We have now completed four full weeks of NFL action and it has been magnificent and exciting, at least to fans and journalists who actually like their favorite teams or covering the beats they’ve been given by blogs, newspapers or television stations respectively.
Nevertheless, to those who espouse fantasy sports over the fortunes of their own teams, it is a paradox, one so ignominious that as I have spoken with coworkers and friends in my community in south-central Utah they have revealed that they know no longer can enjoy sports for the sake of enjoying sports.
Fantasy Sports Cause Fans to Compromise Ideals
When I was a little kid, I would rush home from Church Sunday afternoons to watch my beloved Denver Broncos and more often than not, they would pull out a heart-pounding victory led by legendary Hall of Fame and multiple-Super Bowl winning quarterback John Elway. This sold me on becoming a lifelong fan of the NFL as well other sports. In addition to football, the return of the NBA and college basketball always brings a smile to my face every winter when there is no more warm weather to enjoy.
However, while the Broncos of this generation are winning games this season in a comparable way to those teams some 20-25 years ago, younger fans are not watching them with the same joy and enthusiasm. This is a disheartening trend that only promises to get worse as the years progress.
As one who is honored and blessed to have NFL Sunday Ticket at my disposal every weekend, you cannot make it through a CBS or FOX broadcast without seeing multiple advertisements for daily fantasy sports contest service-providers Draft Kings and FanDuel. Incidentally, Sports Illustrated legal expert Michael McCann told his colleague Maggie Gray on her daily podcast on the afternoon of October 6 , that while the gambling in sports laws are nebulous, Congress may be close to making rules against such promotions. Many journalists I follow on Twitter have also surmised that this also entails the illegal version of insider trading and I trust them for they are wiser than I.
However, the problem I primarily have with the addiction to fantasy sports is that the unwritten rules of “fan integrity” are compromised. If you are a fan, there is no further need for explanation and we see this kind of behavior running amok in all of our favorite sports.
My good friend in the town next to me is a lifelong Chicago Bears fan and, notwithstanding their struggles this season, he will be loyal until his dying day, galvanized in his fanhood by his memories of the legendary Super Bowl XX-winning squad of 1985.
He would never root against his beloved Bears even if he did play fantasy football and needed Green Bay Packers signal-caller Aaron Rodgers or Detroit Lions wideout Calvin Johnson to get him points in his leagu. But many “fans” do this, taking upon themselves the moniker of “gambler,” as rarely do fantasy players play “just for fun.”
Several years ago, I was listening to the afternoon drive-time radio show of Philadelphia sportscaster Howard Eskin on one of the city’s more prominent sports radio stations, WIP-FM 94.1 and he fielded a call from a supposed fan and asked him if he was hoping the Eagles would win that Sunday. This caller proceeded to say how he couldn’t cheer for the Eagles anymore as several of the players in his fantasy lineup were on the team playing against Philadelphia that week. In response, Eskin proceeded to verbally eviscerate the caller, calling him a “degenerate gambler” and “Fantasy addict.”
The fact that love for your fantasy team can indeed become an addiction is definitely concerning as all addictions are. But it robs you of the joy that you once had as a true sports fan. The only thing that can make you feel “better” is if your fantasy squad wins. To me, winning a championship for a fantasy sport just doesn’t sound as fun as watching your real team win a real championship. Perhaps that’s just me, but I hope that is not the case.
Anyway, this past Sunday, when the Atlanta Falcons routed the Houston Texans, 48-21, Falcons star wideout Julio Jones had four receptions for 38 yards. This infuriated “Fantasy owners” who had Jones in their lineups on Sunday because the Falcons wide receiver had already amassed 34 receptions for 440 yards and four touchdowns prior to Sunday’s game. As I perused Twitter on Sunday as I often do, I was highly disappointed at the conduct of these “fans” who called Jones dirty names that I cannot print, and who used generally coarse and unruly language to describe him. The talented wide receiver is a true competitor and team player, and as I watched film of Texans-Falcons on my DVR early Monday morning, it’s obvious he was pleased to win even as teammates such as tailback Devonta Freeman (19 touches, 149 yards, three rushing touchdowns) and wideout Leonard Hankerson (6 receptions, 103 yards, touchdown) outshined him.
Football is the ultimate team game and if anyone cannot be pleased with winning a game even when a star player doesn’t play a key role in said victory, then as a former high school team captain myself, I cannot have respect for you as a competitor or supporter of the game.
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