Is this just fantasy (football)?
Pixabay.com
Trey Stewart, Sports Editor
The scene is electric. Sunday night has fallen, and two of the most entertaining NFL teams have been grinding tooth and nail for the last 59 minutes. With just under a few seconds to play, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan takes the shotgun snap and steadies himself in the pocket. He fires a rocket of a pass deep down the field, finding the outstretched arms of wide receiver Julio Jones, just as time on the clock expires.
Fans everywhere erupt into celebration. The joyful exuberance in living rooms across the country is palpable. High-fives and animated embraces abound as the game of the week has finally come to a climactic close.
The final score, one might ask? Saints 38, Falcons 14.
So… why the celebrations? What could the purpose possibly be in potentially waking the neighbors on the eve of a new work week, all for a meaningless touchdown in a game that had been decided since the opening kickoff?
The answer is quite simple. Those celebrating so noisily had both Matt Ryan and Julio Jones in their fantasy football lineup, and that last-second score just won them the week in their league.
Fantasy football, since its very-first introduction all the way back in 1962, has captivated fans of the game. From the most invested football gurus down to the complete novices who draft players based on how attractive they find them, the virtual competition continues to grow year-after-year.
Before each NFL season begins, friends, coworkers and family members alike get together to form a fantasy football league. After a league is created, a draft is scheduled. During that draft, each person selects which players they would like to have on their fantasy football team until eventually, every roster is filled out. At that point, the fantasy football season is officially ready to begin.
While many leagues are created for harmless fun amongst friends, some are taken a bit more serious. Taylor Loughry, senior at NGU, has been indoctrinated into a family where fantasy football is far more than just a game: it’s a lifestyle.
“Our league is intense,” said Loughry. “We’re looking into getting a trophy each year with the winner’s name engraved in it, as well as a cash prize.”
This being her second year in the league, Loughry has clung to a couple of staple pieces of her team, players that constantly performed well on her roster during her first season. Making it easier to do so for Loughry: her family’s league is a “keeper” league. A “keeper” league involves a league setting in which each team is allowed to keep one player from the prior season. For Loughry, the decision of which player she wanted to retain was a simple one.
“[Tennessee Titans running back] Derrick Henry, no question,” she remarked. “Derrick Henry consistently got me a ton of points last year, and tends to pick up steam late in the season. Another player I was happy to retain on my roster this year was [Los Angeles Chargers running back] Austin Ekeler. He was a bit of a surprise star last season, and he didn’t get picked until later on in our draft. But my uncle who always gives good advice told me to pick him, so I listened. And I was able to draft him this year, too.”
Aside from friendly competition within her extended family (a total of 10 members are in her league), Loughry has seen an overarching benefit of fantasy football within her life.
“It keeps us close,” Loughry said. “There are 10 of us in the group, and we keep in constant communication. We have a fantasy group chat that probably gets about 500 messages or more per day. We’re always talking to each other in that chat about something. So overall, it keeps us really tight-knit.”
Loughry has high hopes for this season from the looks of her roster. She didn’t have a lot of success last year, but she has a feeling this year will look a bit different.
“At this point last year, I was 0-3. This season, I’m 2-1 so far. I just hope we can ride this momentum all season, because I’m really trying to win that trophy and cash prize.”
