The feud of fantasy football
Although it has the word fantasy in its name, fantasy football is quite real and important to a lot of people around the country.
To people not interested in football, fantasy football may be confusing and irritating. They may not care at all if Jamaal Charles is going to play this season, and they may find it irritating how their coworker keeps complaining about how Tavon Austin is performing poorly with “all the talent he has.” With that being said, people will continue to talk about fantasy football.
What exactly is fantasy football? To some, it might just be that thing that their neighbor Bob is far too interested and invested in. Fantasy football is essentially a game where you choose real life NFL players to create your own team. There is no “playing” that you have to do, however. The players you choose earn you points based on how well they do in their actual game.
The game is usually played online, but there are certainly some traditionalists who log the stats themselves on paper. Picking players for your team is usually done by a draft system, and that is where it gets interesting.
The game works from a mathematical standpoint, so someone interested in statistics may like to play fantasy football, as it has much to do with analytics and statistics.
It is a game of prediction and knowledge of the game. That being said, there is certainly a fair amount of luck involved with it, as week to week performance can vary greatly and injuries are always a looming possibility.
An estimated 33 million people play fantasy football each year. What is the reason so many people play fantasy football? Well, it could be anything.
It could be because they played football, or just like to watch it. Some people find it adds another element to watching football, a competitive element, as you are always pushing for your own players. Some people continue to play fantasy football year after year because watching football just is not the same without it, others may continue to play because their friend keeps bringing up their record from last year.
When your record is getting worse and nothing is going your way, a desperate fantasy football player may take matters into the hands of the fantasy football gods.
Superstition is a surprisingly large part of fantasy football. When one is faced with an impossible decision, there are many different actions they may take.
Upon entering my local Valero gas station on a saturday night, I was craving a snack. While I was scanning the candies and drinks, one particular brand of candy struck my eye. The candy brand was called, “Gurley’s” spelled the same as the last name of Todd Gurley, starting running back for the Los Angeles Rams. In an attempt to please the fantasy football gods, I purchased two bags of peach rings. The next day, Todd Gurley put up 21 points. Amen.
“Once, when I was not able to decide between two of my players, I put two nuts on the top of my fence,” Senior Alec Read-Skyhawk said, “Each nut represented one of my players, and I waited until a squirrel came to pick one up. It was too overwhelming of a decision to make by myself.”
This is indisputable: fantasy football holds an important place in the hearts of many people. It is an interactive game that changes the way people watch football. It can bring people together, and also tear friendships apart, until next season of course.