FOOTBALL PREVIEW‘ 17
Pick Your Fantasy
Why do more than 75 million people participate in fantasy football? The reasons are many.
By Jeff Nunn
FANTASY FOOTBALL has been around for a long time. In fact, it was born in a New York hotel room back in 1962 by three guys from Oakland. While the game has changed and adapted with various modifications over the years, the enjoyment of playing has not wavered. That very enjoyment has led to millions of people playing every National Football League season. So, what universal longing does fantasy football satisfy and what exactly is fantasy football?
In its simplest description, fantasy football is a math-based game based on stats from real NFL players on a weekly basis. Participants( usually 12 people) join a league and draft a team of NFL players. Each week, they decide which players from their team to enter into their starting line-up based on projections and match-ups.
The goal is to start the players that you think are likely to achieve the most fantasy points. The number of players that you can start is based on the league setting. Most commonly, a league will require you to have a starting roster that consists of one quarterback( QB), two running backs( RB), two wide receivers( WR), one tight end( TE), one kicker( K), one defense( D / ST) and one FLEX( usually RB or WR) that you pick from the 13 NFL players you drafted.
The on-field statistics each of those starting players accumulate in their NFL game are calculated into a value for each stat set by the league settings to give a weekly player point total. The point totals of all the players in your starting lineup are tallied into your weekly score, and if you have a higher total than your opponent( another member of your league) you win that week. Players on your roster who you do not start are considered on your“ bench.” They’ ll still score points like everyone else, but those points will not be counted toward your weekly total.
Each week you will face a different opponent in your league. At the end of the fantasy regular season( usually NFL Week 12 or Week 13), the teams with the best win-loss records will enter the fantasy playoffs. Playoffs are a“ win and advance or lose and you are out” proposition. Whoever wins the remaining games in the playoffs is crowned league champion following Week 17 of the NFL season, although many fantasy football leagues are starting to hold their championship on week 16 of the NFL season because typically a NFL team who has clinched a playoff berth will rest their best players in week 17( the final NFL regular season week).
Winning a fantasy football league can be quite profitable or it can just simply give you bragging rights, depending on your league. Like most things in life, there are many different levels and require different amount of commitment.
Personally, I play in four very different fantasy football leagues every year, two of which have high-dollar entry fees. One is a smaller entry fee, while the fourth is free and strictly just for fun and bragging rights. One of the high-dollar entry fee leagues that I play in has a weekly payout to the person with the overall weekly highest point total. Weekly payouts keep people interested all season despite not having a chance to win the league after starting the season with a bad record.
A profitable payout or just the joy of winning are not the only reasons fantasy football is played by more than 75 million people every year.
Some people are just superfans and feel a closer connection to their NFL team if they have players from their favorite team on their fantasy team. It gives them a greater rooting interest. Or they just love NFL football and want a reason to follow all 256 games played in a NFL season. Many people are simply competitive and love the
28 EXTOL SPORTS / AUGUST 2017