According to reports, about 40 million people participate in fantasy football leagues throughout the United States, with the majority of them being teenagers. Each Sunday, friends often get together to watch the games and see their players compete for their respective teams. 

Fantasy football starts with a draft, which takes place before the NFL season starts in September. Each member of the league selects a certain number of players that fill their lineup for each week. Usually, a starting lineup consists of one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, a tight end, a flex (running back/wide receiver/tight end), a defense, and a kicker. The players then try to score the most points every Sunday. A quarterback receives points for both passing and rushing yards as well as touchdowns. They can also lose points if they throw an interception or fumble. Running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends gain points by getting catches, yards, and touchdowns. Fumbles and loss of yards lose them points. Kickers gain points by making field goals and extra points but can lose points if they miss. Lastly, the defense gains points if they get turnovers, but lose points if they allow the opposing team to score. Towards the end of the NFL season, the fantasy playoffs come into play and a winner is finally crowned. 

Throughout the season, players get injured which frequently results in trades occurring. Most leagues have an IR (injured player) spot where a player can go if they are missing up to three weeks. You then can add another player until the injured player returns. 

An East student, Eitan Volodarski (‘23), notes that friends share their opinions on players and work out trades which usually benefits both teams. Volodarski also likes that he can pick his own players based on how well he thinks they will perform. He enjoys being able to root for his favorite players and thinks fantasy makes it much more interesting.  

Will Reinert (‘23) shares that fantasy football gives him an extra reason to watch football and it also gives him something to look forward to each week. In addition, he believes that fantasy brings friends together by sharing excitement, joy, or sometimes even anger with each other. Davante Adams, a wide receiver on the Green Bay Packers, helped Will bring a championship home for his team last year. 

Furthermore, Jack Kramer (‘23) concludes that fantasy football makes watching every NFL game interesting. Kramer has been playing fantasy for almost seven years and has won multiple championships within that time. Last year, Tom Brady and Austin Ekeler played well to help his team gain victories each week. 

Many friends play in different leagues together and love getting the opportunity to brag after they take home the championship. In addition to bragging rights, other awards for getting first in your league could be things such as cash prizes or choosing what draft pick you want for the following fantasy football year. However, there are “friendly consequences” if you come in last place, such as shaving your hair off or even dressing up in funny outfits at school following your loss. 

Before fantasy football started, hanging out with your friends on Sunday watching football was always fun. However, fantasy football adds some friendly competition and in addition to rooting for your main team, it has you rooting for a touchdown from a player you never thought you would want in the endzone.