Fantasy leagues aren’t just about the sport
By Diego Cerna – (sports@theaggie.org)
October is considered as one of the greatest American sports months of the year. It includes the start of the Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Playoffs, the middle of the National Football League (NFL) regular season and the start of National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) seasons. With these different sports events occuring, October also marks one of the best months to look into playing fantasy sports.
Fantasy sports essentially refers to different users creating an imaginary team — consisting of athletes from different teams — in a specific professional league. The way a fantasy league works depends on the type of sport, the type of fantasy sports app and the type of fantasy league gameplay. Most fantasy leagues consist of eight to 12 teams on average and use the amount of points earned as an indicator for who wins.
The popularity of playing fantasy sports has grown tremendously throughout the years. There are tons of different online apps where users play fantasy — the most popular apps include ESPN fantasy games, Yahoo Sports Fantasy and DraftKings Daily Fantasy. In 2024, participation increased by 10% in ESPN’s fantasy football users from 2023, with an all-time high of 13 million users. Other sports are likely to increase in users as well as NBA, NHL and the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) basketball seasons start up.
Fantasy users win based on getting more points than their opponent in the span of one week. As weeks pass by, the teams with the most wins advance to fantasy playoffs, where typically teams compete in a do-or-die style of play — advancing only on wins and getting eliminated by one loss.
This still leaves one question: Why are people so interested in fantasy sports? Fantasy gives the typical sports fan something more to cheer about rather than only their team. Before starting to play fantasy sports, many avid sports watchers only watch their favorite teams play games. With the addition of fantasy sports, individuals can watch every game that involves favorite players, even if it’s not their own team.
Winning in fantasy not only gives you the satisfaction of improving your record, but it also enhances your knowledge of different sports players and mainstream sports. Making decisions on who should play, taking into consideration what the statistics and experts say and balancing those decisions with your gut feeling all adds to the excitement. It’s like managing your own professional team from home.
Playing fantasy sports is a great way to stay engaged with your favorite sports and compete with friends or family. Even if you don’t join or start a draft before the start of a sports season, most fantasy sports apps allow you to start leagues throughout the season at any time. Here are some tips for first-time fantasy sports players:
Research beforehand
When starting out, a common misconception when drafting fantasy league players is that the best players in the league are the best players to choose. While it is true that the best players in the leagues typically rank highly, they aren’t always the best picks for winning. Instead, focus on athletes who excel in a variety of statistics — such as assists and defense — not just points. These all-around contributors are what lead to consistent victories in fantasy leagues.
Looking at fantasy mock drafts, expert picks, advanced stats and your own knowledge of certain players are always a good guide for choosing. If you don’t know many players, most fantasy apps will often recommend who the next best pick would be.
Stay updated on league news, especially injuries
Keeping up with what’s circulating around the league such as player trades, team systems and injuries all matter when choosing specific players for your team. Players can only contribute consistently based on how well they fit with a team, how much playing time they get and who their teammates are. The best ability is availability — choosing players who consistently play can often be more reliable than players who have lingering injuries.
See who is on the waiver wire
The players you draft may not always be on your team, thus, you should always be ready for the next best one to draft. There are so many talented players throughout each professional league that people often overlook, but they can contribute major stats and points. Making adjustments is crucial to winning, especially if you’re dealing with injured players.
Create incentives for winners and punishments for losers
Not all fantasy leagues have this feature, but creating prizes such as money raises the stakes and helps keep players engaged within their fantasy league. When playing in leagues that don’t have prizes, people are often less involved since there was no potential gain from winning. Making the loser of a fantasy league do an embarrassing task as a punishment for losing could also be a fun way to raise the stakes, motivating players to continue to improve. These end-of-season incentives can make the season more exciting and competitive.
Overall, fantasy leagues allow you to stay connected with sports and people. As many sports kick off and continue this month, take a chance and gather a group of friends or family, draft your team and experience games on a whole new level.
