The Reality of Fantasy

If players like AP, Tom Brady and Larry Fitz have huge games, Fantasy
owners like me tend to think they did it just for us. Yeah, right. 

Fantasy sports are addicting.

[For those of you who may not know, the basic premise of any fantasy sport is that, as an owner, you join a league and create a team by drafting professional players and then receive points depending on how they perform in real games. Every week you are matched up against a competing team in your league. Statistics are tallied and the team with the most points wins]

While the premise seems straight-forward, the fundamental appeal of fantasy sports is less subtle. Ask any true fantasy sports owner and they'll agree that at its core, fantasy sports operate under the false pretense that each and every professional athlete plays not for their family, fans, city or organization, but in fact, for you, the owner. Every home run they hit, three-pointer they sink or touchdown they score, they're doing it specifically for you. Amidst the suspended disbelief that operates at the core of fantasy sports, average people like you and me gain the ultimate power over multi-million-dollar athletes, for free. We name our team whatever we want and draft players of our choosing. We decide who to add, drop and trade each week. We are the coach, the general manager and the owner, all in one. However, while fantasy baseball and basketball are fun, nothing compares to Fantasy Football.

If you're anything like my friends and I, you take it very, very seriously. We go way back. Back to the care-free middle school days when we would utilize the ancient service known as dial-up internet and check to see who won, who lost and how once a week. It's hard to believe that at 23-years-old, most of my friends and I are already ten year veterans.

However, the game has changed entirely. In 2010, it's evolved into a calculated, cut-throat, 24/7 endeavor. The advent of Stat Tracker is greatly responsible for revolutionizing the sport. Now, owners are able to log into their team page while games are being played and follow along while Stat Tracker updates you instantly to how your players are doing, keeping up to the second statistics and scores. As a result, Sundays have now become National Stat Tracker Day, with millions of fantasy owners glued to their computers to see how their team is performing.

You become so caught up in competing with your friends each week that your true allegiance as a fan is often questioned. For example, I'm a die-hard New England Patriots fan but if I'm going up against someone who has Wes Welker as a wide receiver, somewhere in my subconscious I'm rooting against #83, whether I like it or not, hoping he doesn't have a monster game that sinks me.

Still, the reality of fantasy is that even though you "own" a team, you really don't own anything. Take my current Fantasy Football predicament as a prime example of this harsh truth. After starting the season an embarrassing 0-6, I came to the painful realization that the players on my team weren't really playing for me.  The truth is that even though you run the show, the show is fake. My players could care less how many fantasy points they put up and whether or not I win or lose each week. Maybe if they did, I wouldn't wake up to the news that one of my starting receivers, Mike Williams of Tampa Bay, got arrested last night for DUI and may not play this weekend.

However, just as fantasy sports can be devastating when you lose, nothing feels better than when you win. Take it from me. After starting 0-6 I've resurrected my seasons to the tune of four straight victories. With a 4-6 record going into Sunday, I need to win out in order to make the playoffs. I'm literally living on a prayer. But mark my words, if I win this weekend, everyone will know that guys like Tom Brady, Hakeem Nicks, Larry Fitzgerald, Jamaal Charles and Jason Witten had big games just for me.