Fantasy sports are for real

Fantasy sports have really exploded across the country in the last decade. It used to be only hardcore stat geeks that played, but now it seems almost everyone does. The Fantasy Sports Trade Association estimates that 19.4 million people age 12 and up in the United States and Canada play fantasy sports.

Fantasy sports are an imitation of real organizations; they allow you to "draft" a team of players from the league and have complete control over it, including making trades, picking players up and cutting them. It is like being the owner of a professional franchise-you have total control over every aspect of your team.

There are entire television shows based on fantasy sports; hours of time spent talking about teams and drafts that aren't even real. It is amazing that something unreal has taken over the sporting landscape. Go to any office building or college dorm and you'll find pools of people competing against one another. Many people, myself included, actually have live drafts where everyone gets together to select their teams as if it were real.

The dark little secret about fantasy sports is the huge amounts of money that can be made off of it (approximately three to four billion dollars a year). So many products are made for this fantasy world: draft kits, magazines with a player's up-to-date stats and the leagues themselves. And then there are the people that put money in a pot that is awarded to the winner at the end of the season…only where gambling is legal though.

One thing associated with fantasy sports is the problem of the fair-weather fan whose fantasy team takes priority over his real team, which can't be comprehended by a die-hard fan. If someone on your fantasy team is playing against your real team, you are not allowed to root against your real team. No excuses; it's sacrilegious in the sporting world.

Fantasy sports are just a fun way to get people together and talk about something they love. For money or not, fantasy sports keep people interested in every team because they may have a player that they never cared about before. It will expand your knowledge of sports and its smallest details.

I'm a fantasy sports junkie. Are you?

Redmond Zmudzien
Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: Opinion
quchronicle.com

[Nothingbutnet]

I definately am a fantasy sports junkie too. The main reason is I'm big on stats in anything I do. Nothing gets my blood flowing like dealing with stats. Heck, sports video games for PS3 where you shape your own career is one of the closest things you can get to running a sports team without actually doing it.

I guess fantasy sports also appeal to me because I like being in charge and managing things. It's like you're a real sports team owner. It's the perfect hobby any sports fanatic can do for fun or for cash.

[PassTheBall]

My friends and I are not that deep into fantasy sports but we do enjoy it quite a bit. Fantasy football is our game of choice. We are actually new to the practice, still getting our feet wet. We are not betting against each other yet, but it is an open option for us.

We also play video football games that have a great degree of managing options.

[Nothingbutnet]

Yea I've got me a dynasty built in NBA Live 2007 for PS2. Go Miami Heat!! Fantasy sports have even leaked down to my hobby of fooSball! It's kind of cool though, but of course you have to know the players, which, some I don't. In this league you can't win money, but a free t-shirt isn't bad. It's just in good fun.

[BetOnThis]

I wouldn't call myself a junkie but I am a definite partaker. Our local newspaper started it all off, back when I was in high school and they started running fantasy league tables in the weekly paper. It took my interest, when in truth I had no interest in football at that time otherwise.

[FootballWizard]

I'm a casual player in that I'm involved in a betting pool at the office where we all work a little on a team we use to gamble with. I'm not really clear on what goes on, but we have won the past 3 years.

[Marathon Man]

I have not gotten into fantasy games much as I'm still figuring it all out. I am trying to read as much as I can about them and catching up on my stats.