Fantasy Sports: Are They Hurting or Helping the Sporting World?

by Emily Price | More from this Blogger

31 Oct 2006 09:58 AM

I once heard a radio host say that fantasy sports were ruining sports fans. He had the argument that by building fantasy teams filled with players from all sorts of different teams, you were rooting not for a favorite team, but for individual players. Fantasy sports manage to turn a blatant team sport into an individual one.

I can remember hearing that, but it never really made any sense to me until this past weekend when I was traveling from North Carolina to Vermont in a car with my friend Joe. Joe has never been into sports. As long as I've known him the closest he has ever been to a sports fan is playing basketball with friends on a Saturday morning.

On this car trip we had to listen to a variety of different football games, simultaneously on the car radio. At times when there was not a football game being played we would listen to sports commentators talking about the game we just listened to, or previewing the game we were about to listen to. It was insane.

Fantasy Sports are becoming more and more a huge part of the lives of people in our society, particularly men in my opinion. If you aren't familiar with fantasy sports, the way you play is that you create a sports team, with all the typically positions, but using players from all of the teams in the league. You then are scored based on how your players do when they play.

To me it seems confusing, and based on Joe's description of the activity it confuses him as well, even though he plays. Fantasy sports have really changes the way sports are looked at by taking the games to cyberspace.

Do any of you play fantasy sports? What do you think about Fantasy Sports, are they great for the sporting community or are they hurting it?

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Emily is a freelance writer and video editor in Raleigh NC.

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joshy1000 (10) 14 Nov 2006 03:26 AM

They are great for the Sports, in the modern time when there are so many types and forms of entertainment the fantasy sports are a great way of keeping the sports audience in a rate of growth, the story you told us about your friend is only proving my point, your friend Joe, is suddenly showing increasing interest in all other teams that without fantasy sports he would never got to know them.

Valorie Delp (49340) 14 Nov 2006 06:35 AM

It does totally change the way you watch the game though. But I don't know if that's a bad thing. We now religiously watch Sunday and Monday football to see how our players did. Our fantasy league gets together and watches games. My 5yo son is getting into it.

On top of that, fantasy leagues end mid-season of real leagues. So you spend all season watching, your fantasy league ends but then you watch the play offs and believe me, everyone still has their favorite team.

joshy1000 (10) 14 Nov 2006 10:58 AM

Valorie,

Not all the fantasy leagues end in the mid season, actually the majority of them continue till the End of the season. I totally agree with your say that every one still have their favored team, but to be a good Fantasy Player and also a Sports bettor you need to be Cold blood and leave your teams passion aside.