should i have a roster?

when dating feels like assembling a team

I was curled up on my couch, Olive snoring on my chest, scrolling through Hinge AND Bumble — multitasking, hustling, living in the digital dating age — when I asked myself:

“Should I have a roster?”

These are not thoughts a typical 43-year-old woman should have. Not dating-wise, not sports-wise. Truthfully, I don’t even know what a roster is when it comes to sports. Is it just the list of who’s on the team?

I’m not great with sports.

“I like the guy with the long hair,” I said to my dad the other day while he was talking about hockey.
“Which guy?”
“He might have had the number 3 on his jersey. I’m not sure. He was cute.”

This is how I speak sports.

Anyway. Roster. I’m currently on the apps, talking to a few guys, and I was thinking that maybe I ought to play the field — if I were to throw in another sports analogy for good measure. Maybe it’s something I need to experience: dating a few guys at once. Maybe I can use… well, I don’t mean use someone — that’s not the right word. Maybe placing so…