I recently took part in my first fantasy baseball draft of the season one night last week. Ignoring the exam that I had scheduled the following day, I spent an hour and a half sitting on my computer asking myself these very important questions: Should I go with Ichiro or Derek Jeter in the second round? Does Greg Maddux have one more season left in him? Who is closing for the Kansas City Royals (and perhaps more importantly, why should I care)?
During my draft, I got to thinking about why exactly fantasy sports are so popular nowadays. Is it because of the thrill of drafting your favorite players to “own”? Is it for bragging rights amongst your friends? Or is it simply because we are all losers who cant find dates so instead we have to spend countless hours obsessing over a made up baseball team competing against other made up baseball teams?
In all honesty, it is probably a mixture of those things that make fantasy sports so popular (except for me of course…I go on lots of dates). I discovered fantasy sports about 4 years ago when I signed up for my first fantasy baseball team. After spending a year checking my team several times a day, trying to figure out what pitcher was about to get hot or what slugger was going to give my team that extra boost in the power department, I was hooked. I followed that up by playing fantasy basketball and football and I have done so annually ever since. I can often be found chatting with my fellow league mates about potential trades or scouting the free agent market looking for the next big thing about to hit sports. Some people may call me obsessed with running my teams. These people have never played fantasy sports before.
Living in Louisville, Kentucky, which doesn’t have a professional team to call its own, it is sometimes hard to find teams and players to cheer for on a regular basis. Fantasy sports give me a reason to root for and against certain players. They give me a reason to watch the games. Anyone who plays fantasy sports will tell you they cheer just as hard for their fantasy team as they do for their local teams. I will admit, the emotions I sometimes feel when a player I own is in a controversial play are almost on par with the emotions I feel when my Cardinals are in the midst of a close game. Also, just as it is in real sports, one single play can make or break your fantasy season. I’ll give you an example from my winning fantasy football campaign from last season.
During the first week of the fantasy football season, I was matched up with a close friend of mine who I often compete with in various fantasy sports. Heading into the Monday night game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Miami Dolphins, I was slightly behind but still very much alive. I needed a big performance from my tight end, Heath Miller, in order to take down my friend. During the game, Miller caught a pass and ran 87 yards for a touchdown. As I was going nuts and getting ready to call my friend who I was matched up against, replays clearly showed Miller stepping out of bounds at the two-yard line. I immediately became disgusted as I was sure the Dolphins would challenge the call, costing Miller, and more importantly my fantasy team, a touchdown. However, I was amazed when Dolphin’s coach Nick Saban took too much time and referees did not see him throw the red flag to signal a challenge. As soon as it became clear the touchdown would stand, my phone rang, as my friend was now irate about the same call. Miller finished the game with 101 yards and a touchdown, earning my team 21 points and helping me defeat my friend by 11 points for the week.
Had the challenge been allowed, it would have cost me six points for the lost touchdown and six points for Miller’s overall receiving yardage dropping below a hundred, and I would have lost to my friend by a single point. I ended up edging my friend by one game for the league’s regular season crown, and had it not been for Saban’s mistake, I would have been neglected to the runner up position and ousted in the first round of the playoffs. Instead, I got a better seed and ended up coasting to the title.
Well, to be very honest, fantasy sports is neither easy nor too difficult, but entirely depends on the mindset of a person who aspires to try his hand out in this field but at the same time can be quite dangerous if not done with careful planning. Therefore, the playground becomes a 안전토토사이트 at times,
Fantasy sports are a huge part of our culture, and I strongly recommend everyone playing them. Then you will too get to experience what it is like to see a pitcher on your fantasy squad serve up a 500 foot homerun or learn your star running back broke his leg in the preseason and is lost for the year. You will also get to experience what it is like to witness your tight end catch an 87-yard touchdown pass that turns out to be the difference maker between you or your friend winning the league title. It’s an emotion I rank very highly up there on my list of sports memories. I never would have had that feeling if it had not been for fantasy sports. Now if you would excuse me, I’ve got to go check the waiver wire for some potential free agents so I can reclaim my position as league champion.
