Let’s go ahead and begin things at the Monday morning water cooler, the lifeblood of our society’s professional existence. The part of the day where we discuss our weekend DIY projects and birthday parties for the kiddos. But you know what, I feel like that’s more of a mid-week topic these days. It seems as if everyone’s first born has now been replaced by the juggernaut of sporting pop culture known as, (feel free to use an intergalactic voice in your head when you read it), Fantasy Football!
Nowadays any run of the mill office employee can participate as a full-fledged general manager in the National Football League, and ain’t nobody gonna tell them how to run their team. That is, except for the countless “experts” out there giving their unpredictable predictions. I’m looking at you, Michael Fabiano. I mean, you want me to start Cutler? Really?
Harmless fun? Or an unhealthy mix of competition and addiction?
In a culture that thrives on social media, sports are no exception. Our mobile devices have unleashed incessant ESPN alerts and injury reports giving us nonstop access to specific players. The Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) estimates that gamers average roughly three hours a week managing their team. Now just imagine if you had multiple teams. Take my overly-ambitious roommate, for example, who thinks managing four teams is a good idea. I’m sorry, but you should be limited to one league per year: it raises the stakes! Not to mention, it helps ease the mass amount of confusion between who to root for, and when to root for ‘em. It’s boom or bust.
It’s easy to become overly obsessed and spend countless hours constructing and deconstructing rosters. Outcomes of games seem less important – it’s the individual statistical value that speaks volumes to the Fantasy sports user. Traditional viewership just isn’t doing it anymore. There has to be more to it than just a recorded team win and loss (or dreaded tie). The NFL doesn’t disagree with this: they’ve gathered statistics showing that viewers watch more games based on Fantasy outcomes.
This is an industry estimated at $15 billion dollars annually with each participant spending roughly $467. Now I don’t know about you, but my buy-in leagues peak at $50 a pop, I know my limits, especially when I consistently draft C.J. Spiller within the first three rounds (I should know better by now).
My poor drafting aside, the key to a competitive and healthy Fantasy league is a devoted, involved group. Sizable buy-ins and active, communicative gamers make for more inclusive leagues. It’s about sharing a common interest amongst friends and continuing to learn and grow with the game. That being said, it isn’t “Kumbaya” by the campfire, either. Knowledge is power, and there’s nothing better than proving your friends wrong.
Fantasy gets tricky when balancing bye weeks and watching the waiver wire become a part-time job at your full-time job. Because in actuality, Fantasy Football goes far beyond the stretches of the water cooler. It goes into dark-lit corners of house parties where bro-dudes gather to discuss the ethics of whether or not to hold onto guys like Ray Rice or Adrian Peterson. It goes into Facebook groups where smack talk is encouraged, especially when keepers are traded for scrubs and friends become foes. But will the drama and contention of the game extend into the league dynamic?
Duh. This is Fantasy Football.
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