Hi, my name is Matt and I am addicted to fantasy sports.
Ok, so maybe ‘addicted’ is too strong a word, but I like them. I like them a lot.
Online fantasy sports is a trend that has more than made its mark on modern-day fan culture, and is still growing. First limited to only the major professional sports-which includes football, baseball, basketball, and hockey-fantasy sports have grown to include fringe sports such as auto racing, tennis, and golf.
If you search hard enough, you can even find fantasy sites for figure skating, curling, or waterskiing. Unfortunately, my query for fantasy cricket came up disappointingly empty.
Despite its spread to all sorts of sports and leagues, fantasy sports leagues started with football-and more specifically the NFL. It makes sense to focus on the first, and still largest, domain of fantasy sport, so let’s take a look at the fantasy gridiron.
It occurs to me now that some of you don’t know what fantasy football-or fantasy sport in general-is all about. For those of you who have never done a fantasy draft, or don’t know an IDP from the IRS, let me give you a rundown.
Although there are countless variations, classic fantasy football involves entering a league and having a draft where each league member gets his or her turn at selecting a player from the overall talent pool of NFL players.
After each roster is selected, teams face each other each week and hope that the players on their drafted roster team outscore those of their opponent. Points are awarded based on player performance, including catches, yards, touchdowns, etc. At the end of the season, the fantasy team with the best record wins the league title.
Got it? Seems pretty harmless doesn’t it?
Well, there certainly are a lot of positive things that come from fantasy football. First of all, it is a great tool for fans who are trying to learn the sport. Not only do you become familiar with the players’ names, but who is good and who isn’t, and how certain players are used in certain situations.
Let me put it this way, if you understand that Mike Seller’s injury will mean more red zone looks for Chris Cooley, you’re either a fantasy player, or should become one.
Secondly, fantasy football is usually done online and is free to play. Any financial involvement would be an arrangement made between the friends or co-workers in a league. This is a refreshing change from the sometimes-ruthless world of sports gambling, where gamblers can easily become indebted to cutthroat bookies and betting agencies.
Finally, from the league’s perspective, fantasy football is simply another way to market the game and create interest. If it gets more people watching the games on Sunday, it can only be seen as a positive thing by general managers and television executives.
It also keeps fans interested during blowouts, or those awful 6-3 Browns vs. Jets snore-fests.
But, with the good comes the bad. For many sports purists, fantasy football is ruining the game as we know it. The fear is that fantasy football is putting too much emphasis on individual players, and not the teams they play for.
Many NFL coaches-including Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells-seem to agree, refusing to answer questions that have any bearing on fantasy leagues. Many cite the fact that fantasy football is promoting an individual rather than team spirit to young fans as a big problem, and this could spell disaster for the future of the sport of football.
So how much of this is true? Are teams losing their importance in what is regarded as the epitome of team sport?
In my opinion, there is a little cause for concern. New fans who are introduced to football through fantasy leagues don’t need a favourite team to cheer for. They live and die with their fantasy team alone and, best of all, they get to pick the players themselves.
The television networks have certainly picked up on this phenomenon, tailoring their broadcasts to fantasy players with ‘fantasy notebook’ features and a bombardment of stats that will make your head spin. Is it out of the question to think that a network that allows you to customize what games you watch based on your fantasy squad will emerge in the near future?
For those of us like me who rapidly scan the channels hoping to catch a glimpse of my fantasy players’ performances, it is definitely an exciting possibility.
Despite my love for fantasy football, in the end I will put aside my fantasy allegiances in order to watch my favourite team battle it out every Sunday, and I hope most other fantasy players do the same.
NFL football is great as it is, and a well-played game should be able to override any gimmick a league and its sponsors can throw at us, fantasy football included. Don’t believe me? Just ask the XFL.
