To be honest, I knew very little about fantasy football. I was one of
those sports fans who follows football when it is in season, watches
some games on TV, follows games on the internet, somehow remembers
every score and stat, and then gets really excited during the playoffs
and, of course, the Super Bowl. I don't have the time or money to go
see actual NFL games, though I am sure I'd greatly enjoy them.
Anyway, I kept seeing ads for fantasy football online and in other
places wondered what it was, so I did some research. Apparently,
fantasy football is a sports game for those who want to be involved
with football all year round. And not just involved as in watching
games, but actually owning, managing and running a "fantasy" football
team. When the real football season starts - and it can be the NFL or a
division of the NCAA or some other league - scores in the fantasy
football leagues are determined by using statistics compiled by actual
players.
Who started fantasy football, and when? It all goes back almost 50
years when a limited partner in the Oakland Raiders and some of his
sports writer and editor friends cooked up the idea during a long road
trip. When they got back, they started the first fantasy football
league. Initially, it was hard to form leagues and keep the information
flowing, but then came personal computers and finally the Web. Today,
fantasy football is big business and fantasy football team fanatics are
being courted by television networks and advertisers because they watch
more games, buy more tickets, and spend more on their sport than
average fans.
But how does it all work? The big attraction of fantasy football is
that it's not just watching games. Fantasy football is living the game
and actively participating in it. You pick a team, you draft players,
you follow rules, you observe salary caps and negotiate contracts.
Franchise owners may have to pay (fictional) taxes, trade players, and,
of course, try to win games and championships, establish dynasties or
make to a coveted Hall of Fame. Things can get quite competitive, but
you make friends in the process and many of the same teams play each
other season after season.
Fantasy football games have as many rules as the real thing.
Scoring can be complex as it depends on the stats of actual players on
actual teams. And since fantasy league teams have players from a number
of teams, a fantasy franchise owner often doesn't know which real-world
team he should root for! What's important here is that the real
performance and stats of real players in real games decides how well
your fantasy team does. So picking and drafting the right players is
very important.
How do you get started with this fascinating and addictive pastime?
Fantasy football information is easy to come by on the web. Look
around, check some of the many leagues, and then sign up with one and
become a team owner. There are any number of leagues with different
flavors and rules (the commissioner usually determines the scoring
system). Some leagues cost a lot, but others are affordable and suit
the novice as well as the expert fantasy football player. Give it a
shot!
Subscribe to this comment's feed