Well it’s Labor Day here in the US and I’ve been enjoying the long weekend. My poor wife had to work Saturday morning and this morning, but she’s also had some time to relax as well. We went to the Minnesota State Fair again, I helped my brother move into a studio apartment near his campus, and I cashed in one of those CrowdCut deals that I complained about a while back. Had a goodbye party yesterday for a friend who is moving to the gold coast and was able to hang out with some friends at a BBQ. Pretty packed weekend but well worth it.
Today I have a fantasy football draft in a league that my father-in-law runs each year. If you don’t know what fantasy football is, essentially you draft a team of NFL players who accumulate points based on statistics. You play against another person in the league and see whose team can score more points.
I enjoy it but don’t invest a lot of time into it. Today is the first day I even looked into the rankings of the different players at each position. Today is also the draft.
Here’s three reasons I enjoy taking part in Fantasy Football:
1) It gives you something to root for in games you otherwise wouldn’t care about
For example, let’s say the Chiefs and Raiders are playing. I’m a Vikings fan. Do I really care about this game? No. But if my fantasy team has the Chiefs Quarterback I have some skin in the game and a reason to care.
2) It’s gambling
I enjoy poker and gambling in general. Fantasy football is a low-stakes way for me to get my gambling fix. I have essentially broken even over the four years I have played. Hopefully long-term I can be profitable ;)
3) Bragging Rights
If you are in a league with friends, family, or co-workers, there is the added bonus that if you win you have bragging rights. Unfortunately, in the league I’ve been in for four years now the closest I have come is second place. You need to bring home first if you want those coveted bragging rights.
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If you don’t care about football, fantasy football probably wouldn’t be worth your time. I once gave fantasy baseball a try but I lost interest after a month or so, and my team ended up losing most of their matchups. Football is my favorite professional sport because there is only one game a week so it’s not a huge time commitment to follow, and every game is important. Sunday afternoons are just more fun when there’s football on tv.
UPDATE (September 3rd 9pm):
Here is my team (14 Teams total, 9th overall pick):
- Chris Johnson – RB – Ten
- Rob Gronkowski – TE – NE
- Greg Jennings – WR – GB
- Ahmad Bradshaw – RB – NYG
- Dwayne Bowe – WR – KC
- Pittsburgh Quarterbacks
- Ben Tate – RB – Hou
- Michael Crabtree – WR – SF
- Houston Defense
- Leonard Hankerson – WR – WAS
- Ryan Williams – RB – Ari
- Oakland Quarterbacks
- Denver Kickers
- Scott Chandler – TE – Buffalo
- Daniel Thomas – RB – Mia
Have you ever taken part in fantasy football? What are your thoughts on it?
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Photo by dbking
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Everyone at 1111 Lynde agrees with your reasons to play fantasy football! You did forget Gary’s food – that might be the best reason of all!
@RobertaRenstromNyquist How could I forget! One of the best parts!
i love fantasy football.. had my draft last night.
i got the first pick and am fairly happy with my team.
i didnt realize that the RB from San Diego (Matthews) was hurt, and drafted him in the 3rd.
that was dumb.. but i am still optimistic!
jefferson
@seedebtrun Honestly I would have made the same mistake with Matthews. I suck at tracking injuries. I’m doing some research now (draft starts at 3).
Did you take Foster with the first pick?
@DC @ Young Adult Money
I had Foster last year, and finished last.
I took Rogers with the first pick.
J
I used to play but never in money leagues. I liked watching the other games with my friends and bragging but I never was that good at it. That and I don’t have as much time to watch football as I did in college.
@Money Life and More One reason I like football is because it’s essentially only one day a week! Much less time commitment vs. baseball, basketball, hockey, etc.
I have not, but my sister in law won some big $$ in a Vegas league once. I prefer NCAA basketball, but Denver has Peyton this year, so I’ll probably watch. Someone should do a blogger NCAA bracket when the time comes. I always pick KY though, so last year was my year.
@Eyesonthedollar I tried to draft Peyton but waited too long : / I would definitely be up for a blogger NCAA bracket next March!
HUGE football guy here. It is really interesting that you draft an entire team’s qbs!? Never seen that before. Gronk was a HUGE pick up he is like having another WR out there although I am sure you had some light ball busting for picking up a TE before a WR lol
@MJTM The whole league used to use a site that my father-in-law programmed himself and I think drafting the qb was just to simplify the whole thing. I never thought I would draft a TE in the second round! If I’m not mistaken TE get 1 pt every 5 yards vs. every 10 yards for a WR. I had Gronk a couple years ago (and I got him pretty late) and he killed it almost every week. I didn’t spend a ton of time prepping but saw in a few mock drafts he was taken pretty high (higher than I took him actually) so I had to pull the trigger.
I’m playing fantasy football in one league this year, and we did a live draft last week. I’m reasonably happy with my team this year as i was picking 2nd in the draft and got the running back and a couple of receivers that I wanted. Last year I was away during the draft and my autopicked team was AWFUL! Thus my high pick this year.
Like you mention I like fantasy football because it allows me to do a little tiny bit of gambling, while bringing in something to make the games more exciting when teams I don’t care about (like the Vikings) are playing. That’s especially important in years where the Vikings stink like last year. :)