May Contain Peanuts

Fantastic Sports

August has reached us once again and along with another month of oppressive heat comes one large beacon of joy for a majority of 18-35 year old males (though this does not really exclude anyone else). No, it is not the return of children to school, albeit a great source of celebration; rather it is the start of the National Football League season and more importantly, the start of fantasy football season.

Each year, this event brings together groups of 8-16 friends and coworkers for an often intense competition of bragging rights, tactical and sports knowledge and maybe even a nice wad of cash. All of this is commenced by a draft in which the person's 'team' chooses players from the available rosters. These drafts are usually parties in disguise, complete with snacks and beer, which in that point alone is something to look forward to.

For me, the biggest draw of fantasy football is that it instills in me both knowledge and an eagerness to pay attention to the daily happenings of the league. By following the players I have drafted, I care that much more about the outcome of a given game and I find myself much more entranced by a regular season football game. This is not to say that I wouldn't be watching the game anyway, but having players involved that you are now personally invested in makes it that much more interesting. Whether I have a starting running back playing or if my opponent has one of his wide receivers on the field, I am paying more attention, and at least for me, enjoying the game that much more.

Understanding the above paragraph, I have applied this concept to other major sports, mainly baseball and basketball. Again, having a competition that relies on the performance of certain players greatly increased my involvement and knowledge of those sports. For example, I may not know the exact numbers, but I have a better idea of who leads their teams in field goal percentage or turnovers (basketball) as well as which pitchers have a better than average ERA as compared to their WHIP (baseball). When it comes to football, after a given Sunday, it is not uncommon for the typical fantasy player to be able to spout off his players' yards and touchdown for that week. All of these examples show the constantly changing complexities of sports and their statistics that the casual fan may let slip by.

For the serious players, the fantasy sports process then continues into the off seasons of these sports. Incoming rookie classes, trades, injuries and retirements are all noted and analyzed in preparation for the next draft. Fantasy sports can be a year long process, even when only playing a single sport.

But where is the fun in just one? Nowadays, you can participate in a fantasy version of just about any athletic competition. Golf, soccer, auto racing, and even college sports can all be monitored, scored and distributed to a nice spreadsheet of points. I can say I have even once participated in a 'fantasy movie mogul' league where we drafted upcoming movies for stats like opening box office numbers and average screens shown.

For everyone who thinks that fantasy sports are just a waste of time and productivity, consider the process more of conversational tool. Most everyone enjoys some sort of sports game and would be interested in talking about it, even if just to riff on how awful some team or player is. With a little research (mock drafts, scouting reports, expert analysis), your newly found perspicacity may payoff when that conversation starts to wane. For the rest of us, it is just good to associate with friends and deal out a healthy dose of shit-talk for those 17 weeks in the fall. Now back to those draft projections...