WS Chronicle

Fantasy football opens up the game to all demographics. Fans, casual viewers and those who rarely watch the game have all been drawn to fantasy football and I don’t see the trend slowing down anytime soon.

Fantasy football allows even the most casual of fans to enjoy the game without really watching the games. For die-hard fans, it gives them the opportunity to dive deeper into the sport that captures their attention from August to February. Fantasy football has also introduced many women to the sport as well.

The appeal of fantasy football is that you can play without even knowing who the players are. Many sites rank the players in order, so all you have to do is follow who is predicted to score the most points and play that particular player. For those of us who follow the sport closely, it gives you the feel of being a general manager of a franchise.

I recently ran across a post on social media where one of my friends was starting a fantasy league for females. I was somewhat shocked at the amount of responses that were on the post from women wanting to join the league. I know there are many women who watch football, but was unaware of the high number of women who play fantasy football.

That post got me to thinking about how far the game of fantasy football has come in two short decades. The game has even expanded to the world of gambling. Sites such as Fanduel or Draft Kings allow people to bet on their team and make money. I never would have thought the game would have come this far so quickly. Betting on fantasy football has become big business in today’s world.

I am glad that fantasy football has brought another demographic to the sport who would otherwise never watch the game. It seems like fantasy football will continue to bring in the novice football fans.

For me personally, fantasy football allows me to dive deeper into the game that I already love. Even though I have my favorite team, it allows me to keep track of other players I enjoy watching and to see if my knowledge of the game is as high as I think it is.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but the gratification I get from winning my fantasy football league is pretty satisfying.  It’s not the same as your favorite team winning the Super Bowl, but having those bragging rights over your friends is worth its weight in gold. 

For those of you who have not tried fantasy football, I suggest giving it a try. ESPN, Yahoo and NFL.com all have quality fantasy football leagues. It’s fun and even if your team is not very good, it gives you a reason to continue being invested in the season until the end.