September 3, 2014 at 2:59 p.m.
Fantasy football: A national obsession
Fantasy football: A national obsession
It's not about how badly the Jaguars are losing on any given week or how many points the Broncos hung on the Cowboys. The information fans really want is how many fantasy points Calvin Johnson earned. They want to know whether or not they're beating their next door neighbor or college roommate. For diehards, fantasy football is a consuming hobby.
For those who don't play, Labor Day weekend, the last holdout before NFL football takes over every Sunday through early February, is a break from work and an opportunity to enjoy summer before it turns to fall.
For those who do play fantasy football though, it's quite possibly the most anticipated and stressful weekend of the year. Preseason games are over, preparation is complete and it's time to draft.
Rhinelander native Steve Chrisinger, an admitted fantasy football junkie, said he puts a lot of time into prepping for the draft. On Saturday, he drafted in one of his priority leagues via video chat from Texas. His approach is simple. Practice makes perfect.
"I was in 32 leagues last year," he said. "I love drafting. Over the course of a preseason in the summer, since I'm on vacation during that time, I find myself in the mood for a draft every now and then. It got out of hand and I ran with it. I won first place in over half of the leagues, probably because I was the one caring the most in the majority of those leagues.
"The key to drafting a good team is building a roster that is highly competitive on a weekly basis. It's important to do your own homework rather than just trusting what analysts say, because they usually never agree with each other in the first place. I always like to go with my gut."
Everyone has their own approach and tactics are always changing. Targeting certain positions in different rounds can decide whether a team is still in the hunt come December or stuck in the cellar.
Roger Schulz has been playing fantasy football for about a decade and he said he's still trying to figure it out.
"The most challenging part is picking players that stay healthy," he said. "It is a total gamble in the violent sport of football, but there is some skill that goes into it. The other challenge is the ranking and over-valuing of positions. Just because a quarterback is the field general in the real game does not mean he has to be the most important piece in a fantasy game. Other players have an easier time filling the voids."
Casual players may approach the draft without much preparation, and some may luck themselves into quality rosters, but those who play year in and year out know research is key to consistent quality. These days though, that's easier than ever.
Fantasy football is big business. Every major sports network has entire programs built around the game and "Fantasy Expert" is an actual career. It's become so big that NFL chief marketing officer Mark Waller said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that they'd like to see fantasy football introduced as part of elementary school curriculum.
It's officially a national phenomenon, but for many, it has much simpler beginnings.
Jesse Richter, an elementary school teacher in Rhinelander, said he started playing fantasy football when he was just a kid and has been playing ever since.
"I joined a league with my older brother and his friends when I was starting high school and they were in college," he said. All I wanted to do was beat my older brother."
Now years later, Richter still keeps fantasy football in the family.
"My wife and I have a bet every year," Richter said. "She's a Vikings fan and I'm a Packers fan. The loser of our head-to-head (fantasy football) match has to wear the opposing teams jersey the following Sunday. Let's just say I haven't lost yet."
Once the draft is over and the teams are set, owners, as they're often called, aren't done. Trades and free agency transactions take place throughout the year. Players get injured and need to be replaced. It's a lot of work but it can pay off in a big way. Alex Christian said he prefers leagues with plenty of monetary incentive to stay involved.
"I think a good league has passionate owners and active owners," he said. "A good league has a purse. I think free leagues result in less competition. A good league has offseason meetings and live drafts. It creates a love for fantasy football that can't be duplicated through an online draft."
All that work and a hefty purse makes NFL Sundays much more intense for Christian. He's definitely a guy that relies on multiple screens.
"Sunday is no longer about 'my team,'" he said. "It's all about every game. I'm constantly using my phone to check stats. I keep up on my players' injuries as well as my opponents' injuries to obtain the best matchup. I also look into all relevant stats to give my team the best matchup."
Schulz said he's the same way. Fantasy football has transformed the way he watches the game.
"I started playing fantasy football in high school," he said. "The main factor to getting involved was the increased accessibility (as) availability to the Internet increased. Smartphones weren't a thing yet. People didn't carry the Internet around with them all day. I began to enjoy the deeper side of football. I watched players and their stats around the league instead of just one team and one game a week."
That's translated into very different Sunday habits.
"My computer or phone is on my hip, and I love to flip channels to the other games," Schulz said. "If my team's game is not on, I really enjoy (the) RedZone (channel) when I have access to it. Watching the stats roll in on a live feed adds a whole new level of excitement to my viewing experience."
For some, their fantasy team takes precedence over their favorite real-life franchise. Chrisinger said he's much more invested in how his fantasy team performs on Sunday than the outcomes of any real games.
"The best part about fantasy football for me is the additional excitement that comes along with having ties to certain players around the league," he said. "I used to be just a die-hard Packers fan, but now I'm an NFL fan that happens to also love the Packers. Now I have a worse temperament the night after a fantasy league loss than when the Packers lose. If both happen on the same weekend, it's a good idea to have some radio silence with me until around Tuesday."
Not everyone takes it to such an extreme though. Richter said while he loves playing fantasy football, it's still all about the Packers for him.
"I definitely root for whoever is on my team throughout the day unless they are playing against the Packers," he said. "I am always OK with taking a loss if it's for a Packers win."
The regular season kicks of Thursday night when the Packers take on the defending champion Seattle Seahawks. By the time kickoff rolls around, drafts will be done, lineups will be set and millions of people across the country will be watching, concerned less with the outcome of the game, but rather how many touchdowns Aaron Rodgers throws and how many rushing yards Marshawn Lynch racks up.
That's fantasy football and it's not going anywhere.
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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