According to the FSTA (Fantasy Sports Trade Association) there are 33,559,990 people across the United States participating in fantasy sports this year. To put this in perspective, that is approximately 10% of the country's population. If those 33 million people are anything like me, on any given Sunday there are a lot of people yelling and screaming at their televisions. You see the life of a fantasy sports player is a life of mixed emotion. One week the feeling of jubilation when your quarterback throws for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns leading your team to victory. The next week however can be followed by utter frustration when that same quarterback throws for 25 yards, has an interception and then pulls his groin muscle along with the victory from his fantasy owners fingertips.
Another frustrating aspect of playing in the world of fantasy sports is you generally can only vent to other people who participate in fantasy sports. It is a challenge to explain your irritation to your spouse or girlfriend because they don’t understand the pain you feel when a team takes out your starting running back only to let their back up steal his touchdown. As you burry your face in your hands and let out a few fake cries your girlfriend or wife will look over at you, roll her eyes and ask, “What’s wrong with you?” This is a very difficult question to answer. You want to explain to her the reason why you’re acting like a child, but it would only make things worse. Instead you reply with a sigh, “nothing babe.”
I myself have been playing fantasy sports since I was 16 when my dad and I decided to join a fantasy football league. These were the days that guys by the name of Priest Holmes, Clinton Portis, and Ladanian Tomlinson were being drafted in the top 5 overall. After doing a few years of fantasy football, I thought I’d broaden my horizons and give fantasy baseball a try. Fantasy baseball was a whole different monster and much different than what I was used to. At that time my love for baseball was more than that of football and basketball but unfortunately for me being a Cubs fan, baseball has fell to the wayside over the past few years. As time has passed I have also added fantasy basketball, hockey, and even fantasy Nascar to my repertoire. With the experience I have gained over the years I would consider myself a better than average fantasy sports player, however that’s probably not resume worthy nor something to brag about.
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In that 2003-04 NFL Season I fell in love with fantasy sports and I can honestly see myself playing for the rest of my life. Whether you are a casual sports fan or simply looking for something to do, I would highly encourage you to give fantasy sports a try. You will expand your sports knowledge, you’ll have fun doing it, and you’ll get really upset, but these are just the ups and downs of the fantasy world we chose to play in.
~ Kyle Lovin
