (Is that expensive midfielder even going to start?) Are you somewhere in between?

Have you loaded up on your favorite players from your favorite team that you root for? Or are you instead a coldhearted, ruthless fantasy manager who is all about winning in fantasy, but not so much in real life fandom? Are there any injuries you’re worried about? What match-ups are you avoiding, and which are you jumping in on, feet first? Is there any line-up news you’re waiting to hear about before you step away from the keyboard and watch as the server locks down your fantasy side?

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JOIN THE NEVER MANAGE ALONE LEAGUES

McDonald’s FIFA World Cup Fantasy

If you have not already done so, you will want to be sure to join the Never Manage Alone “Beat the Bloggers” league to see how you stack up against our crack staff, community members, regular readers and fantasy managers around the globe in McDonald’s FIFA World Cup Fantasy! Just click on this invitation:

LEAGUE NAME: NeverManageAlone BTB

LINK: Click here to join the league

CODE: ROUW0ATB

If you have to use the code, please paste it so you get the letter ‘O’ and the zero sorted.

Dream Team World Cup Fantasy

We also have a Never Manage Alone “Beat the Bloggers” league going in the Dream Team fantasy game, so be sure to join that as well.

LEAGUE NAME: Never Manage Alone Beat the Bloggers

LINK: Click here to join the league

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The World Cup is finally here, so rejoice and sing and dance! Why not go ahead and kick a ball or two, even if you’re inside (gently)! Join in the chat below and let us know what you’re thinking as you cobble together your fantasy teams in these last hours. Please share any late-breaking news that we’ll all want to know about. What time zone are you in? Are you awake or are you sleeping? Are you sleepwalking? Is it possible to sleep-chat?