you think that fantasy is Sonics chili dogs?
I do.
Just What is Fantasy Football?
Intrigued by the idea of fantasy football, it’s not too late to
get involved. A lot of people have heard of the term fantasy
football, but aren’t sure what it is. A search on fantasy
football brings back thousands of sites such as footballpdq.com
http://footballpdq.com/,
most of which are offering to allow you to become a commissioner
or sign up to create a team, all at low cost or no cost.
So… what is fantasy football?
Here’s the lowdown. First, there’s a fantasy football
commissioner, who’s in charge of the league, much the same as in
real-life. The commissioner puts in the most amount of money to
be the biggest cheese. This person is the final arbiter of
disputes, makes decisions and, in general, gets to have the most
leeway – and the most headaches – in the league.
Then there are the team owners. These individuals pay a lesser
fee than the fantasy football commissioner, and manage their own
teams. The owners choose who will be on the teams, what players
will start, and so on.
So, the owners need teams. The next step is to pool all the
real-world pro football players, rank them and then have a
draft. Each team owner takes turns picking players for his or
her team – hence the name fantasy football. Depending on how the
draft goes, your team could be a true fantasy. Of course, some
leagues have salary caps just as in real life, which prohibits
one team from having all the best players. Trades are usually
allowed, though depending on the league, they may be limited.
So once the fantasy football commissioner has a full roster of
teams and the teams have a full roster of players… what
happens? This is where things get interesting.
Team owner Alpha has players X, Y and Z on the team. In real
life, player X is on one team, player Y on another and player Z
on yet another. Before the game, Alpha has to decide who is
starting, who isn’t, and what’s going on. Alpha then gives this
information (by whatever means the fantasy football league has)
to the commissioner. This information must be set in stone prior
to the actual Sunday and Monday football games that NFL teams
such as the Patriots and the Raiders play.
The real AFC & NFC teams play. Let’s say player X is on the
Eagles in real life and is a quarterback. This Sunday, he throws
three touchdown passes and the Eagles win. Fantasy football team
owner Alpha has X on the team and, very smartly, started X for
the football fantasy league games.
How this translates in fantasy football depends on the league.
The usual standard is that for every possible situation, a team
can earn points. For example, the real life touchdowns of player
X may earn fantasy football owner Alpha four hundred points
each. Alpha may come out of the weekend as the biggest point
earner, thanks to player X, which then sets Alpha up for
contention as the fantasy football league winner.
Of course, this assumes that player X wasn’t benched at the last
minute, depriving Alpha of earning any points and ending last in
the fantasy football league.
The ultimate prize at the season’s end may be a statue or
possibly money, depending on which fantasy football league you
join. Or it may just be the prestige of knowing that you
outwitted all the other team owners and came out as top dog.
While this fantasy may come with a price tag for participation,
if you enjoy the game and avidly watch the players anyway,
fantasy football can be a harmless way to spend some time.
About the Author
Karen Larsen is a writer and contributor to
http://www.finefootball.com and http://www.footballhwy.com
