The history of fantasy sports has roots in the statistical nature of sports like baseball, basketball and football. Conceptually, the goal was to take the stats of the best players and see if they could form teams around that, and compete against one another. Each fantasy sport has its own origins, but the constant factor is fans that love the game, deciding to add a new element that allows them to follow the sport on a deeper level.
Fantasy football grows larger every year, with online pools and local fantasy sports clubs. The question remains though, what makes it so compelling? Fans around the world are dedicated to the hobby and spend a lot of time researching teams and the latest news. It’s not just NFL football either, from baseball to soccer and others, sports around the world have dedicated fantasy fans.
Get To Use Our Knowledge
True fans spend their time researching stats, following players, and weighing matchups. Most of the time, we do this just out of interest and the love for the game. Fantasy sports leagues offer us an opportunity to use our knowledge to compete against one another. I have argued with my friends on many occasions about player potential or matchups, and fantasy sports let us settle once and for all, who is right. There is a lot of strategy involved when making your team, and you get to think like a coach when deciding what players to start. With so many variables leading up to game day in the NFL, you need to research the finer details and understand how players perform to really get ahead in your fantasy league.
Make the Ultimate Team
Throughout sports history, analysts are constantly imagining possibilities and throwing around “what ifs.” There are so many dream teams that we have sat around pondering, but they never materialized for one reason or another. With fantasy football and other sports, we have the ability to make our ultimate dream team and get a sense of the possibilities if these players were ever to end up playing together. The quarterback from this Super Bowl squad with the All-Star wide receiver from this team, the combinations are endless and add a lot to the enjoyment of watching the sport.
Feel Closer to the Game
With a sport like football, the actual games take place on just a few days a week, and we spend the rest of the time waiting in anticipation. Fantasy sports truly help fill the gap between games and keep us engaged in the downtime. Overall, I just feel a lot closer to the sport, and get my head into the league. Many of us will never get to work in a professional sports league, but we can certainly follow the latest news and feel like we’re a part of this living, breathing ecosystem.
Competitive
The best part of fantasy football and other sports is, they are just downright fun. The fantasy leagues get very competitive, and the fun of playing against your friend’s team after you had a heated debate over the best players is intoxicating. When you watch live football or baseball, you have a lot more on the line with every play and it makes watching the sport even more exciting. Regardless if you play fantasy sports with your local group of friends or online, the competitive nature makes it a thrilling and rewarding hobby.
Anyone Can Win
While fantasy sports greatly reward knowledge and experience, the fact is that a lot of times, it can come down to luck and everyone has a chance to win. Even players that don’t know a lot about the different sports can enjoy the hobby and win just by selecting the best players. There have been so many occasions where my meticulously put together team falls through, and someone else blind picks their team and ends up winning! It’s just the nature of the beast, and it’s factors like this that we have come to love. Winning in your league often comes with bragging rights and prizes, so there is a lot of incentive to play as well as you can. If you and your friends are sports fanatics, there is no better way to enjoy the game and have fun than fantasy sports.
Check out other great sports articles at Belly Up Sports and for help with your fantasy sports research, check out Belly Up Fantasy Sports.
