Building Stronger Friendships Through Fantasy Football
When football season finally arrives in the fall it also means the start of another season of fantasy football. Fantasy football is a statistically generated game based on real life production by current NFL players. Each week a person would adjust their line up to include players at various positions based on their league settings. According to the Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association, “over 59 million people engaged in fantasy games across the U.S. and Canada.”
These positions include quarterback (QB), running back (RB), wide receiver (WR), tight end (TE), kicker (K), and a defense (D/ST). The real game statistics from the players, contribute to a point total for each week the games are played. These point totals come from your players who you draft into your starting lineup. Most fantasy football drafts are conducted before the NFL season starts. Fantasy managers draft their own team consisting of NFL players. A draft order is set by the league commissioner and all owners draft until their roster is filled. If you have a higher total score than your opponent for that week you have won that match up. You will also have players who you did not start and they are left on your bench. Those players will score points but do not count towards your weekly total score.
Fantasy football generally bonds people together through competition and trash talk. These are staples in the fantasy football culture. Fantasy leagues can be made up of friends, family, coworkers or a mix of all of the above. People can also play with total strangers if they want. There are many leagues where people do fantasy football for fun while other leagues offer more high risk or high rewards, where money, betting, and punishment is involved. For some, money is second fiddle because everyone in their league wants bragging rights. That is the essence of fantasy football;People taking pride in beating their friends and their chances of winning their league.
The good that comes with fantasy football is that it is an activity that could help improve a person's social interactions. People with stronger friendships potentially live longer and are less prone to stress, according to Thriveworks Counseling and Coaching. That’s because people are emotionally positive. In fantasy football there is a lot of social interaction. Interactions include the draft process, discussing roster moves, reaching out to others regarding trades, and why my team is better than your team.
The enjoyment that comes with fantasy football combines the best of both worlds; sports and friends. Fantasy football is an easy way to stay in touch especially if some of the members in your league live far away. Regardless of why people play fantasy football it has become another part of America’s favorite pastime.