This is a game that many men look forward to playing each football season. This is one of the only times that having knowledge of their favorite sport can pay off in something so manly. This fun and entertaining activity is Fantasy Football. Fantasy Football started in 1962 at the Milford Plaza Hotel in New York City by Wilfred “Bill” Winkenbach, a limited partner of the Oakland Raiders.
“I first signed up three to four years ago and did the league with some of my neighborhood friends,” junior Mitchell Bradley said.
In the years past all kinds of people, from businessmen to little kids, have been playing the game, trying to get the best athletes out there.
“I first signed up a couple of years ago, and the main reason was to experiment and have fun to see how well I would do,” senior Brandon Bronchetti said.
The goal of this popular game is to pick the best athletes and defenses from all 30 teams and try to beat out the opponent. Athletes have to know whether they are playing a good team that week or if they have had success in the past against them.
“My favorite aspect of Fantasy Football is deciding everything,” Bronchetti said. “You can choose who to play and who to bench. You are in control and it’s fun to be competitive.”
Some players will have byes on certain weeks, which means Fantasy Football players have to put in another athlete who could mess up their strategy.
“When one of your players has a bye week, you need to find a solid backup or just deal with it,” Bronchetti said. “Winning your matchup for the week could be huge, but you’re more likely to loose when a big player is gone due to bye weeks.”
All leagues have different point systems, so if a player has a monster game one week, he could get 50 points in one league and only 35 in another. The virtual teams get points during the week by how the real athletes do during their games and how they perform.
“If I could give one piece of advice to new players, it would be to not pay too much attention to projections and expert analysis,” junior Michael Vivier said. “Go with your gut feeling and pick the player you think will do the best.”
It is a game of strategy and the will to win it all. Some of the big aspects of being part of Fantasy Football are picking both your athletes and how you determine who you will play and not play.
“If I could give a tip to new players, it would be don’t always pick the athletes from your favorite team,” Bradley said.
Every league will have a draft, whether it is done automatically or at someone’s house. Everyone is always trying to get the number one pick so they can get the athlete the sports writers suggest.
“I would recommend that new players watch who they pick and be cautious with trades because you clearly want to win for the week,” Bronchetti said.
The goal is to get away with giving up the least amount of points. The least amount of points will mean that the players did bad and they didn’t have their best performance for that week. It is a favorite part of Fantasy Football players and it is a very fun and interactive game to be a part of.
“It makes me more connected to the league and the athletes who actually play in the NFL,” Bradley said.
