Everyone has fantasies to
some extent, but unless you’re an athlete it’s likely that yours have nothing
to do with sports; but they should. I grew up as an athlete, but as the years
went by and college came, I lost touch with that side of me. It wasn’t until I
started playing Fantasy Football that I finally got back to my roots. Sure I
wasn’t physically playing anymore, but Fantasy makes you feel as if you have as
much at stake in the game as the superstars getting paid the big bucks. Let’s
not mention that if I play well in my leagues, I could potentially win money
which kind of makes me a professional too if you think about it. What is
Fantasy though? For those that don’t play, it sounds like a foreign language.
People assume they have to know all about a sport in order to play, and that’s
just not the case. Take this as a Fantasy for Beginners course, and then get
out there and play!
You can play Fantasy for many sports such as football,
baseball, and hockey but according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Commission, 73%
of people chose football as their favorite Fantasy sport, and that’s what I
will use for my examples as well. Most people who play Fantasy play with people
that they know in a league. All leagues are different, but you will almost
always draft for the same core positions. For example, during the draft you
will be looking for a quarterback, wide receiver, running back, tight end,
defense, and a “flex” position where you can draft an extra player that’s
usually a wide receiver, running back, or tight end. Those positions are the
bare minimum. In the leagues I play in, we have all of the positions listed
above, four defensive positions, a kicker, and five bench spots. Your bench players
are there to help you during bye weeks (weeks that teams don’t play), injuries,
and projections (potential points your players can earn. The major outlets
people play Fantasy on are Yahoo Fantasy, ESPN, Draft Kings, and Fan Duel. You
can choose these based on your discretion.
Once you have a league to play in, it’s time to name and
draft your team. You can name your team anything but try to be clever. Drafting
your team seems totally overwhelming and for good reason, but you don’t have to
know anything about the sport to do it, and the sites make drafting a breeze.
You’ll have to wait to draft until it’s your turn, which is usually decided
randomly. Depending on how many teams are in your league, drafting can take a
couple of hours so plan to be available long enough. If you can’t figure out
who to pick, or if you miss your draft, your team will automatically be drafted
based on the best player available at that time, so don’t fret because you
could still end up with a good team. Even so, you can always change your team,
and will all throughout the season because anything can happen.
My Draft Grade
Each week you will go head-to-head against someone in
your league. You earn points based on how the people on your team are
performing in real life. Your goal is to beat the person you’re playing against
every week, and get the best record. You could potentially make it to your
league’s playoffs and even win! I know how intimidating Fantasy sports can
seem, but it is so fun once you try it. You can meet new people, win money, and
have a reason to attend football parties throughout the season and not feel
left out. Now that you know the basics, there’s no excuse not to go out in the
real world and live your fantasy!
My Week One Matchup
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