If there’s one piece of advice for all of you fantasy football enthusiasts out there, it’s this: Nobody, and I mean nobody, cares about your fantasy football team.
Over the last 10 years or so, fantasy football has become an unavoidable facet of American sports culture. With fantasy-based programing across both television and online platforms generating around $5 billion of advertising revenue annually, it’s pretty clear that Americans’ love affair with pretending to be NFL general managers isn’t ending any time soon.
And man, it’s really starting to become a drag.
It’s becoming tough to escape fantasy football talk, especially around this time of year, when legions of fans are gearing up for their annual drafts. Hours upon hours of draft preview podcasts, spanning radio and television chatter, and “fantasy football experts” expounding upon their Top 10 practice squad tight ends?
It’s a bit overwhelming.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’ve been playing fantasy football for at least half my life. It’s a fun way to spend the season, a great way to connect with friends, and it helps me stay plugged into what’s happening around the league after my New York Giants get off to an inevitable 1-5 start.
But I’ll tell you something: I don’t feel the need to talk about my team, “The Tupa Mario Bros,” every time somebody brings up football.
Fantasy football’s growth is quickly transforming the way we talk about NFL around the watercooler.
In the old days, if Larry Fitzgerald hauled in a game-winning catch on Monday Night Football, the next day’s chatter would be about the acrobatic grab or the drama of a prime time NFL game.
Nowadays, any conversation about said catch is centered on how that reception won/lost the game for your buddy and how great/awful points-per-reception scoring is, and what moves you suggest he make if he hopes to secure a berth into his nerd league playoffs.
Years ago, our fantasy football drafts were a fun way to spend an afternoon, talk some smack, eat way too much and engage in a little banter about the upcoming season.
Last August, my buddy Jones showed up to the draft with a computer program that he wrote to optimize his draft order based on projected scoring numbers for the first 10 weeks of the regular season.
I think we’re starting to take this a little too far.
So yeah, by all means, enjoy your fantasy football season. Pick your teams, root for your guys, and send passive-aggressive emails out to the other people in your league if you think they’re abusing their vetoes whenever trades pop up.
Just keep all that stuff to yourself, because I don’t care.
But while I have your attention, I just wanted to ask your opinion. Do you think it’s worth taking Ezekiel Elliott in the first round? I’m kind of on the fence, and right now, I could use all the help I can get.
