Fantasy football: More popular than the real thing?

The National Football League (NFL) is one of the most popular sports leagues and entertainment programs in the entire world, generating tens of millions of viewers every week. The Super Bowl, the championship game for the NFL, can generate over 100 million viewers. 

For millions of other fans, however, a greater competition lies each Sunday, one with stakes greater than what it might seem on the surface. Enter Fantasy Football, a game in which a participant serves as the virtual general manager of a football team. These teams are drafted by the participants themselves, with each player scoring points based on their real-world performances each week. According to the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association (FSGA), an organization that compiles annual fantasy sports demographics, over 40 million people play Fantasy Football, with an average of $465 being spent by each participant. 

Lucas Corea, a sophomore at Richard Montgomery High School, has been playing fantasy football for over five years. 

“What keeps me interested is that there are always new players coming into the game and it is also incredibly unpredictable,” Corea said. 

The unpredictability of Fantasy Football has ignited an entire industry, with dozens of analysts making a living off of giving Fantasy Football advice. 

Despite the excitement and vigor of Fantasy Football, the game has also ignited several controversies regarding its real-world impacts. Participants often spend around five to seven hours each week on their teams, with companies reporting that this commitment has resulted in millions of dollars lost in workplace productivity.

 According to The American Bureau of Labor, spending 30 minutes while at work on managing these teams results in a loss of over 400 million each week, adding up to $6.5 billion throughout the four-month season. Despite this trend, however, the competitive spirit of fantasy football has not only increased workplace bonding, but about 40 percent of those surveyed in a 2006 survey reports that it increased camaraderie among employees. 

“My friends and I all enjoy talking about football,” Winston Churchill High School sophomore Rohin Garg said. “It allows us to play amongst each other even when we’re at different schools, when we might not get the chance to play football in person.” This connection through fantasy football allows fans all over the world to interact and compete with each other, with the game they love. 

Article by Kevin Zhang of Richard Montgomery High School

Graphic by Nicole Fang of Richard Montgomery High School

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