Why Fantasy Football Is So Addicting!!

Since the early 90's, after the boom of the Internet, fantasy football became one of the biggest sporting games ever.  People all over the world can put there own team together and face off against other teams in a head to head battle to see who's is better.  But why is Fantasy Football so Addicting? Why do guys in general, get lost in the world of Fantasy Sports?

I still remember the first time I ever heard about fantasy football, I was at a family reunion with a whole bunch of relatives that might as well have been total strangers.  As I was taking a bite into my grandma's deep fried chicken, I over heard one of my uncles talking to his daughter about his fantasy football match up for that week.  He was talking trash, speaking passionately about his team and who he thought had the best team in the league.  Both him and his daughter were talking about fantasy football for what seemed like an hour.  Everything I heard seemed extremely odd to me, especially listening to a girl who seemed more interested in football than I was.  I left that day thinking I would never hear of fantasy football ever again, but a few years later I would find myself completely engulfed in my fantasy football addiction.

It all started when my friends were talking about starting a fantasy football league of there own.  Of course, because it was our first time, we really had no idea what we were doing.  So we started as simple as possible, a salary cap league with Sporting News.  A salary cap league is when you start off with a large amount of money, like 35,000,000 dollars, and you puts together the best team you can with money that is given to you.  Every NFL player has their own value, obviously the superstars like Peyton Manning and LaDainian Tomlinson were very expensive to purchase, but if you could find a way to pick out the sleepers who did not cost much, you could be very successful. You get a certain amount of points depending on how your players performed, and depending on how your players did, their values can either go up or down.  There were no head to head competitions in this league, instead whoever ended up with the most points by the end of the season, was the champion.  

We played the salary cap league for a few years, and each year it seemed like we were finding more and more salary cap leagues to be part of.  But one day we decided that we needed to find something more than just a salary cap league, we wanted to become more official. So we moved onto Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football.  This was the big time!!   We held a huge draft day at our commissioner's house.  We started the draft by drawing names out of a hat to see how the draft order was going to unfold.  Then the draft picking began!!  We had 12 rounds where everyone put their best teams together with the available football players.  It was intense and fun at the same time.

We were now in a league where there were head to head competitions, trades, starters and bench players.  it opened up a whole new realm of competition and trash talking, especially since we all had our own individual teams which made it more personal.  

Since then, we now play in the ESPN Fantasy Football leagues.  It is still exciting and as addicting as it ever was.

Now that I can look back at my experience with fantasy football, I can finally ask the question on why fantasy football is so addicting. The addiction problem is more dominant in the male gender, although there has been more and more women getting involved too. But why are men so easily enticed by fantasy sports? I believe there are many reasons why. First, most guys love competition, especially guys who like sports. Since the beginning of time, men have been in competition with each other, both physically and mentally. Fantasy football focuses more on the mental aspect of a man's competitive nature. Each week the team that "you" put together goes up against another person's team, and whoever wins, gets bragging rights. It is kind of like the saying, "My dad can beat up your dad," but instead it is like, "My team can beat up your team."

Secondly, fantasy football gives a since of accomplishment. Most men only dream about playing in the NFL and winning the Super Bowl, but obviously never had the talent to ever achieve those dreams. Fantasy Football allows guys to finally feel like they won the big game, the CHAMPIONSHIP! Even if there is no money involved, the since of pride that you get when you win a league is very honoring.

Thirdly, it is just plain out fun! Most guy are very stressed with their lives. They go to work, support a family, workout with the 10 minute trainer or the insanity workout and pay for a house. Fantasy Football allows guys to have a hobby,it is something that takes their mind off of the daily grind and puts it on something they enjoy, Football.

So even though it might sound ridiculous, fantasy sports are needed, and hey, at least it is not a drug addiction.