Students compete in fantasy football
Senior Clay Fegett edits his fantasy football lineup on the ESPN fantasy football app.
September 27, 2013
There are two types of people in America. Those that have no clue what fantasy football is and those that think they are fantasy football masterminds. Either way, fantasy football has swept football fans and television commercials across America.
For those that fit in the first category, fantasy football is defined by Google as a competition in which participants select imaginary teams from among the players in a league and score points according to the actual performance of their players.
Many students at Tracy are in fantasy leagues and say it makes watching football even better.
“This is my first year playing fantasy football and it has made Sundays 10 times better,” senior Greg Trevino said. “You not only root for your favorite team, but your fantasy players too.”
First time owners say it is not as complicated as it may sound.
“I didn’t really understand what it was before I started playing,” senior Will Stinbrink said. “I was surprised how quick I caught on and how easy it is.”
Senior Cole Link has been playing fantasy football for many years now and thinks first time players have the same chance as someone who has been playing their whole life.
“Experience really doesn’t help too much,” Link said. “You never know what players are going to have breakout seasons or terrible seasons, it’s all objective.”
Fantasy football leagues range anywhere from leagues with friends, co-workers, relatives, or even just random people online. Leagues can be played for fun, but in most cases there is a prize awarded to the winner to raise the level of competition. Some people take this to the extreme, such as the infamous tattoo league, in which the last place team must get an embarrassing tattoo chosen by the other league members.
“Our league had all 10 owners put in 10 dollars before the start of the season and the winner gets all,” Trevino said. “It makes it more competitive because your money is on the line.”
There is a lot of strategy involved in fantasy football. In standard leagues teams start a quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, a tight end, a flex (running back, wide receiver, or tight end), a defense/special teams, and a kicker. Teams also have a bench with up to seven players. Each week owners have to decide whom they want to start based on past performances, projections, and match-ups. Owners can claim players off waivers or drop players to waivers and make trades with other teams. Players are similar to stocks as their trade value can go up or down each week depending on performance.
Stinbrink agrees that there is a lot of strategy involved.
“A lot of time goes in to researching who to start or sit each week,” Stinbrink said. “I would say it is about half strategy and half luck.”
Each week teams go head-to-head and as in almost every other sport, the team with the most points wins. A playoff bracket is formed with the teams with the best record or most points at the end of the season and a winner is eventually decided. The league manager decides the number of teams that can reach the playoffs.
Although it is too late to sign up now, you can sign up for fantasy football on many websites including ESPN, NFL, and Yahoo. These websites all have apps so you can keep up with your team wherever you go.
