It’s that time of the year again. The weather starts to get a little bit cooler. Kids start going back to school. The transition is made from shorts and t-shirts to jeans and a sweater. From iced coffees to hot tea, the change in the atmosphere manifests itself everywhere, including nature, where the trees’ leaves go from green and vibrant to crisp and brown. People start covering up grills and putting up Halloween decorations. But what may quite possibly be the most important and anticipated change of them all is fantasy football.
The return of football itself is a monumental event for people around the country. But an even bigger deal, even for those who are casual players, is fantasy football. Fantasy football, if you don’t know, is where you assemble a team made of real players in the NFL. A fantasy draft occurs, where every player in the league is put into one pool. You take turns with other members of your league, selecting who you want to be on your team. Once this team is assembled, you go head-to-head with other members of your league, and victory comes to the owner whose players performed the best. What determines a winner in a matchup is total points, which are based upon an actual player’s stats from the most recent game. So if Eli Manning throws a touchdown, and you own him, you receive 4 points. If you have Adrian Peterson and he runs for 100 total yards in a game, then you receive 10 points. You would pool your points together from all of your player’s real life games.
When that week is over, whoever has the most point between you and your opponent, is the victor. This is the most basic form of fantasy football. There are multiple different variants to the game. There are auction drafts where a player is put up for sale, and whoever is willing to put up the most virtual money for the player, owns him. There are twists on point values, like in a PPR league, a point is given per reception, meaning everytime a player makes a catch, he earns a point. There are dynasty leagues in which owners keep the same players from year to year. Despite the different types of formats, the one mentioned is the most standard and universal form.
While it may seem fairly uncomplicated, the intricacies are filled in by the members of the league. The basic nature of the game is spruced up by the interaction between the players. For example, a team name can go from basic and classy, like The Benchwarmers, to comical, like Caught Red Hernandez. Often leagues will have buy-ins, where people will pay to play. The winner at the end of the year will receive the majority of the money, and some leagues even have a trophy. This trophy is the pride and joy of some owners, and is a reminder to the individual and his friends that he is the clear cut best and everyone else straight up stinks. Smack talk is a native language concerning fantasy football. Shots can be fired between two “bros” all week, and makes victory all the sweeter. For example, one year I had a friend of mine change his name to attack his different opponent each week. I can’t mention the different names in this article (due to the vulgarity), but it was escalated to a point where two good friends didn’t talk to each other for a week (despite the name being absolutely hilarious). Of course, the league one plays in is only as fun as the community makes it.
While fantasy football might seem boring or unfamiliar to some, it is one of the most enjoyable things to be a part of. It can bring distant friends back together, or can tear the best of them apart. Your team can be the most fantastic thing to ever be one week, and in shambles next week because of a freak injury. You can act like a business man, wheeling and dealing to trade for players you want, for almost any cost. But whatever the ups and downs may be throughout the course of a long football season, one thing stays consistent: it’s a ton of fun. The nature of the game maximizes interaction and competition between peers, bringing out the best and worst of us, but at the end of the day it’s all about enjoying the football season while it last. Then again, it doesn’t hurt to win once in a while to rub it in your cousin’s face.