About 5 years ago, my then girlfriend (now wife) and I went on a date. Pizza. Movie. We had a great time.

When we went back to her apartment, I checked my email. That’s when she learned of my affection for fantasy sports.

My email had informed me of the results from a fantasy baseball draft that had occurred two hours earlier. You know, the one I completely forgot about?

I was inconsolable.  I was like Michael Scott when Toby came back from Costa Rica.

Fantasy football is in full gear for 2017. According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, nearly 60 million people will play fantasy sports in 2017 in the United States and Canada.

I’ve been playing fantasy sports since 2005. Last year, I was in three NFL leagues, two MLB leagues and one NBA league. That doesn’t count my five NCAA Tournament brackets.

Some might see that as a problem.

“Instead of checking your stats, shouldn’t you be spending time with your daughter?” they probably say. “What do you mean, ‘He’s on my fantasy team’? He doesn’t even know you!”

Here are three reasons why you’re not a bad dad if you play fantasy sports:

1. Fantasy football is a hobby.

Hobbies are important, especially for new dads. Your world changes dramatically. Everything in your life now revolves around a bald, slobbery baby who can’t control her bowel movements. It’s OK to spend time by yourself aspiring for fantasy glory.

2. It doesn’t replace your child. 

Like any fun activity, it’s good in moderation. I understand that I can’t check my lineup like I did when I was in college. I’m not saying you should put down all your responsibilities as a dad. Just make sure to prioritize your time; for example, check your lineups before your kids wake up, after they go to bed or, best yet, while you’re on the toil…err, never mind.

3. It keeps you connected with friends, family.

We all know that keeping in touch with friends is difficult after you have kids. Live drafts are a great way to spend time together. And throughout the season when you matchup against friends, it’s an easy avenue to jab that person with a text saying their team is a worthless bunch of hacks.

In closing, fantasy sports are not ridiculous. They’re fun and personally rewarding when successful. Technology has made it much less time consuming, especially in draft prep because the platform does most of the work for you and the app makes it easy to follow how you’re doing.

Go ahead and use the article as ammo to convince your spouse that it’s OK to play fantasy.

Just don’t forget about the draft.