Football season is just around the corner, and it has a lot of
people excited, many of whom just can’t wait for baseball
season to end. It’s a fresh start for these fans, and
I’m not talking about the ones who have been rooting for the
Montreal Expos the past few months.
As analysts start to dissect the strengths and weaknesses of
each NFL team, a new breed of fans has emerged that listens closely
to those analysts’ every word. These fans don’t care
about how a team does, but once the season starts they can tell you
a quarterback’s touchdown-to-interception ratio quicker than
his own team’s coach.
Fantasy leagues seem to be all the rage these days, and
it’s kind of a shame. It’s a phenomenon slightly worse
than low-carb diets and marginally better than reality television.
It’s a craze that has struck fans of all ages in every region
in this country. And college students seem to have gotten swept up
in it the most.
I’ve never participated in a fantasy league, but
I’ve spent enough time in the sports office here to get the
gist of it. Fans play the role of a team’s general manager,
drafting available players that meet their position needs and their
fantasy budgets. They can add, dump, or trade players to fill their
roster’s needs, just like real general managers. Once the
teams are assembled, they compete head-to-head against other
fantasy teams every game day. The winner is formulaically
determined by whoever’s fantasy team’s players compile
better statistics on that day.
It can be gripping, if for no other reason than it gives fans a
reason to care about an Arizona Cardinals game. But throughout the
whole process, fans are dismissing how the real teams are doing and
instead become overly preoccupied with an individual player’s
performance. Their favorite team might lose by a couple touchdowns,
but if the opposing team’s running back rushes for 150 yards
and is on their fantasy team, they win. Some fantasy leaguers
don’t even have a favorite team and throw their entire
allegiance to individual athletes. And then they wonder why some
athletes develop such big egos. Other fantasy leaguers follow
sports purely for statistical purposes, and, ironically enough, the
only number that doesn’t count is the final score of the
game.
Some fans take this fantasy thing pretty seriously, too. One CBS
SportsLine.com league charges $500 to form a team and awards a
$3,500 prize to the league’s winner. This seems a bit
extravagant, but at least these fantasy managers have a real
monetary stake in their decisions. They’re basically involved
in a creative form of gambling, which is a completely natural way
to enjoy sports. March Madness would not be nearly as popular if it
weren’t for the pools circulating around the office or dorm
floor.
Yet a lot fans join leagues that don’t even offer payoffs.
Yahoo!, for example, offers free fantasy football for its
“casual” users. Maybe these are the users who are too
loyal to trade their quarterback every time he faces a stifling
defense. But it’s more likely that they’re just too
lazy or have lost interest in this fantasy.
These free leagues seem to attract most of the college students.
Understandably, the “free” factor makes just about
anything more enticing for people our age. I wouldn’t have
listened to USAC candidates on Bruin Walk back in June had it not
been for the free otter pops they were dangling in front of me. But
when it comes to these fantasy leagues, I’ve seen some of my
friends invest a lot more than a head-nod and a pledge to vote.
Some students spend hours pouring over game sheets, injury reports
and Web sites that suggest what players to trade and when to trade
them.
I just can’t understand what they get out of it. I
didn’t see the Dodgers searching for their general manager in
the fantasy league circles last year. And without any cash prize,
all that’s left is self-satisfaction or bragging rights. But
I don’t see the pleasure of telling friends how I traded Kurt
Warner right before he threw four interceptions. Maybe it’s
because I care more about the final score of the real game. It
could be that I’m not a devoted sports fan. Or that I’m
just not competitive enough when it comes to fantasies.
Finley’s fantasy is a UCLA win over USC in football
this season. E-mail him your dreams at
afinley@media.ucla.edu.