Nearly 30 million individuals in the United States participate in fantasy football, with players devoting an average of nearly seven hours each week to maintaining their teams. While some people are more casual participants, others take their fantasy football roles rather seriously.
Football fans (or even non-fans) of all knowledge levels can take part in fantasy football, and they often have different reasons for doing so. Emily Baldwin, who recently became a North Carolina resident, is passionate about sports and is excited to be participating in two or three leagues this year.
“I think it keeps me engaged with the NFL season and helps me learn the rookies and keep tabs on who’s in their prime,” she said. “It’s also a good way to engage with friends and family from a distance, as you have something weekly to talk about. I’m a very competitive person, so that adds an extra layer of fun for me, too.”
Dallas-area resident Steve Bergsman also takes part in multiple fantasy football leagues, though his dedication to each is contingent upon various factors.
“I have a group of friends where we have an annual league for a small cash prize,” he said. “I have another league I participate in with another group, as well. How much I pay attention usually just ebbs and flows. If I am super into my league that plays for money, then I’ll check things out twice a week. If it’s my other league that doesn’t play for money, all bets are off after the draft.”
For Baldwin, it’s important to pay close attention to how her players are doing, but she said she does not obsess over it.
“I always make sure that my lineups are set each week, and I check the app multiple times on game days to see how I’m matching up against my competition,” she said. “I also typically have one of the games on if I’m not watching my own team play (go, Chiefs!). I love checking the app after a week of play has wrapped up on Monday night. I rarely make trades because I haven’t quite figured that out yet, but I will sign free agents to replace injured players.”
Not everyone who plays fantasy football is too concerned about the actual football part, though. Dallas-area resident Josh Odegard said he doesn’t care about the sport, but he has been part of a fantasy football league the last two seasons.
“I only started because a group of friends were doing it, and I was going to be watching NFL games with them, anyway,” he said. “I had no idea what I was doing for the first few weeks, and I ended up in ninth place out of 10 in the first season. But that’s not bad, considering that my first-round pick was a defense. I quickly realized that it was mostly just statistics and luck, both of which I’m really good at. The second year, I had already started looking at players and stats before the draft, and by the end of the season, I ended up third out of 14.”
Odegard said he will likely participate again this season, though the only aspects he really enjoys are the statistics and the trash talking. However, there is an additional incentive to making sure that he places among the top of the league.
“There’s also the fear of punishment that the losers have to do,” he said. “The first year, last place had to do a triathlon in a dress. Last year, the last three places had to do a triathlon relay in dresses together. Thinking about having to swim, bike, and run in a dress in front of hundreds or thousands of people is great encouragement to do well.”
While fantasy football leagues are often unique ways for friends to engage, they can also be means that allow families to bond. Dallas resident Catherine Stautz said she is rather inconsistent with her participation, mostly due to a lack of interest, though she still plays throughout some seasons.
“My family does a league together every year, and my dad always asks me if I want to join, so it just depends,” she said. “I have never done one with my friends, mainly because I don’t think many of them, myself included, really watch or keep up with football. It isn’t my favorite sport, but both my dad and brother keep me updated on our teams. I do like to watch big games or keep up with a team we are rooting for, but if it is a game against two random teams, I will not watch.”
Watching a game with a team of which one is a fan can often become a predicament for some individuals who participate in fantasy football. If that team is playing against a player on a person’s fantasy team, does that individual still hope that the player on the opposing team does well in order to get more fantasy points? Or should that loyalty be solely dedicated to his or her beloved team? For Baldwin, success for both is possible.
“I am more worried about my own team winning, but if my fantasy receiver can get a touchdown, and the Chiefs still win, that’s a win-win for me,” she said.
Bergsman said he also wants to see his fantasy players do well, but much of his reasoning has to do with years of disappointment from the home team.
“I do hope that players are successful when playing against my team,” he said. “Let’s be honest, you can’t count on Jerry, Dak, and the rest of the Cowboys, so being able to have something else to root for gives me a way to obtain a small victory.”
The way Stautz sees it, rooting for the success of players not on one’s favorite team is a way for a fantasy football participant to acknowledge other players’ talents.
“That might be the beauty of fantasy, because it allows people to cheer for other players whom they might normally root against,” she said.
And while fantasy football can create excitement for some people and increase their knowledge of the NFL and football, in general, Odegard said a downside to it is that it can be quite time-consuming.
“I find myself spending way too much time doing research so that I know which players to start or trade,” he said. “On Thursdays during the season, I tend not to get a lot of work done, and I find myself waking up early on Sundays to check NFL stuff, so I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
Regardless of the amount of time and energy it takes, fantasy football continues to be a popular way for individuals to interact with one another and keep up with a beloved American sport. In Stautz’s view, this is a result of more than people’s passion for football and their desire to connect with others with similar interests.
“Football season usually is long-awaited by fans, so that seems like another component to fantasy’s success,” she said. “While fans might not be able to compete on the field, they can contribute their football knowledge, predictions, and well-roundedness of the sport through fantasy.”
And that combination of a shared common interest and the intricacies involved throughout the fantasy football season helps to do what sports can often do so well—bring people together.
“Fantasy is a way of giving more people a vested interest in more games, which then, in turn, increases your social interactions,” Bergsman said. “That, and some people just like to gamble.”
Baldwin said she agrees that the rise of sports betting, along with people trying to make predictions and celebrate when they are right, has certainly contributed to an increase in the number of individuals taking part in fantasy football, though she thinks there is more to it than that, including what viewers see on their televisions and devices.
“Sports coverage has also started to play into the fantasy craze more by putting out fantasy player predictions for the season, fantasy winners of the week, etc., which means that more eyeballs are seeing content surrounding fantasy football, which may draw in new players,” she said. “For sports fanatics, it’s a fun way to combine your love and knowledge of the game with some friendly competition to show that you know ball better than anyone else in your league—even if it really is just luck.”
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