Fantasy football may be a game that is played, but competitors have no control over the outcome. Week after week, they put what they think are the best players on their team at their positions into their lineup and hope they win. It makes you have an investment each Sunday. 

Fantasy football has gotten so popular, especially with COVID. People are at home and bored, not knowing what to do. So, why not make a team and go up against all of your friends and lose money? Who doesn’t love that?  

People who love sports like to bet on sports or at least most do. Fantasy football makes sense for these types of people and it is much more enjoyable. They can spend less to no money and draft their own team. The best part is absolutely destroying their friends week after week.

Normally, the majority of people are disappointed in their team. I know that there have been times when I have been mad about my lineup.  I literally lost by 0.8 points—really. Some people would panic with their team and try to force trades, but I have faith in my team, so I think I’ll be fine. 

This is my fantasy football strategy but many different people have different strategies and different groups of people in their league. I have 14 people in my league, which is a lot, but if some people have 10 or 12 people in their league, then they will have better players on their team because there are fewer people. 

Some leagues have punishments involved in their league, where you really DO NOT want to come in last.  Some punishments are worse than others. It could be anywhere from eating the spiciest wings to having to get a tattoo of the winner’s choice. This makes anyone avoid losing because sometimes you never know what the punishment will be. 

I asked some of the teachers at Wantagh High School who play fantasy football about their “teams.” Mr. Nyberg has a different view of fantasy football than I do. He says, “It is essential for any sports fan to do, especially if the football team you vote for isn’t very good like the New York Jets, then it gives you something to look forward to. You have complete control of the team, that doesn’t mean that your team will be good but you are in complete control of the team.”  I know that a lot of people love being in complete control.

People may ask, ”Is it fun?” Mr. Nyberg said that there are many ups and downs throughout a season. This is so true, and you really can’t let it bother you because then you will not have fun. If a player on your team gets injured, then you just have to deal with it. This is the downside of fantasy; the upside is obviously when your team is winning and playing well. 

Some fantasy players have strategies before they draft their team and have a lot of players to watch for as they draft, but Mr. Nyberg just does his thing. Mr. Nyberg doesn’t have a strategy; he goes into the draft with an open mind. He says, “You never know what happens before you pick.  I had the 10th and 11th pick and the two players I wanted were taken before so I was stuck with Kelce.” If he had a strategy that could mess him up for multiple rounds. There are fantasy players that plan their team around one player and if they don’t get that player, then it messes them up for picks in the later rounds. It is recommended to have an open mind while you draft rather than have a plan because anything unexpected can happen. 

LUCK. Luck is such a key part of fantasy football. It is honestly the main part of the game. People never have control of how their players play, they just hope that they slot the right players into the lineup. 

Fantasy football could seem like a guessing game but it is very essential to any sports fan. Especially any fan that likes to bet. It gives any player a chance to win money from their friends and if you win you get bragging rights until the next season. Who doesn’t like bragging to their friends about beating them in a game?