So yesterday I decided to finally tackle that dang 2024 NFL Obsidian Checklist setup in my vault. Been putting it off, you know how it is. Started simple: downloaded the template, copied it over, opened a new note. Boom. Nothing happened. Blank screen staring back. Great start.
The Initial Headache
First thought? Maybe it’s just slow. Gave it a minute. Nope. Dead. Tried reloading Obsidian. Still zip. Checked the template path – seemed right. Restarted my whole computer this time. Figured it couldn’t hurt. Fired Obsidian back up… and nothing. Just that empty note mocking me. Okay, time to actually look at the template code.
Digging Into the Mess
Opened the template file. Scrolled down. Saw this huge chunk near the top:
- Dataview Queries: They looked okay? But something felt off.
- Frontmatter Fields: Dates, tags, status… all seemed standard.
- HTML Tables: Lots of tables for team info, schedules. Felt heavy.
Clicked preview… the whole thing rendered! Weird. So the template worked by itself, just not when I made a new note from it.
The “Oh, DUH!” Moment
Started comparing my new empty note’s properties to the template. Lightbulb! In the template settings, I had the option “Apply template to folder” ticked. Whoops. Meant it was trying to format things globally, not just new notes. Unticked that sucker. Held my breath. Created another new note using the template… and holy crap, the team table popped right up! Finally saw the Bears, Packers… all the logos and info loaded. Felt like an idiot, but hey, it worked.
One More Annoyance
All the teams showed up, but the links for player stats? Dead clicks. Nothing happened. Ugh. Back into the template code I went. Scrolled down to the player sections. Noticed the link format was like [[Player Name]]. Hmm. My player notes were actually named “Player Name Team” or “Player Name – Team”. No wonder it couldn’t find them. Two choices: Rename all my player notes (no way), or tweak the template.
Changed the links in the template to something like [[{{Player}} {{Team}}]] based on the fields it was already using. Saved it. Tried clicking a link again… and it opened my messy “Patrick Mahomes Chiefs” note! Perfect. Doesn’t need to be pretty, just needs to work.
Wrapping It Up
So yeah. Two dumb little things tripped me up for way too long:
- That “Apply to folder” setting hijacking new notes.
- Player note naming not matching the simple links in the template.
Not exactly rocket surgery. Mostly me not paying attention to the obvious settings and my own messy habits. Now the checklist kinda works. It’s clunky, feels like it needs five other plugins just to not break, and honestly? Looks like whoever built it borrowed a chunk of PHP formatting and just slammed it into Obsidian. Not elegant, but at least I can see who’s playing next week without opening six browser tabs. Small victories, right?
